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A Bar Code Trick Revealed!

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SW3D

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How to Identify First Print Editions and Variant Covers Using the Bar Code

Here's a little trick that was revealed to me by the good people at Midtown Comics.

I asked the question: How can I determine if a comic is a first print edition versus a second print edition and if it's a standard cover or a variant cover?

His answer: Check the bar code.

Now let me explain what he meant.

Take the two available covers of Hero Worship Issue 1 published by Avatar Press. One cover depicts Zenith saving a bawling infant from a driverless runaway rig, a second cover depicts Zenith flying over a city, with what appears to be a metal guardrail ripped from a nearby rooftop.

Once again, both covers are from Issue 1, but obviously one of them is a variant cover... but which one? Can you guess? Well there's no need to guess anymore. Here's how to tell them apart...

...On the back covers of each comic, we discover the bar codes. If we match up the bar codes, their number sequences are nearly identical. But if you take a closer look... they're not. What's the difference? On the right-hand top corner of each bar code, you'll discover a five digit number sequence. The bar code on the left has the following sequence of numbers: 01011; the bar code on the right: 01021. The very last number on the extreme right of each sequence, is the number 1, which denotes that each copy to be a first edition or first printing. The second to last number on each sequence, you'll notice a variation. The bar code on the left has a number 1, while the bar code on the right has a number 2. That number 2 signifies it's a variant cover: cover number 2 of print 1.

So now you know how to identify the print edition as well as a cover variant of any comic but checking the bar code.

Note... not all comics have bar codes, especially comics published prior to the mid-70's.

If you have a comic collecting tip to share, please do so... I'm always happy to expand my knowledge of the hobby.

Happy Collecting!

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