Is My Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 2000, ISBN 1-56971-489-0 (978-1-56971-489-8), the fourth Hellboy collection
• It gathers shorter stories, among them Box Full of Evil, The Varcolac, and the first-printed King Volmer, several appearing in color for the first time after earlier black-and-white anthology and Dark Horse Presents appearances
• The first printing has no later-printing statement in the indicia

How Dark Horse Comics marked a first edition

• Trade paperbacks / hardcovers: the indicia/copyright page states 'First edition:' or 'First printing:' with month and year; later printings update the wording.
• Many Dark Horse collected editions print a printing-history line that adds dates as printings accrue — a first printing shows a single date.

Full Dark Horse Comics first-edition guide →

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Confirm the first-edition statement — look for “First Edition,” “First Printing,” or the publisher’s equivalent wording.
3. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
4. Verify this is the world true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
5. Photograph four things — the front cover, spine, title page, and copyright page — the standard record for identification.

Format & printing

This title first appeared as a single issue / periodical, not a trade book. The true first is the first-printing single issue; later trade paperbacks or hardcover collections are “first thus.” Check the indicia (the small-print publication block) for a printing statement.

Is this the true first?

Most of the contents first appeared in various anthologies and single issues; the 2000 trade paperback is the first collection of these stories, and King Volmer was printed here for the first time.P-021879

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition.P-021880

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom a first edition?

A first edition of Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse Comics) is identified by: First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 2000, ISBN 1-56971-489-0 (978-1-56971-489-8), the fourth Hellboy collection.

How do I tell the first printing from a later one?

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. Most of the contents first appeared in various anthologies and single issues; the 2000 trade paperback is the first collection of these stories, and King Volmer was printed here for the first time.

Is the book-club edition the same as the first?

No book club edition.

I have a first edition of Hellboy: The Right Hand of Doom — what should I do?

First, document the copy: photograph the copyright page (the number line and any edition statement) and the dust-jacket flap — an unclipped, priced jacket matters. Confirm the points of issue above against your copy, and use the free First Edition Checker to decode the printing. To sell, the author’s collecting guide covers the market. And if you are clearing books in the Albuquerque area, the New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies are identified rather than discarded.

Glossary

First edition

Every copy printed from the first setting of type. Collectors usually want the first edition, first printing (the true first).

First printing / impression

A single press run from that setting. The first printing is the earliest and most desirable; later printings are still the first edition but not the true first.

Number line (printer's key)

A row of numbers on the copyright page (e.g. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1). The lowest number present is the printing — a line including 1 marks a first printing (Random House deliberately ends at 2).

Points of issue

Specific physical details — a stated edition, a number line, a typo, a jacket state — that identify the true first printing.

Book-club edition (BCE)

A reprint made for a book club. Tells include a blind-stamped dot or square on the rear board and a dust jacket with no printed price. Not the true first.

First thus

The first appearance of a particular version (first paperback, first illustrated, first U.S. printing) — a first of that kind, not the first edition of the work.