Limited to only 50 copies, this ashcan edition predates the original first issue in 1988. While many were given out to individual creators and distributors as gifts, 25 copies were signed by Polio creators Bob Polio and George Suarez and were offered through the NEC Catalog in 1996.
Meet the Tick! He's nigh-invulnerable and on his way to destiny. Bored in the asylum the Tick breaks out. The city needs him, its protector, its superhero! While stampeding from rooftop to rooftop using his secret crime viewfinder he comes across what he hates most, ninjas. The fight leads the Tick to a familiar diner scene where he blacks out only to awake on the train tracks being saved by the mysterious Caped Wonder. Is the city big enough for two superheros?
*A mysterious blue superhero comes to THE CITY to fight crime and to protect the weak and oppressed. Is he insect or is he man? Only his psychologist knows for sure. This issue marks the first comic book appearance of the Tick, Ninjas, Clark Oppenhiemer, Shing, and the incredible offbeat storytelling of Ben Edlund. *Source: necpress.com