# Is "Love and Rockets #1" by Gilbert, Jaime & Mario Hernandez (Los Bros Hernandez) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Love and Rockets #1 by Gilbert, Jaime & Mario Hernandez (Los Bros Hernandez) (Fantagraphics Books, 1981) is identified by: The true first is the 1981 self-published, magazine-size, black-and-white Love and Rockets #1 — printed by the Hernandez brothers in a run of roughly 800 copies, which they hand-folded and stapled. The 1981 SELF-PUBLISHED Love and Rockets #1 is the true first and is very scarce.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is the 1981 self-published, magazine-size, black-and-white Love and Rockets #1 — printed by the Hernandez brothers in a run of roughly 800 copies, which they hand-folded and stapled
- This is the great rarity
- Fantagraphics then published an expanded, reworked version as #1 dated September 1982, retaining the black-and-white interiors but adding color front and rear covers; this Fantagraphics #1 exists in a first printing and a later second printing, so check for printing notation on that edition
- Correct publisher/imprint: Fantagraphics Books

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Gilbert, Jaime & Mario Hernandez (Los Bros Hernandez) |
| Publisher | Fantagraphics Books |
| Year | 1981 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | The true first is the 1981 self-published, magazine-size, black-and-white Love and… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first is the 1981 self-published, magazine-size, black-and-white Love and Rockets #1 — printed by the Hernandez brothers in a run of roughly 800 copies, which they hand-folded and stapled. This is the great rarity. Fantagraphics then published an expanded, reworked version as #1 dated September 1982, retaining the black-and-white interiors but adding color front and rear covers; this Fantagraphics #1 exists in a first printing and a later second printing, so check for printing notation on that edition.

## Is this the true first?
The 1981 SELF-PUBLISHED Love and Rockets #1 is the true first and is very scarce. The Fantagraphics #1 (September 1982) is an expanded reworking of it, not a straight reprint, and is itself a landmark first appearance in book/comic form.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Fantagraphics 1982 #1 had more than one printing; the first printing lacks later-printing notation. The 1981 self-published original predates all Fantagraphics printings.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Love and Rockets #1* by Gilbert, Jaime & Mario Hernandez (Los Bros Hernandez) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/love-and-rockets-1
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.