Is My Watchmen #1 (comic) a First Edition?

The points of issue

• First issue of the twelve-part maxi-series, cover-dated September 1986, with a the printed price cover price (not the printed price)
• The first print direct-market edition carries the DC logo box in the lower-left cover corner; newsstand copies carry a UPC barcode instead
• The indicia shows no reprint or later-printing notation
• As a direct-market maxi-series of this era, the original single issues were generally not reprinted as floppies during the initial run, so most surviving copies are first printings

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 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?

True first appearance of Rorschach, the Comedian, Dr. Manhattan, Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre and Ozymandias. The serialized issues precede the 1987 collected trade paperback. Both direct and newsstand states exist; grade (white pages, sharp corners) drives desirability far more than the direct/newsstand distinction.P-000687

Telling it from reprints & book-club editions

No book-club issue. Beware later DC reprint printings of the single issue and recolored editions; the original carries the 1986 indicia and the printed price cover price.P-000688

Frequently asked questions

Is my copy of Watchmen #1 (comic) a first edition?

A first edition of Watchmen #1 (comic) by Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons (DC Comics) is identified by: First issue of the twelve-part maxi-series, cover-dated September 1986, with a the printed price cover price (not the printed price).

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 appearance of Rorschach, the Comedian, Dr.

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

No book-club issue. Beware later DC reprint printings of the single issue and recolored editions; the original carries the 1986 indicia and the printed price cover price.

I have a first edition of Watchmen #1 (comic) — 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.