# Is "The Walking Dead #1" by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Walking Dead #1 by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore (Image Comics, 2003) is identified by: Cover-dated October 2003, printed cover price, first print run of roughly 7,000 to 7,500 copies. True first appearance of Rick Grimes.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Cover-dated October 2003, printed cover price, first print run of roughly 7,000 to 7,500 copies
- The first print carries no printing notation on the cover and the indicia shows no 'printing' line (or states 'First Printing, October 2003')
- The 'Walking Dead' logo red is the lighter first-print shade
- The second print (December 2003) adds a 'Second Printing' notation near the Image logo at the bottom of the cover, the logo red is noticeably darker and almost black, and the indicia explicitly reads 'Second Printing, December 2003.' Later printings (third, fourth) are likewise cover-marked
- A known first-print color error exists in which 'Mature Readers' prints in black on a minority of copies
- Correct publisher/imprint: Image Comics

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore |
| Publisher | Image Comics |
| Year | 2003 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | Cover-dated October 2003, printed cover price, first print run of roughly 7,000 to 7,500 copies |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Cover-dated October 2003, printed cover price, first print run of roughly 7,000 to 7,500 copies. The first print carries no printing notation on the cover and the indicia shows no 'printing' line (or states 'First Printing, October 2003'). The 'Walking Dead' logo red is the lighter first-print shade. The second print (December 2003) adds a 'Second Printing' notation near the Image logo at the bottom of the cover, the logo red is noticeably darker and almost black, and the indicia explicitly reads 'Second Printing, December 2003.' Later printings (third, fourth) are likewise cover-marked. A known first-print color error exists in which 'Mature Readers' prints in black on a minority of copies.

## Is this the true first?
True first appearance of Rick Grimes. The direct edition with the Image logo is standard; a genuine 2003 newsstand copy with a UPC barcode is far scarcer. Any newsstand premium attaches only to the first print.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition. The key trap is paying first-print prices for a marked later printing or a later-printing newsstand copy. Confirm there is no printing notation anywhere and that the logo is the lighter first-print red rather than the darker second-print red.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Walking Dead #1* by Robert Kirkman & Tony Moore a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-walking-dead-1
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.