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- Question of the Week -
09-04-2006

"How can I tell if a particular comic is a reprint, or reissue? I realize that there are many answers to this question, depending on the age and the comic's company, so I will rephrase, is there a resource, online or otherwise, that contains info helpful to identifying first runs and reprints?"
Thomas

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Ron - (a.k.a. Rocket2600)

Reprints are a tricky beast to manage in comic collecting. Some can be identified very easily while others have to be researched. First thing is to always check the indicia for printing information. Most of the time the comic companies will note the printing there, but not always.

Some sources to check online are:
ComicsPriceGuide.com
Comics.org

If you still have trouble identifying which print you have, then stop by the ComicCovers.net Forum and ask our members. Sometimes networking with other collectors can save you hours of research time.



Ron has been collecting comics since 1985. His collection has grown as in 2001 he decided to keep every comic issue he could get his hands on. His main interests include Marvel, DC, bad/good girl, and the "dead universes" from the 1980's & 1990's.


Karen - (a.k.a. klindsay)

Unfortunately, there is not just one site that contains all that information. In my research, I use CPG, Comics.org, and even retailer sites like midtowncomics.com and mycomicshop.com. I rely heavily on the indicia if I own the comic. You can easily see what printing it is on the scans I made of the three Mouse Guard printings. The book is the best and most reliable way to tell - and it's still not foolproof.

So the short answer is, no, you actually have to do a little work to find out in some cases.



Karen has been interested in comics since dinosaurs roamed the earth. She loves all genres including Horror, Superhero, Mythology, and Grant Morrison.


Sean - (a.k.a. thespectre)

OK there are sereral ways to spot reprints and reissues. One is to open your comic and look at the indicia located most of the time on the back of the front cover. There should be a date and sometimes it might have a notation saying 2nd printing or third printing. If not you can go by the year and use tools like CPG, Overstreet, GCDB, The Big Comic book database.

Other things to look for, For example Marvel comics did a slightly different cover for some of thier comics for overseas(England) you would see a pence instead of a cents on the comic and coloring would be different. If you had both pents and cents copy of the same comic handy you could see the color variantion. also Marvel put out price variants. those comics are same inside and out with the exception of price and color on the cover. Some Indy comics might say in small print near the issue number. (Cover A,B,C) and so on.

Here are some resources, try them out. But mostly it's trial and error to find some reprints. someone has to put them in a database. Never forget the one other huge resources are places Like your Local Comic shop, Comic Covers, PaperFilms. These forums are a huge under used mega information resource for you the comic collector. Ask questions and or post a question and they will be more than happy to help you.



Sean has been collecting off and on for 15 years, it was not untill he got married that he really found some one to share the hobby with and go all out collecting. He was a Marvel collector only but now is into all comic vendors. "I love to read and that's what's important."


Jeremiah - (a.k.a. Gambit80)

With regards to reprints, that can be very difficult to discover if a comic you are interested in purchasing is in fact one or not. Comicspriceguide.com has an extensive database which usually shows scans of reprints as well as originals for comparison. Examples would be of Fantastic Four #1 and Amazing Spider-Man #1 - each were reprinted several years after the initial release.

If a book was published by Whitman, that also is an indicator of it being a reprint. Whitman published old DC and Marvel stories and usually had their logo on the cover to indicate it was by them and not an original copy.

Here is a site about the Gold Key Star Trek/Whitman variants:
http://homepage.mac.com/mmtz/stcomix/aboutgoldkey.html It also has a cover gallery showing the Whitmans and how they differ from the regular one. Also has a list of the issues. A very good read in my opinion.

Also, look at the top left corner where the price and issue number are at times because that can also give you an indication. Take this issue of "Conan the Barbarian" #71 on the right for instance. There is the regular edition and also a Whitman reprint edition, the diamond shape is the indicator.

It can be difficult to find out which ones are legitimate and which are second run. The best thing I can recommend is to use Google, Comicspriceguide.com and any other online resources you can find.



Jeremiah has been collecting comics since 1991 with a focus on X-Men, Sin City, the works of Frank Cho and studying the history of the comic art medium.


Clyf - (a.k.a. Clyfft)

The two best PRINT resources would be the Standard Catalog of Comic Books and the Overstreet Price Guide. Overstreet lists numerous printings of books (I think they have at least four versions of Amazing Spider-Man #1 listed) and the Stadard Catalog has very similar information. The Standard Catalog of Comic Books also has listings for which books we reprinted by Whitman (these are technically variant editions of the original books and therefore not actual reprints).

There are many websites that devote space to reprint/variant listings (I have seen some threads and/or listsing of reprint books on the comicspriceguide.com forums for example). The best thing to do would be to do a search on Google for reprint editions of a particular book. If any site will put you on the right path, it will be Google.



Clyf started collecting in 1989. His interests mainly include Spider-Man, Batman and the X-Men. His collection is 5,900 strong and growing.


David - (a.k.a. Johnturned51)

One trick i use for newer comics is to look at the UPC. THe last five digits deal with the issue number. generally something like 00411 for Wolvering Origins #4. the 004 is the issue number. The next one is for variants, i.e. 00421 for the variant. The last digit is for reprints, i.e. 00412. if there was a reprint.



David came back to the comic medium in 2003, with emphasis on Marvel and creator books falling into the Sci-Fi, and Fantasy genres.




Mouse Guard - Which Print?

Indica 1st Print

Indica 2nd Print

Indica 3rd Print

1st Print   2nd Print

1st Print   Whitman 2nd Print

1st Print   2nd Print

1st Print   2nd Print

1st Print   2nd Print

1st Print   2nd Print

1st Print   2nd Print

1st Print   2nd Print

3rd Print   4th Print



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