How to Identify a Oni Press First Edition

How to identify a first printing

• Floppy issues and trade paperbacks: a first printing carries no printing statement in the indicia; later printings are explicitly stated ('Second printing' and higher).
• Collected editions: the copyright/indicia page states the printing, usually with month and year ('First edition, [month year]'); a first printing shows the single earliest date and no later-printing line.
• On floppies, the 5-digit supplemental code in the UPC barcode is meant to encode the printing in its fifth digit (1 = first printing), but publishers populate it inconsistently, so treat it only as a weak secondary clue and rely on the indicia statement.

Notable points & cautions

• Founded 1997 by Joe Nozemack and Bob Schreck; Schreck left in 1999. Merged with Lion Forge in 2019 to form Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group.
• 'Scott Pilgrim' (Bryan Lee O'Malley) digest first printings are heavily collected; the original black-and-white digest first printings predate the later color editions, so match format and stated printing, not just the title.
• Limerence Press (adult) and the Lion Forge catalog follow the same Oni first-printing conventions post-merger.

Imprints

First editions also appear under: Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group (merged entity, 2019), Lion Forge, Limerence Press (erotica/sex-ed). Each generally follows the house convention above.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my Oni Press book is a first edition?

Check the copyright page. Floppy issues and trade paperbacks: a first printing carries no printing statement in the indicia; later printings are explicitly stated ('Second printing' and higher). Collected editions: the copyright/indicia page states the printing, usually with month and year ('First edition, [month year]'); a first printing shows the single earliest date and no later-printing line.

Does Oni Press use a number line?

Collected editions: the copyright/indicia page states the printing, usually with month and year ('First edition, [month year]'); a first printing shows the single earliest date and no later-printing line.

Is a book-club edition a Oni Press first edition?

No. Book-club editions reprint the text but are not the true first edition. Founded 1997 by Joe Nozemack and Bob Schreck; Schreck left in 1999. Merged with Lion Forge in 2019 to form Oni-Lion Forge Publishing Group.

What era does this cover?

This covers Oni Press (1997-present). Conventions changed over time, so confirm the era of your copy.