# Is "Tom Strong (Book 1)" by Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Tom Strong (Book 1) by Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse (America's Best Comics / Wildstorm, 1999) is identified by: The true first appearance of the material is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1, cover-dated June 1999, published bi-monthly under the America's Best Comics imprint (an imprint of DC's WildStorm division), written by Alan Moore, penciled by Chris Sprouse, inked by Al Gordon, opening with the story 'How Tom Strong Got Started.' The collected Book 1 hardcover, which gathers issues #1-7, followed in July 2001 (not 2000/2002); it runs about 208 pages in full color with contributing artists including Chris Sprouse, Alan Gordon, Arthur Adams, Gary Frank, Dave Gibbons, and Jerry Ordway, and the first-issue jacket/boards should carry the original printed price. True first is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1 (June 1999).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first appearance of the material is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1, cover-dated June 1999, published bi-monthly under the America's Best Comics imprint (an imprint of DC's WildStorm division), written by Alan Moore, penciled by Chris Sprouse, inked by Al Gordon, opening with the story 'How Tom Strong Got Started.' The collected Book 1 hardcover, which gathers issues #1-7, followed in July 2001 (not 2000/2002); it runs about 208 pages in full color with contributing artists including Chris Sprouse, Alan Gordon, Arthur Adams, Gary Frank, Dave Gibbons, and Jerry Ordway, and the first-issue jacket/boards should carry the original printed price
- Correct publisher/imprint: America's Best Comics / Wildstorm

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse |
| Publisher | America's Best Comics / Wildstorm |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | world edition |
| Format | Comic / graphic novel |
| Key point | The true first appearance of the material is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1, cover-dated June 1999, published bi-monthly under the… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
The true first appearance of the material is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1, cover-dated June 1999, published bi-monthly under the America's Best Comics imprint (an imprint of DC's WildStorm division), written by Alan Moore, penciled by Chris Sprouse, inked by Al Gordon, opening with the story 'How Tom Strong Got Started.' The collected Book 1 hardcover, which gathers issues #1-7, followed in July 2001 (not 2000/2002); it runs about 208 pages in full color with contributing artists including Chris Sprouse, Alan Gordon, Arthur Adams, Gary Frank, Dave Gibbons, and Jerry Ordway, and the first-issue jacket/boards should carry the original printed price.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the single-issue comic Tom Strong #1 (June 1999). The collected Book 1 hardcover (July 2001, collecting #1-7) is first-thus for the collected form.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The later softcover trade paperback of Book 1 and the still-later Tom Strong Deluxe Edition hardcover are reprints/first-thus, not the first collected printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Tom Strong (Book 1)* by Alan Moore & Chris Sprouse a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/tom-strong-book-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.