In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually presenting either a complete miniseries, a story arc from a single title, or a series of stories with an arc or common theme. A trade paperback may reproduce the stories either at the same size in which they were originally presented (in comic book format), in a smaller "digest-sized" format, or a larger-than-original hardcover. This article applies to both paperback and hardcover collections. In the comics industry, the term "trade paperback market" may refer to the market for any collection, regardless of its actual cover. A trade paperback differs from a graphic novel in that a graphic novel is usually original material. It is also different from the publishing term trade paperback, which is a book with a flexible cardstock cover that is larger than the standard mass market paperback format. History For many years, trade paperbacks were mainly used to reprint older comic-book stories that were no longer available to the average reader. Original copies of those stories were scarce, and often very expensive when found due to their rarity. In 1954, "the first mass-market paperback reprints of American comic book material" began with "The MAD Reader, published by Ballantine Books". The reprint collections of Mad in the late 1950s and early 1960s increased their popularity. In the 1960s and 1970s, Marvel Comics (first through Lancer Books and then through the Fireside Books imprint) published trade paperbacks which were collections around specific themes such as battles, villains and individual characters. After Marvel's success with their Fireside Books collections, DC Comics began publishing similar themed collections through Warner Books. In 1981, the Great Superman Comic Book Collection was "the first DC comic book collection in the modern tradition". "These collections of reprints were united by their title character or series but only accidentally had any commonality of story or theme, and their existence as books was clearly an afterthought". The growth of trade paperbacks and graphic novels in the 1980s allowed smaller publishers to flourish. In 1981, Warp Graphics's Elfquest series "landed in bookstores" as full color trade paperback collections – "it was the first graphic novel series to push its way out of the comic book marketplace". The success of series such as Mirage Studios' Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dave