Dark Knight Triumphant 1st or 2nd print?? 0

[Josh in Japan]

I have a difficult comic book question and I don't know any real experts, so I thought I'd ask you guys. 

 

I'm a Frank Miller fanatic and I had the thrill of my life last month when I got to meet him at the Baltimore Comic Con.  He signed all 4 of original issues of Dark Knight, which I was told when I purchased them that they were all 1st prints.

 

I only recently discovered that there's a chance that Dark Knight Triumphant (book two) might be a second print.  Apparently the only way to tell is that the inside front cover is a darker grey than the first print.  DC never properly marked the second prints, so people have been selling them for years as first prints.

 

If I used my one and only chance to meet Frank Miller and had him sign a second print instead of a first, I'll be crushed.  Still....I have to know the truth!

I did my best to take pics of the inside cover of my book for reference, but I just don't know what I should be looking for, how "dark" the grey is, etc.

Is there anyone that knows for sure, or could I be directed to someone that would be able to help me by looking at my pics?  I've included them in this email, just in case.

 

Thank you very much for taking the time to read this, and if you could help, I'd truly appreciate it!

[Twisted_Road]

Dug for mine, but couldn't find my 2nd print. I can't tell which print you have from the pictures. It looks like you have a 1st print as it seems like the grey matches on both pages. 1st prints have the same grey color on each of the two pages that you have pictured. 2nd prints have a darker grey on page with the half bat symbol. 

[RockMyAmadeus]

That's a first.

The seconds have an OBVIOUS color difference.

As in "so obvious, once you see it, you can't unsee it."

(Why did this post wait 13 hours to get an answer? Buncha slackers.)

Edited November 6, 2018 by RockMyAmadeus

[Josh in Japan]

Thank you....BOTH of you!!

I feel like my butthole has been so clenched it could create a diamond out of coal.

I never got this book for investment...this was MY personal treasure: a set of DK 1-4, all 1st prints.  I didn't even care so much for grade, as long as they were genuine 1st prints.  And then less than a month ago the hand of the master himself scrawled his signature on all four issues.  I'm keeping these til the day I die.

So obviously it was poor research on my part that I only discovered roughly 24 hours ago that second prints weren't clearly marked.  I've been freaking out.  You guys are collectors; you know how that would just "ruin" things in my eyes...gazing lovingly at the set of four but lingering on issue 2...knowing it's an imposter.  What am I supposed to do?  Buy another issue 2 and try to find Frank again?  Just seeing him once nearly wiped me out...that was a once in a lifetime thing for me.

I feel so relieved now...thank you so much for the peace of mind!!   I think I can finally unclench now....

[Twisted_Road]

9 hours ago, Josh in Japan said:

Thank you....BOTH of you!!

I feel like my butthole has been so clenched it could create a diamond out of coal.

I never got this book for investment...this was MY personal treasure: a set of DK 1-4, all 1st prints.  I didn't even care so much for grade, as long as they were genuine 1st prints.  And then less than a month ago the hand of the master himself scrawled his signature on all four issues.  I'm keeping these til the day I die.

So obviously it was poor research on my part that I only discovered roughly 24 hours ago that second prints weren't clearly marked.  I've been freaking out.  You guys are collectors; you know how that would just "ruin" things in my eyes...gazing lovingly at the set of four but lingering on issue 2...knowing it's an imposter.  What am I supposed to do?  Buy another issue 2 and try to find Frank again?  Just seeing him once nearly wiped me out...that was a once in a lifetime thing for me.

I feel so relieved now...thank you so much for the peace of mind!!   I think I can finally unclench now....

Happy to help. To put things in perspective, I bought a 2nd print of that book somewhere around 1987 and I thought it was a 1st because it wasn't labeled as a 2nd print. Back then, nobody wanted 2nd prints. That said, there is a now market for 2nd prints and sometimes 2nd prints command a higher value often due to rarity or a different cover(I still don't get it). A 2nd print CGC 9.8 DKR #2 sold for $100 recently. There are only 14 2nd print 9.8s graded in the census, which might lead some collectors to buy one (rarity or to complete a collection).  Even odder, in my opinion, is that a CGC 9.4 graphic novel that contains all 4 DKR issues sold for $140 (still trying to figure out how that fits in a slab).  That said, congrats on the 1st print.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Twisted_Road