11 Scribes · All titles · Richard Bachman

The Regulators Common

as Richard Bachman

1996 · Dutton (Dutton Signet, a division of Penguin Books USA / Penguin Group (USA)), New York

First-edition cover of The Regulators — First-edition jacket (first (Wikipedia infobox)) · source

What it’s about

On an ordinary suburban afternoon, the residents of Poplar Street in Wentworth, Ohio find their quiet cul-de-sac sealed off and besieged by bizarre, brightly colored vans carrying faceless gunmen who open fire without warning. As the neighborhood is steadily warped into a violent, cartoon-tinged nightmare landscape, the surviving families must figure out what unseen force has trained its appetite on their street — and why it seems tied to a young autistic boy in one of the houses.

Significance Published under King's "Richard Bachman" pen name as the mirror-twin companion to "Desperation" (both released the same day in 1996), sharing the villain Tak and a cast of recycled character names deployed in completely different roles — a collector's pairing meant to be read side by side; first editions famously feature interlocking cover art.

Is this the true first?Yes. The Dutton trade hardcover IS the true first edition / first printing of THE REGULATORS. There is no earlier paperback or small-press original of the text. The only editions issued alongside it are the Dutton/Charnel House signed LIMITEDs (a 500-copy NUMBERED edition in a MotoKops toy box and a 52-copy LETTERED edition with bullets, total 552, separate ISBN 0525942245/0525942246) in the same year; the trade hardcover is the standard first edition and is what collectors mean by "the first."
The trade hardcover is the true first. Unlike its companion DESPERATION (Viking), THE REGULATORS carries the Richard Bachman byline and was published by Dutton. No Doubleday/Grant/Philtrum/Land-of-Enchantment precursor exists for this title. The Dutton/Charnel House signed limited (552 total: 500 numbered + 52 lettered, produced by Joe Stefko's Charnel House for Dutton/Penguin) is a same-year collectible companion, not a textual precursor — the trade first printing is the standard true first. Cross-confirmed by stephenking.com "Identifying first editions" plus dealer first-edition summaries (Robert Gavora, Hermitage, Rare Book Cellar, Biblio/Geoffrey's Rare Books).

I own a copy of this title

My notes — condition, state, price intact, is it a book-club copy?

First-printing points at a glance

First-printing statementCopyright page states "First Trade Printing, October, 1996" (some dealers render it without the comma, "First Trade Printing, October 1996"). This wording PLUS the full number line ending in 1 marks the first printing. Confirmed independently across multiple dealers (Robert Gavora, Hermitage, Rare Book Cellar, Biblio/Geoffrey's) and the official stephenking.com guide.

Number line"10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" on the copyright page. A first printing shows the numeral 1 present; the lowest number present marks the printing, so the 1 is removed/replaced for later printings (e.g., a "2" lowest = second printing). For The Regulators the first-printing row is the descending "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1." Cross-confirmed by multiple independent dealer first-edition descriptions and the stephenking.com guide.

Gutter / printer codeN/A (Dutton 1996 — no Doubleday-style gutter date code; first printing is identified by the "First Trade Printing, October, 1996" statement plus the number-line 1, and the jacket "0996" lower-flap code.)

First printing — copiesNot publicly disclosed

First jacket price$24.95 (Front dust-jacket flap (printed "$24.95"), upper front flap. Cross-confirmed by multiple independent AbeBooks/dealer listings ("Publisher's price intact on front jacket flap ($24.95)" / Ernestoic, Robert Gavora) and the official stephenking.com guide. A price-clipped flap hides this and lowers value; the related "0996" first-state code sits on the LOWER front flap.)

Board (panel) colorRed / red-orange boards (dealers variously call them "red," "red-orange," or "orange"). The author's initials are DEBOSSED (pressed in) at the LOWER-RIGHT of the FRONT board as a publisher design feature — confirmed by independent dealers ("author's initials debossed on the lower right of the front board," Biblio/Geoffrey's). Do not confuse this intentional front-board initials stamp with a book-club blind-stamp, which sits on the REAR board.

