Second Printings and Reprints: Whats the Difference?

One of the more common questions to come up with new collectors, speculators, or buyers in the comic book collecting world is the subject of second prints. When a book sells in high velocity with relation to its anticipated print run, the publisher inevitably orders up a second printing. So the question arises: Are second printings worth buying?

The Difference Between Reprint and Second Printing

The Flash New 52 #1 Second Printing

In a world where terminology is pretty much everything, reprint and second prints can get a bit
confusing. The basic difference is that second printings, third printings, and even in some cases fourth printings are released in rapid succession of the first printing. Plus, the issue is nearly identical to the first printing. That "nearly" is important, because there are usually notations in the UPC code, the color of the book, or some other inkling to let buyers and collectors easily identify the comic as a second print or beyond.

Action Comics #1 50th Anniversary Reprint

Reprints can be printed at a much later, sometimes years later, date. For example, the Marvel Milestones collection is a reprint of some of the most key issues in Marvel Comics history. While still ranging in value from twice cover price to the $15 range, the Milestone issues with those awfully sensitive gray borders BTW, are worth a fraction of the actual issue being mirrored. The same can be said for Action Comics #1 which has seen a few different printings over the years, which is important because not a lot of collectors can plunk down thousands (and yes sometimes millions) of dollars for a comic.

So Really What’s the Deal?

Like all things in the comic book collecting world, the value of second printings is something of a crap shoot. In most cases, the second printing is not nearly as valuable as the first printing. However, like every other industry, there are exceptions to this rule where the second printing (or any additional printings) can dwarf the first printing in value simply because of scarcity.

One example in particular is Gotham City Sirens #1, where the second printing is worth about $10 more, according to Comic Book Realm, and another example, and one of the most sought after examples, is Superman: Man of Steel #18 (the first full appearance of Doomsday) where the fourth printing is way more valuable than even the first.

That’s the Opposite of What I Thought Though?

Hold on there buddy, and cool off those jets so to speak. Just because there are exceptions to the rule does not in any way mean that exception applies to all second printings and beyond. The vast majority of second printings hold a fraction of the value of first printings, especially on books with large print runs. The downside is that it’s really too late when the second printing arrives to know if speculators and hoarders have driven the price of an issue out of the stratosphere or if the book is really valuable. There’s always a catch after all.

The thing is, the number of copies (aka the print run) of the second printing can be a serious factor in driving up the price of a second print, or a third print, or beyond. It's all about the scarcity factor and demand for that particular issue.

So the final word is pretty much the only word-- Buy what you like and buy what you can afford. Collect what you like, and let your geek show on your own terms. The secondary market always sorts itself out after a while, and that can take weeks or even years. Second printings and reprints are great ways to experience some great stories without investing a ton of cash--usually.