Is My Violent Cases a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First Gaiman/McKean collaboration; the original UK edition (1987, ISBN 0950956864) is a 48-page volume with an introduction by Alan Moore
• McKean's artwork, executed in shades of blue, brown and grey, is reproduced in black-and-white in this first printing (the distinguishing feature versus the later colour reworkings) under a colour cover
• Signed copies are typically inscribed by Gaiman in silver ink

How Escape / Titan Books marked a first edition

• First printings carry a 'First edition' statement with month/year on the copyright page alongside a descending number line ('10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1') or the alternating '1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2' form; in either case the lowes…

Full Escape / Titan Books 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 UK 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?

True first is the 1987 UK black-and-white edition. Publisher attribution is genuinely split in the sources between Escape Books and Titan (Titan under Mike Lake published/distributed it), so the dual Escape/Titan attribution is appropriate. Later colour editions (Tundra 1991, Dark Horse, and the 30th-anniversary edition) are later first-thus.

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

Colour and anniversary editions are later first-thus, distinct from the 1987 black-and-white first; the black-and-white reproduction of McKean's blue/brown/grey art is the tell for the true first printing.

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Violent Cases a first edition?

A first edition of Violent Cases by Neil Gaiman & Dave McKean (Escape / Titan Books) is identified by: First Gaiman/McKean collaboration; the original UK edition (1987, ISBN 0950956864) is a 48-page volume with an introduction by Alan Moore.

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 1987 UK black-and-white edition.

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

Colour and anniversary editions are later first-thus, distinct from the 1987 black-and-white first; the black-and-white reproduction of McKean's blue/brown/grey art is the tell for the true first printing.

I have a first edition of Violent Cases — what should I do?

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 lost. To sell, see the author’s collecting guide. Either way, nothing collectible ends up in a landfill.

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.