Is My Hellboy: Wake the Devil a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 1997, ISBN 1-56971-226-X (978-1-56971-226-9), collecting the five-issue 1996 mini-series Hellboy: Wake the Devil
• The first printing has the original cover and no later-printing statement in the indicia
• The collected edition adds a new epilogue

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?

The single issues, Wake the Devil numbers 1 through 5 from 1996, are the true first appearance; the 1997 trade paperback is the first book collection, the second Hellboy collection overall.P-021884

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book club edition; later re-covered and library/omnibus editions exist.P-021885

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Hellboy: Wake the Devil a first edition?

A first edition of Hellboy: Wake the Devil by Mike Mignola (Dark Horse Comics) is identified by: First trade paperback, Dark Horse Comics, 1997, ISBN 1-56971-226-X (978-1-56971-226-9), collecting the five-issue 1996 mini-series Hellboy: Wake the Devil.

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. The single issues, Wake the Devil numbers 1 through 5 from 1996, are the true first appearance; the 1997 trade paperback is the first book collection, the second Hellboy collection overall.

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

No book club edition; later re-covered and library/omnibus editions exist.

I have a first edition of Hellboy: Wake the Devil — 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.