How to Identify a Fantagraphics Books First Edition

How to identify a first printing

• Book-format collections follow standard book-trade conventions: the copyright page carries a 'First printing' or 'First edition' statement with month and year (e.g. 'First printing: September 2019').
• Subsequent printings update the statement to 'Second printing,' etc.; the absence of any higher-printing statement, together with the original stated month, is the first-printing tell.
• Most modern Fantagraphics hardcovers and trade paperbacks use an explicit printing-month line rather than a descending number line; check the line immediately under the copyright/ISBN block.
• For newsprint comic-magazine and floppy series (the original Love and Rockets run, Eightball, Hate), use the comic indicia: a later printing is explicitly stated ('Second printing') while a first printing carries no printing statement.

Notable points & cautions

• Founded 1976 by Gary Groth and Michael Catron. Pre-ISBN-era underground and magazine material is identified by issue indicia, not number lines.
• Love and Rockets exists in multiple formats (original magazine, later floppies, and collected books) — each format has its own first-printing point, so collectors distinguish the original 1980s magazine-size first issues from later collected reprints.
• Eros Comix (adult imprint, est. 1990) and the small-run Fantagraphics Underground (FU) line are separately branded but use the same first-printing-statement convention.

Imprints

First editions also appear under: Eros Comix, Fantagraphics Underground (FU), Coffee Table Books, Graphics, Boundaries. Each generally follows the house convention above.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my Fantagraphics Books book is a first edition?

Check the copyright page. Book-format collections follow standard book-trade conventions: the copyright page carries a 'First printing' or 'First edition' statement with month and year (e.g. 'First printing: September 2019'). Subsequent printings update the statement to 'Second printing,' etc.; the absence of any higher-printing statement, together with the original stated month, is the first-printing tell.

Does Fantagraphics Books use a number line?

Subsequent printings update the statement to 'Second printing,' etc.; the absence of any higher-printing statement, together with the original stated month, is the first-printing tell.

Is a book-club edition a Fantagraphics Books first edition?

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Founded 1976 by Gary Groth and Michael Catron. Pre-ISBN-era underground and magazine material is identified by issue indicia, not number lines.

What era does this cover?

This covers Fantagraphics Books (1976-present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.