# Is "The Secret to Superhuman Strength" by Alison Bechdel a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Secret to Superhuman Strength by Alison Bechdel (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021) is identified by: First edition hardcover, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021 (ISBN 9780358554844 for the trade issue), full color with color art by Holly Rae Taylor. An all-original graphic memoir; the 2021 HMH hardcover is the true first book edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition hardcover, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021 (ISBN 9780358554844 for the trade issue), full color with color art by Holly Rae Taylor
- First printing carries a full number line ending in 1
- Correct publisher/imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alison Bechdel |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |
| Year | 2021 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | First edition hardcover, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021 (ISBN 9780358554844 for the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition hardcover, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021 (ISBN 9780358554844 for the trade issue), full color with color art by Holly Rae Taylor. First printing carries a full number line ending in 1.

## Is this the true first?
An all-original graphic memoir; the 2021 HMH hardcover is the true first book edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings remove the 1 from the number line; the first printing shows a complete descending line ending in 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Secret to Superhuman Strength* by Alison Bechdel a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-secret-to-superhuman-strength
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.