Is My The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye (Vol. 1 TPB) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First trade paperback collecting The Walking Dead #1-6, released to retailers in May 2004 by Image Comics
• The first printing carries the original ISBN 1-58240-358-9
• and a the printed price cover price, and bears no later-printing statement on the indicia page; the widely seen ISBN 9781582406725 is a later reissue of this collection, not the first printing
• Standard-format softcover with color cover art by Tony Moore

How Image Comics marked a first edition

• Many Image collected editions also carry a descending number line on the indicia page; a '1' present indicates the first printing.

Full Image 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?

This is a first-thus collection; the single issues (#1-6) are the true firsts. Among the trade paperback printings, the first printing is the 2004 issue at ISBN 1-58240-358-9 with the printed price cover price and no printing statement. Later Compendium and Omnibus editions are separate first-thus for their formats.P-027485

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Multiple TPB printings exist; the first printing has no added printing statement, uses ISBN 1-58240-358-9, and shows a the printed price cover price. Later printings adopt a different ISBN (9781582406725) and revised pricing.P-027486

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye (Vol. 1 TPB) a first edition?

A first edition of The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye (Vol. 1 TPB) by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore (Image Comics) is identified by: First trade paperback collecting The Walking Dead #1-6, released to retailers in May 2004 by Image Comics.

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. This is a first-thus collection; the single issues (#1-6) are the true firsts.

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

Multiple TPB printings exist; the first printing has no added printing statement, uses ISBN 1-58240-358-9, and shows a the printed price cover price. Later printings adopt a different ISBN (9781582406725) and revised pricing.

I have a first edition of The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye (Vol. 1 TPB) — 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.