ICv2 has learned that Barnes & Noble will have an exclusive hardcover edition of the Dark Horse/Digital Manga bestseller Trigun Book 1.  Since Trigun Book 1 has been since last October (and Dark Horse has sold over 80,000 copies of its two Trigun titles so far), this wouldn't appear to be too big of a deal -- except for the fact that the cover price of the Barnes & Noble exclusive hardcover is $11.95 versus the $14.95 cover price for the 360-page trade paperback edition.  The interiors of the two publications should be identical, since in all likelihood, Barnes & Noble is sharing a 'guts' printing with a Dark Horse/Digital Manga reprint -- and then binding it in hardcover.

The Barnes & Noble hardcover Trigun Book 1 should be available exclusively at Barnes & Noble bookstores in August.  With the growing competition between the major book chains, 'exclusive' editions have become an increasingly common element in the mega-chain dust-up.  Barnes & Noble has had a few exclusive Marvel Masterworks paperbacks, while Waldens and Borders have scored manga exclusives on major titles such as Di Gi Charat and Hana-Kimi.