{"id":779,"date":"2009-06-12T21:49:07","date_gmt":"2009-06-13T02:49:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/?p=779"},"modified":"2009-06-12T21:49:07","modified_gmt":"2009-06-13T02:49:07","slug":"the-trouble-with-famous-first-editions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/goldenagecomics.org\/wordpress\/2009\/06\/12\/the-trouble-with-famous-first-editions\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trouble with “Famous First Editions”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every\u00a0few weeks I receive an email from someone claiming to have an “original” Batman<\/em> #1, Detective<\/em> #27, Action Comics<\/em> #1 or Superman<\/em>#1 and wanting to know how much it’s worth.\u00a0 My first question is always, “What are the dimensions of your book”.\u00a0 In each instance but one, the reply\u00a0has always been, “10 X 13 1\/2 inches.”\u00a0 My response?\u00a0 “Sorry, you have an over-sized Famous First Edition<\/em> with the outer cover removed.\u00a0 Your book has little value on the collector’s market.”\u00a0\u00a0 Normally these emails are from people who know little about comics and are curious if they have “won the lottery” by finding an original rare comic book from the Golden Age.\u00a0 The other day, however, I received an email from a reader of the blog who asked me the same question, got the same answer (the book in question was 10 X 13 1\/2 inches),\u00a0but who proceeded to relate that this particular book was used to fraudulently induce a well known charity (I won’t name it here) to purchase this book for $3,000.\u00a0 Of course, the book was worth perhaps a few dollars, maybe slightly more.\u00a0 Having heard that story, I decided that a “primer” on the DC Famous First Edition<\/em> comics was in order.\u00a0 Hopefully this will prevent confusion in the collector market in the future.<\/p>\n

\"FFE<\/a>

FFE C-26 (Action Comics #1)<\/p><\/div>\n

Between 1974 and 1979, DC Comics published some really great Golden Age reprints called Famous First Editions<\/em>.\u00a0 These books were treasury sized (10 X 13 1\/2 inches) and were unique in that they reprinted every detail (including ads, etc.), cover to cover, of many of the key DC Golden Age books.\u00a0 They were different from the originals\u00a0because (1) they were much larger than their Golden Age counterparts, and (2) they each had an outer cardboard cover that clearly identified the book as being a reprint and “limited collectors edition”.\u00a0 With the outer cardboard cover removed, these books could be passed off as an original except for the larger size.\u00a0 Unfortunately, over the years some unscrupulous types have removed the cardboard covers and tried to pass these off as\u00a0original Golden Age books.\u00a0 Recognizing the potential for this fraudulent activity, the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide<\/em> has for years printed a warning along with the description of the original book to make certain it is clear that these reprints exist and look like the originals.\u00a0 Overstreet<\/em> has also indicated that with the outer cover removed, these books have little or no value.\u00a0 Caveat Emptor<\/em>!<\/p>\n

\"FFE<\/a>

FFE C-28 (Detective Comics #27)<\/p><\/div>\n

The Famous First Edition (“FFE”)<\/em>\u00a0series was part of the larger Limited Collectors’ Edition<\/em> series started by DC in 1973 (The series was later changed to All-New Collectors’ Edition <\/em>in 1978).\u00a0 These were all treasury sized books and are currently highly sought by collectors.\u00a0 The numbering of these books can always be found on the outside cover and starts with a “C” or an “F”.\u00a0 The first three issues in the FFE <\/em>series carry the “C” prefix, with five carrying the “F” prefix, followed by the final issue again having a “C” prefix.\u00a0 Several of these issues were also printed with a special hardbound cover and dust jacket.\u00a0 Following is a complete list of the FFE<\/em> issues published by DC:<\/p>\n