Is My Tom Strong (Book 1) a First Edition?

The points of issue

The true first appearance of the material is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1, cover-dated June 1999, published bi-monthly under the America's Best Comics imprint (an imprint of DC's WildStorm division), written by Alan Moore, penciled by Chris Sprouse, inked by Al Gordon, opening with the story 'How Tom Strong Got Started.' The collected Book 1 hardcover, which gathers issues #1-7, followed in July 2001 (not 2000/2002); it runs about 208 pages in full color with contributing artists including Chris Sprouse, Alan Gordon, Arthur Adams, Gary Frank, Dave Gibbons, and Jerry Ordway, and the first-issue jacket/boards should carry the original printed price.

How to confirm the first-printing statement

Publishers stated first printings differently by era. The decisive tells are a printed “First Edition/First Printing” statement, a number line whose lowest number is 1 (Random House ends at 2), or a dated first printing with no later printings listed. Paste your copyright page into the number-line decoder.

How to verify your copy, step by step

1. Find the copyright page — the verso (back) of the title page.
2. Read the indicia — a first-printing single issue carries no later-printing line; a collected edition is “first thus,” not the true first.
3. Verify this is the world true first — not a later-market or reprint edition.
4. 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?

True first is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1 (June 1999). The collected Book 1 hardcover (July 2001, collecting #1-7) is first-thus for the collected form.P-000676

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

The later softcover trade paperback of Book 1 and the still-later Tom Strong Deluxe Edition hardcover are reprints/first-thus, not the first collected printing.P-000677

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Tom Strong (Book 1) a first edition?

A first edition of Tom Strong (Book 1) by Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse (America's Best Comics / Wildstorm) is identified by: The true first appearance of the material is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1, cover-dated June 1999, published bi-monthly under the America's Best Comics imprint (an imprint of DC's WildStorm division), written by Alan Moore, penciled by Chris Sprouse, inked by Al Gordon, opening with the story 'How Tom Strong Got Started.' The collected Book 1 hardcover, which gathers issues #1-7, followed in July 2001 (not 2000/2002); it runs about 208 pages in full color with…

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. True first is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1 (June 1999).

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

The later softcover trade paperback of Book 1 and the still-later Tom Strong Deluxe Edition hardcover are reprints/first-thus, not the first collected printing.

I have a first edition of Tom Strong (Book 1) — 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.