Is My Watchmen a First Edition?

The points of issue

• True first is the DC softcover trade (collecting the 1986–87 twelve-issue maxi-series), with the printed cover price, ISBN 0-930289-23-4, the 'bloody smiley / broken window' cover, and a stated first printing with a number line ending in 1
• Early printings carry no UPC barcode block
• 448 pages, full color

How DC Comics marked a first edition

• Modern DC collected editions use a descending number line in the indicia ('10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1'); the lowest number present is the printing, so '1' present indicates a first printing.

Full DC 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 US 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?

The DC US trade is the recognized true first edition of the collected work. The individual comic Watchmen #1 (DC, Sept. 1986) is the true first appearance in serial form. A UK Titan Books edition and later DC printings follow the DC first.P-000681

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club edition per se; distinguish the first printing from the many later DC/Titan reprints by the clean number line ending in 1 and the absence of any 'second printing' or later notation. 'Absolute Watchmen' (2005 oversized slipcase) and recolored editions are not the first.P-000682

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Watchmen a first edition?

A first edition of Watchmen by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons (DC Comics) is identified by: True first is the DC softcover trade (collecting the 1986–87 twelve-issue maxi-series), with the printed cover price, ISBN 0-930289-23-4, the 'bloody smiley / broken window' cover, and a stated first printing with a number line ending in 1.

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

Check the copyright page. For a single issue, the indicia shows the printing. The DC US trade is the recognized true first edition of the collected work.

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

No book-club edition per se; distinguish the first printing from the many later DC/Titan reprints by the clean number line ending in 1 and the absence of any 'second printing' or later notation. 'Absolute Watchmen' (2005 oversized slipcase) and recolored editions are not the first.

I have a first edition of Watchmen — 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.