# Is "Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron" by Daniel Clowes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron by Daniel Clowes (Fantagraphics Books, 1993) is identified by: First collected edition, Fantagraphics Books, 1993, gathering the story serialized in Eightball issues 1 through 10 (1989-1993). Originally serialized in Eightball issues 1 through 10.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First collected edition, Fantagraphics Books, 1993, gathering the story serialized in Eightball issues 1 through 10 (1989-1993)
- The trade issue is a black-and-white softcover of 142 pages bound in publisher's stiff wraps; a concurrent signed limited hardcover was issued in black and dark-orange printed cloth with Clowes's signature on a blue bookplate laid to the half-title page
- Although the story's opening panels ran in color in Eightball, the collected edition prints throughout in black and white
- Correct publisher/imprint: Fantagraphics Books

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Daniel Clowes |
| Publisher | Fantagraphics Books |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | First collected edition, Fantagraphics Books, 1993, gathering the story serialized in Eightball issues 1 through 10 (1989-1993) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First collected edition, Fantagraphics Books, 1993, gathering the story serialized in Eightball issues 1 through 10 (1989-1993). The trade issue is a black-and-white softcover of 142 pages bound in publisher's stiff wraps; a concurrent signed limited hardcover was issued in black and dark-orange printed cloth with Clowes's signature on a blue bookplate laid to the half-title page. Although the story's opening panels ran in color in Eightball, the collected edition prints throughout in black and white.

## Is this the true first?
Originally serialized in Eightball issues 1 through 10. The first collected edition is the 1993 Fantagraphics printing, issued in a trade softcover and a signed limited hardcover; later printings are separate states.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Reprinted many times; later printings carry printing statements distinguishing them from the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Like a Velvet Glove Cast in Iron* by Daniel Clowes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/like-a-velvet-glove-cast-in-iron
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.