TMNT Vol. I #1 (Mirage) 1st Printing Authentication

“How can I verify that a copy of TMNT #1 is a 1st Printing?” That’s the question I hear most often from collectors – and, of course, it’s a very important question to ask, especially if you’re seeking to buy such a sought-after and valuable collectible. It’s critical for collectors to find an accurate and concise answer they can rely on for authentication without having to decipher what’s actually true – and what’s not.

Historically, the most common method of TMNT #1 1st Printing authentication has been to simply look for the Gobbledygook #1 & #2 ad on the interior/inside back cover. While that’s definitely one of the first things to look for, it should never be used as the only verification method when dealing with raw/un-graded copies. Recent counterfeits have surfaced that have this Gobbledygook ad depicted but, upon careful inspection, the copyright date shown at the bottom of the ad is incorrect and the price on the back cover is missing; very minor details that, if gone unnoticed, would be disastrous for potential buyers. Also, the Gobbledygook ad method doesn’t assist at all with identification of pre-graded (slabbed) copies when you need to ensure that the book inside hasn’t been switched out by some nefarious scammer or scheme. Careful study of the exterior cover is a crucial step in authentication, especially since so many copies of TMNT #1 1st Printing on the market today have already been graded. 

CGC does a really good job of identifying counterfeit copies of TMNT #1. As long as the exterior cover passes all the criteria, you can have confidence in buying a pre-graded copy. However, there are still a significant amount of raw/ungraded copies of TMNT #1 1st Printing out there. When you come across one, that’s when you need information about the interior pages in order to fully authenticate it. We now know SO MUCH MORE about TMNT #1 after the negatives used to produce the 1st & 2nd Printings surfaced a few years ago. There are so many unique and intriguing aspects on the interior pages that can be used to confidently identify a 1st Printing; most of which were previously unknown – or at least undocumented. 

I’ve spent years carefully studying and documenting TMNT #1 and have become an expert in the identification and authentication of TMNT #1 1st Printings. While I’ve made a lot of my findings public through a series of articles about the TMNT #1 Production Negatives, I’ve never previously compiled and published a single and concise guide to authenticating TMNT #1 1st Printings. So, whether it’s out of curiosity or necessity that drives you to seek this information, I’m excited to present THE definitive guide to authentication of TMNT #1 1st Printings…

COVER

1. 1. Validate the cover is a 1st Printing cover.
      • EXTERIOR
        • FRONT 
          1. Use this guide for exterior front cover identification.
        • BACK
          1. No scraping/scratching/blurring running horizontal through center/middle.
          2. Fine red/white crosshatching present throughout Shredder’s shadow.
          3. Copyright year of “1984” in lower left corner with “$1.50” price below the year.
      • INTERIOR
        • FRONT
          1. No printing designation below “QUENTIN EASTMAN” in upper L. corner (2nd Printing has ”SECOND PRINTING / JUNE, 1984” shown there).
          2. Mirage Studios address is “Dover, New Hampshire” (3rd Printing has “Sharon, Connecticut”).
        • BACK
          1. Ad for Gobbledygook #1 & #2 with copyright year of “1983” at the bottom (2nd Printing has an ad for the T-Shirt Iron-Ons).
          2. Mirage Studios address is “Dover, New Hampshire.”

INTERIOR PAGES

1. 1. Validate ALL of the following unique printing characteristics.
      NOTE: It is the combination of ALL of these characteristics together that properly identifies a 1st Printing since these same characteristics also exist (or have slight variations) in the 2nd Printing.
      • Page 15 – The name “NAGI’S” in the first word bubble.
        • 2nd Printing has the name corrected to be “SAKI’S” and, in the 3rd Printing, the name returns to “NAGI’S.”
      • Page 25 – Presence of a line outside the left-most page boundary (center); caused by how the negatives were stripped.
      • Page 29 – Missing (disconnected) line of artwork in the lower right corner, just above the page number (“29”); caused by a piece of red lithographer’s tape placed on the negative. See this article for more detailed information.
      • Page 33 – Presence of a line outside the left-most page boundary (top); caused by how the negatives were stripped. See this article for more detailed information.
      • Page 35 – Presence of two small lines outside the bottom-most page boundary (right); caused by how the negatives were stripped. See this article for more detailed information.
      • Page 38 – Warped line of the bottom-most art box (left); caused by a defect in either the printing plate or press blanket. See this article for more detailed information.
        • 2nd Printing has the full line – not warped – AND has the presence of two small lines outside the bottom-most page boundary (left & near center); caused by how the negatives were stripped.

Download a handy PDF of this guide!