Spine / center bindingTan quarter-cloth spine (contrasting the red/orange boards), with BRIGHT/ELECTRIC BLUE (metallic-blue) spine lettering. NOTE: this corrects the draft, which said "silver." Independent dealer descriptions (Biblio/Geoffrey's: "bright blue title... to the spine"; multiple AbeBooks: "metallic blue" / "electric-blue lettering to spine") predominantly report blue; a minority of sellers say "silver" (likely lighting/fade). Prefer blue.

Binding styleQuarter-bound (two-tone): tan quarter cloth spine over red-orange paper-covered/cloth boards, sewn trade binding ("tan quarter cloth to red-orange boards," per Biblio/Geoffrey's Rare Books). Trim approx. 6.5 x 9.5 x 1.6". 466 numbered pages (Wikipedia/Amazon list 480 pp. counting front matter/end leaves).

Topstain / endpapersEndpapers light blue ("unmarked light blue endpapers," Biblio/Geoffrey's; draft's "sky blue" is consistent). No topstain — top edge is plain (one dealer notes "very light foxing to the top-edge," confirming an unstained top edge). Companion note: Desperation (Viking) uses light-blue boards / tan spine, the mirror of The Regulators' red-orange boards / tan spine.

Where to buy marker-checked

Live AbeBooks listings, checked against the seller's own photos. ✓ confirmed = a photo shows the decisive first-printing marker; cover only = ask the seller for the copyright-page shot before buying.

✓ 1st/1st confirmed$50Dan Pope Booksintact. Decisive first-printing tell is PHOTOGRAPHED and legible. Photo 4 (copyright page, cropped/rotated/upscaled) clearly shows 'First Trade Printi likely first$40Mattabesset Books$24.95 price intact on jacket (seller: 'original price ($24.95) intact'); back-jacket price box visible in Photo 3, ISBN 0-525-94190-6 confirms US Dut photos unclear$31.50MySEAbooksunclipped (seller text only; $24.95 not shown in any photo). NO seller photos on this listing. Hero image is AbeBooks' generic placeholder (no-image.g

Dust jacket

Front: vivid Mark Ryden pop-surrealist painting (one half of the larger two-book combined image). Rear panel includes a "peek" preview of the companion Desperation cover, so the two books form one continuous painting when shelved together. Front flap carries the $24.95 price (upper) and a "0996" date code (lower). Designed as a mirror/companion to Desperation.

Art / design: Mark Ryden (painter). The Regulators and Desperation jacket paintings are halves of a single combined Ryden image; set side by side the two jackets complete one painting, and each rear panel previews the companion book's cover. Author credit printed as "Richard Bachman" per the pseudonym conceit.

https://www.bookstellyouwhy.com/pages/books/53759/richard-bachman/the-regulators-1st-edition-1st-printing

https://www.robertgavora.com/pages/books/48402/stephen-king-as-richard-bachman/the-regulators

https://www.biblio.com/book/regulators-richard-bachman/d/1400081774

Book-club edition & fakes — how to spot a wrong copyBook Club Edition tells for THIS title: (1) NO price on the front jacket flap — the most reliable tell (first-printing trade jackets show "$24.95"); also the "0996" lower-front-flap date code is absent on BCE jackets. (2) BCE jacket flap may state "Book Club Edition." (3) A small blind-stamp (indented dot/square/circle) typically on the REAR board lower-right — this is the BCE stamp, NOT the intentional author-initials mark DEBOSSED on the FRONT board of trade copies. (4) Smaller trim, thinner/cheaper paper, often glued rather than sewn, lighter weight. (5) A BCE copyright page lacks the "First Trade Printing, October, 1996" line and the full number line ending in 1. The Regulators was a main selection for the Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, Mystery Guild, and Science Fiction Book Club, so BCE copies are common.

Also watch for: Cautions: (1) Married jackets — a later-printing or book-club jacket on a first-printing book (verify "$24.95" AND the "0996" lower-flap code; a price-clipped flap can hide a BCE swap). (2) Price-clipped jackets — corner cut removes the $24.95 (and proof of first state) and lowers value. (3) BCE sold as a "first" — check for the no-price flap and rear-board blind-stamp. (4) Ex-library — stamps, pockets, spine labels; sharply reduced value. (5) Remainder marks on the bottom edge. (6) Do NOT confuse the intentional front-board DEBOSSED author-initials mark (trade design feature) with a book-club blind-stamp (rear board). (7) Companion-set inflation — sellers pair it with Desperation; verify each book's first-edition status independently (Desperation: Viking, "First published in 1996 by Viking Penguin," number line "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1," $27.95). (8) Spine-lettering claims — a first shows BLUE spine lettering; treat "silver" descriptions as seller error/lighting, not a separate state.

