Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 3/85 · NEWSSTAND
UNIT ECA-022260
AVENGERS #253
Roger Stern and John Buscema continue the mid-1980s Avengers roster during the Wundagore Mountain storyline
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | March 1985 | Copper | Newsstand | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-022260 | ~9.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
| ECA-019375 | ~8.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows sharp corners and clean, glossy surface with strong color and no visible spine stress lines or ticks. Slight edge wear may be present at bottom corners but is minimal at this resolution. No creases, tears, or stains observed on the front cover; book is protected in a plastic sleeve. Interior and back cover were not assessed, so grade is based solely on the visible front cover condition.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $2 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $4 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $60 |
// Archive commentary
Avengers #253 (cover-dated March 1985) is a mid-run issue from Roger Stern's extended tenure as the title's writer, with pencils by John Buscema and inks by Tom Palmer. It falls within the multi-issue arc that sends the team back to Wundagore Mountain and re-examines the origins tied to the High Evolutionary, a storyline that ran across several consecutive issues in this stretch of the series. The roster on hand reflects the team's composition in this period, including Captain America, Thor, the Vision, the Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, Starfox, and Monica Rambeau's Captain Marvel.
The issue carries no first appearance, death, or other event typically tracked by price guides, and it has not attracted the kind of sustained collector demand that produces active certified sales records. Its market position is that of a solid but unremarkable installment in a long, well-regarded creative run, valued mainly by readers assembling the complete Stern/Buscema Avengers or filling gaps in a Copper Age run rather than by speculators chasing a specific event.
This is a book that circulates in dealer bins and online lots as reading material and run-filler rather than as a headline item. Raw copies in any condition remain inexpensive and easy to source, and even top-grade certified examples are bought by completists finishing a run rather than by investors, keeping demand modest and steady across all grades.
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