# Is "The Sandman: The Doll's House" by Neil Gaiman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Sandman: The Doll's House by Neil Gaiman (DC Comics, 1990) is identified by: First Sandman trade paperback collection, published 1990, collecting issues #8-16. This was the first Sandman collection published, ahead of Preludes & Nocturnes, whose printing it helped prompt.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First Sandman trade paperback collection, published 1990, collecting issues #8-16
- The 1990 first printing includes issue #8 (Gaiman's prologue), which was dropped from later editions, and carries no later-printing line
- Correct publisher/imprint: DC Comics

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Neil Gaiman |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| Year | 1990 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | First Sandman trade paperback collection, published 1990, collecting issues #8-16 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First Sandman trade paperback collection, published 1990, collecting issues #8-16. The 1990 first printing includes issue #8 (Gaiman's prologue), which was dropped from later editions, and carries no later-printing line.

## Is this the true first?
This was the first Sandman collection published, ahead of Preludes & Nocturnes, whose printing it helped prompt. It is the true first of the collected line.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings are numbered and, importantly, omit issue #8; a recolored anniversary edition is first-thus, not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Sandman: The Doll's House* by Neil Gaiman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-sandman-the-dolls-house
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.