Honestly, if you were a fan of extreme horror and transgressive fiction back in the late 2000s, you remember the chaos surrounding Jack Ketchum’s work. He was the "scariest guy in America" according to Stephen King. But among his bibliography, one specific release still causes confusion and high eBay bidding wars: The Deal Special Edition.
It wasn’t just a reprint. It was a statement.
The original version of The Deal (also known by its original title Breeding) hit the market with a specific kind of raw, visceral energy that Ketchum was known for. But when the Special Edition was announced, it promised something more for the "true" fans. We aren't just talking about a fancy cover or a few extra commas. This release represented a collision between independent publishing prestige and a subgenre of horror that was rapidly moving from the underground to the mainstream.
What Actually Is The Deal Special Edition?
Let's get the facts straight because people mix this up all the time. The Deal Special Edition primarily refers to the 2011 release from Cemetery Dance Publications. For those who don't know, Cemetery Dance is basically the gold standard for high-end horror collectibles. They don't just print books; they craft artifacts.
This edition was different from the mass-market paperbacks you’d find at a dusty airport bookstore. It featured a brand-new introduction by the legendary Edward Lee. If you know Lee’s work, you know he doesn't do "mild." His introduction provided a layer of context that reframed the entire narrative of the book, positioning it as a pivotal moment in Ketchum's later career.
It was also signed. This is the big kicker. The limited quantities—usually restricted to a few hundred copies for the "Limited" and even fewer for the "Lettered" editions—bore the actual ink of Jack Ketchum (Dallas Mayr) himself.
Why the 2011 Release Matters So Much
You have to look at the timing. By 2011, Ketchum was seeing a massive resurgence. Movies like The Girl Next Door and The Woman were putting his name in front of audiences who had never stepped foot in a specialty horror shop.
The story itself follows a professional killer and a woman who becomes his protege, but it's really about the psychological erosion of morality. It's bleak. It’s hard to read in places. The Special Edition leaned into that discomfort. It wasn't trying to be accessible. It was trying to be definitive.
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The production value was insane. We are talking about:
- High-quality acid-free paper that doesn't yellow after three years on a shelf.
- Custom endpapers that you won't find in any other version.
- A dust jacket that actually feels like a piece of art rather than a marketing flyer.
The Scarcity Myth vs. Reality
People often ask if The Deal Special Edition is actually rare. Yes and no.
If you're looking for the trade hardcover, you can find it if you're willing to shell out about $50 to $100. But the true special editions—the ones leather-bound and tray-cased—are ghosts. They rarely hit the open market. When they do, they vanish into private collections.
I've seen collectors track these for years. It's not just about the story. You can read the story on a Kindle for ten bucks. It's about owning a piece of the Ketchum legacy. Since his passing in 2018, the value of signed editions like this has stabilized at a very high plateau. There are no more signatures coming. The ink has dried for the last time.
Comparing the Editions
It’s easy to get lost in the bibliography.
- First, there was the 2006 paperback release.
- Then, the 2011 Cemetery Dance Special Edition.
- Finally, various international versions that sometimes used the title Breeding.
If you're a serious collector, the 2011 version is the only one that truly captures the "Special Edition" moniker with any weight. The others are just reprints. The Cemetery Dance version included a long-lost short story as a "bonus," which, for Ketchum completists, was the equivalent of finding a deleted scene from a masterpiece film.
The Psychological Weight of the Content
Let's be real for a second. The Deal Special Edition is not for everyone.
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Ketchum’s prose is deceptive. It’s simple. It’s lean. He learned from Hemingway, but he applied those lessons to the darkest corners of human behavior. In The Deal, he explores the "contract" between people. Sometimes that's a literal hitman's contract. Sometimes it's the unspoken agreement between two people who realize they both enjoy the same dark things.
The reason this specific edition resonates is that it treats the material with a certain level of dignity. Often, "extreme" horror is packaged in cheap, garish covers that look like B-movie posters. This edition went the opposite way. It looked like a classic. It felt like a literary work, which forced the reader to confront the violence as something more than just "slasher" fodder.
What Most People Get Wrong
A common misconception is that the Special Edition changed the ending. It didn't.
What it did change was the pacing through slight editorial tweaks that Ketchum had wanted to make since the first print run. He was a notorious tinkerer. He’d look at a sentence from five years ago and hate it. So, while the plot remains the same, the "Special" part of the edition is really the "Author's Preferred Text." It's the cleanest, sharpest version of the vision he had in his head.
How to Spot a Fake or "Pretender" Edition
Because the secondary market is so aggressive, you'll see people listing the standard hardcover as "Special." Don't fall for it.
True The Deal Special Edition markers:
- Look for the Cemetery Dance logo on the spine.
- Check for the signature page. If it's a "tipped-in" sheet, make sure it matches the 2011 date.
- The ISBN should specifically correlate to the limited run, not the mass-market version.
- The presence of the Edward Lee introduction is the biggest "tell." If that intro isn't there, you're holding a standard reprint.
The Value of the "Lettered" Copies
For the high-rollers, the Lettered editions of The Deal Special Edition (usually marked A-Z) are the crown jewels. These weren't just signed; they were hand-crafted with different materials, often including leather or unique cloth bindings that the Limited (numbered) versions didn't have.
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If you ever see one of these at a garage sale or a small-town used bookstore, buy it. Immediately. You’re looking at a return on investment that beats most stocks.
Actionable Insights for Collectors and Readers
If you're looking to add this to your shelf or just want to experience Ketchum's work at its peak, here is how you handle the search.
Check Specialty Forums First
Don't just rely on eBay. Sites like the Cemetery Dance community forums or specialized horror book groups on social media are better. The people there know the value and usually take better care of the books.
Verify the Condition of the Slipcase
For The Deal Special Edition, the slipcase is half the value. If the book is mint but the case is cracked or sun-faded, you should be paying at least 30% less than the asking price. Collectors are brutal about "shelf wear."
Read the Paperback First
Seriously. Don't drop $200 on a book you might hate. Ketchum is polarizing. He is grim. He is unrelenting. Read the cheap version first to see if his voice speaks to you. If it does, then the investment in the Special Edition becomes a tribute to an author who changed the landscape of the genre.
Watch for Estate Sales
Since Ketchum's passing, many of his contemporary peers and older fans have begun offloading collections. You can sometimes find the 2011 Special Edition bundled with other Cemetery Dance titles like Old Flames or Joyride. Buying in bundles is often the only way to get a fair price in 2026.
The legacy of The Deal Special Edition isn't just about a book on a shelf. It's about the era when horror authors were treated like rock stars, and their work was given the physical prestige it deserved. It remains a high-water mark for Ketchum fans and a haunting reminder of why he was so respected in the field.