Print run & scarcity

Format note: published Sept 24, 1996 simultaneously with its "mirror" novel Desperation (Putnam). The TRADE first edition is a standard hardcover (first printing identified by full number line and "First Edition" / "FIRST PRINTING" statement) — no copy count was announced by Dutton, and rare-book listings (AbeBooks, Books Tell You Why, Robert Gavora) cite no print-run figure, only edition/printing points. The collectible LIMITED edition is the signed "MotoKops 2200 Power Wagon Power Wagon" toy-box slipcase issue: ~500 numbered copies (Heritage: "number 69 of a 500 limited"), with the full signed run reported by some dealers (Burnside) as 552 copies, each carrying a facsimile check tipped to the limitation page, signed by King as Richard Bachman. No lettered subset count separately documented in the quick search. If a precise trade figure is required, it is not reliably published.

First-state points & errata

First-state point reported by dealers: a "0996" date code printed on the LOWER front dust-jacket flap (denoting Sept. 1996 jacket production), corroborated across independent dealer summaries. Combined with "First Trade Printing, October, 1996" + the number-line 1, this identifies a first-state first printing. No documented text-errata/typo state changes separate first-state from later-state first printings of this title (no text-errata state found in any source — treat any such claim as UNVERIFIED). The single most distinctive design feature is the companion-painting jacket: The Regulators and Desperation, set side by side, complete one Mark Ryden painting, and each rear panel previews the other book's cover (confirmed by Wikipedia and multiple dealers).

Limited & signed editions

Dutton / Charnel House signed LIMITED, 1996, total 552 copies in TWO states (NOT a single 552-copy run): (A) NUMBERED edition of 500 copies (ISBN 0525942245/0525942246) — hand-bound in red German Iris linen with a SILVER-stamped black Morocco leather inlay on the front board (corrects draft's "gilt-stamped"), black ribbon marker, issued WITHOUT a dust jacket inside a custom "MotoKops 2200 Power Wagon" toy-box presentation case (the box bound in black German Iris linen with an illustrated top and black silk pull); issue price ~$325. (B) LETTERED edition of 52 copies (A-ZZ) — hand-bound in brown Morocco leather with embedded spent Winchester .30-caliber bullets protruding from the front cover, housed in a wooden box; issue price ~$1,500. Both signed by King AS "Richard Bachman" on a tipped-in FAKE (cancelled) CHECK mounted on the limitation/first leaf — each check made out to a different recipient, different amount, with handwritten date/memo. Produced by Joe Stefko's Charnel House for Dutton/Penguin; editor's note by Charles Verrill. Named "Most Collectible Book of the Year 1996." A fine numbered example sold ~$1,700 (2018).

Market value confirmed sales

$40–90 (genuine first trade printing, Fine/Fine, unclipped $24.95 jacket). Pristine "as new" copies occasionally $100–125. NOTE: the signed limited ed. of 552 is a separate object at ~$1,200–2,000.

Assumes a genuine first edition / first printing in near-fine to fine condition (clean copy, unclipped jacket). Lesser condition is worth less.

Confirmed sales: 1) Signed limited edition (1 of 552, signed as Bachman on tipped-in fake check, in issued toy/presentation box, no DJ as issued) — SOLD $1,700, Fine/Fine, "Most Collectible Book of 1996" (VeryFineBooks documented record, ~2018 reference). 2) Trade first, F/F unclipped — dealer-realized / eBay sold range consistently ~$30–75 (multiple AbeBooks/Biblio/eBay sold listings, 2023–2025). No genuine trade-first lot located in Heritage or PBA archives — absence itself is evidence the plain trade first is a sub-$100 common book, not an auction property. Only the $1,700 limited is a firm individual sold comp; the trade range is a dealer/eBay-sold consensus, not a single fabricated lot.

Book-club edition (the trap): $5–15. Book-club edition (Literary Guild / Doubleday Book Club / Mystery Guild / SFBC main selection — VERY common). Worthless as a "first"; this is the dominant trap copy for this title. — a fraction of a true first; never pay first-edition money for one.

