The points of issue
Oversized cloth hardcover with dust jacket, Fantagraphics, 2003 (released December 2003), ISBN 1-56097-539-3, about 520 pages, collecting the complete Palomar / Heartbreak Soup stories. A first printing shows no later-printing statement on the indicia.
Is this the true first?
Stories originally appeared in Love and Rockets (volume one) in the 1980s and 1990s; the 2003 Fantagraphics omnibus is the first single-volume collected edition (first thus).
Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition.
Frequently asked questions
Is my copy of Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories a first edition?
Look for these first-edition points: Oversized cloth hardcover with dust jacket, Fantagraphics, 2003 (released December 2003), ISBN 1-56097-539-3, about 520 pages, collecting the complete Palomar / Heartbreak Soup stories. A first printing shows no later-printing statement on the indicia.
How do I tell the first printing from a later one?
Check the copyright page for the publisher's first-printing convention and confirm the points above. Stories originally appeared in Love and Rockets (volume one) in the 1980s and 1990s; the 2003 Fantagraphics omnibus is the first single-volume collected edition (first thus).
Is the book-club edition the same as the first?
No book-club edition.
I have a first edition of Palomar: The Heartbreak Soup Stories — what should I do?
If you're clearing books, New Mexico Literacy Project offers free pickup in Albuquerque, any condition, and makes sure collectible copies aren't lost. To sell, see the author's collecting guide. Either way, nothing valuable ends up in a landfill.