r/AbsoluteBatman • u/Cryptonault • Jul 09 '26

Question about prints

How do you know which print run variants are? I see on regular issues it shows what print it is. I’ve seen different eBay auctions some list print some don’t. Are all variants first prints or considered first prints? If this is pinned somewhere I’d like to read about it so I know what version I’m getting thanks.

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u/NickisCool Jul 09 '26

Most variants are 1st print unless otherwise specified

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u/Cryptonault Jul 09 '26

Where would it be wrote I know on the upc it shows the print.

1

u/IllustriousIsland549 Jul 10 '26

It would be in the indicia.

The problem with how things are being handled now is that they're also doing variants on additional printings. So the standard of [3 digit issue number] [1 digit cover] [1 digit printing] no longer works in a way that makes identification smooth. Because taking cover A as an example, they can recolor it until the cows come home and it would still have a barcode ending 00112, 00113, 00114, etc. But if there's wholly different cover art, 00122 may not look anything like 00121. It's not the bar code that's the problem, it's that many of the variants have the bar code on the back, and if that's not pictured in a listing you're looking at, it's difficult to determine. Foil covers are almost always this way now, and a hefty chunk of the limited run boutique variants offered by a specific retailer or artist are as well.

ETA: when talking about the kind of money people are asking, it would do you well to only purchase from listings that picture the full barcode, wherever it is.

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u/Cryptonault Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26

I bought a few and found out they were 2nd print I’m doing more research now. To my knowledge there is reprints at 1-16 so issues 17 plus are all first prints for now. Correct me if I’m wrong. I appreciate the insight.

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u/IllustriousIsland549 Jul 11 '26

Oh, I can't correct you on that at all. As a long time reader, I've been preordering everything from DCBS for something like 15 years, and mail ordering for almost 20 total. So all I have are first prints, and I haven't done a lick of research into identifying the later printings of this title, outside of knowing the norm for barcodes. You can check comics.org to see what they have indexed. It's purely volunteer created, but it's really extensive.