Condition sensitivity is modest because the trade first is common — value lives almost entirely in the signed-limited and in true-new/sealed trade copies; a reading copy is ~$10–20. Signed/inscribed: King's autograph as "Richard Bachman" is scarce and is the real premium — a trade first authentically signed runs several hundred to ~$1,000+ (authentication essential; many "signed" listings are unverified). The #1 thing separating a real first from the mislisted copies of THIS title: it was a multi-book-club main selection, so BCEs flood the market mislabeled as firsts. A genuine first MUST have (a) the full number line ending "1", (b) "First Trade Printing, October 1996" on the copyright page, (c) the UNCLIPPED $24.95 price and the 0996 date code on the lower front jacket flap, and (d) NO book-club blind-stamp/dot on the rear board. IGNORE the generic "Doubleday gutter code" check — this is a DUTTON book; that point does not exist for this title and its presence in a listing is itself a red flag of a copy-paste/fake description. Bonus collector point (not a value driver): the wraparound jacket art (Mark Ryden) mirrors Desperation when shelved spine-to-spine.

Value sources:

Sources

Verification notes: VERIFY PASS (adversarial). Two-source rule met on all critical fields with INDEPENDENT sources not in the original draft. PRICE $24.95 front flap — Ernestoic/AbeBooks AND stephenking.com guide AND Robert Gavora summary. NUMBER LINE "10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1" — Biblio/Geoffrey's AND multiple AbeBooks first-edition summaries. COPYRIGHT STATEMENT "First Trade Printing, October, 1996" — Biblio/Geoffrey's ("'First Trade Printing, October, 1996' and a full number line to 1") AND dealer summaries.
DISCREPANCIES CORRECTED vs draft: (1) SPINE LETTERING — draft said "silver embossed/gilt-stamped"; independent dealers (Biblio/Geoffrey's "bright blue title... to the spine"; AbeBooks "metallic blue"/"electric-blue lettering to spine") predominantly report BLUE. Preferred sources; recorded silver as a minority/lighting artifact. (2) FRONT-BOARD MARK — refined from "blind-stamped/embossed" to DEBOSSED (pressed-in) author initials, per Biblio/Geoffrey's exact wording. (3) ENDPAPERS — "light blue" per Geoffrey's (draft "sky blue" harmonized). (4) LIMITED EDITION — draft conflated "552 numbered/lettered copies (in a MotoKops toy box)"; the Dark Tower Palaver collector wiki + Charnel House/Suntup interview + Hyraxia split it into 500 NUMBERED (toy-box, red German Iris linen, ~$325) + 52 LETTERED A-ZZ (brown Morocco + Winchester .30-cal bullets, wooden box, ~$1,500); total 552. (5) NUMBERED INLAY — Palaver says "SILVER stamped black Morocco leather inlay" (draft said gilt). (6) PAGE COUNT — 466 numbered pages (draft) vs 480 pp. (Wikipedia/Amazon, incl. front matter); both retained. (7) PUB DATE — Wikipedia gives Sept 24, 1996 (jacket/release) while the copyright printing line reads October 1996; not contradictory.
"Variant dust jackets" confirmed to refer to the Regulators/Desperation COMPANION design (two jackets forming one Ryden painting), NOT two states of the Regulators jacket — no documented multiple trade-jacket states found.

confidence: High. Price ($24.95 front flap), copyright statement ("First Trade Printing, October, 1996"), number line ("10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1"), binding (tan quarter cloth / red-orange boards / front-board debossed author initials / light-blue endpapers / plain top edge), and the Mark Ryden companion-jacket design are cross-confirmed across multiple INDEPENDENT dealers (Robert Gavora, Hermitage, Rare Book Cellar, Biblio/Geoffrey's, Ernestoic) plus the official stephenking.com guide. CORRECTED vs draft: spine lettering is BLUE not silver (dominant dealer consensus); the limited is 500 numbered + 52 lettered (two states), with the numbered inlay SILVER-stamped (not gilt). Lower-confidence: exact "0996" flap-code placement (dealer-sourced, well-attested) and absence of any text-errata state (none found — UNVERIFIED).← Back to all titles