FANTASTIC FOUR #247

Graded at 8.5 (VF+) on 2026-11-03, from new photos taken out of the sleeve: front, back and interior page. Pages cream to light tan. Outer corners lightly blunted, the top one most. Narrow pale strip down the front at the spine. Spine free of color-breaking ticks. No writing on the three spreads shown, ad coupons uncut.

Fantastic Four #247 (October 1983) arrives in the middle of John Byrne's celebrated run on the title, following directly on the heels of the acclaimed "Trial of Reed Richards" arc and the introduction of Terrax the Tamer as Galactus's newest herald. Byrne wrote, penciled, and inked the issue himself, continuing the tight authorial control that defined his tenure and made this stretch of Fantastic Four one of the most respected creative runs of the Bronze Age. The issue is not a first appearance or origin story, but it is a representative chapter of a run widely regarded by collectors as a high point for the team's mythology and visual storytelling.

Market data show a book that behaves like a well-regarded but non-key Bronze Age direct-market issue: modest raw values across low and mid grades, with real value concentrated at the top of the certified population. The 9.8 census is substantial relative to total graded copies, indicating the issue was well preserved by speculators and direct-market buyers at the time, which caps upside even for top-graded slabs relative to true keys of the era. Demand is driven primarily by Byrne-run completists and Fantastic Four team collectors rather than by first-appearance or character-milestone buyers.

This is a book collected as part of a run rather than chased individually, so raw copies in low and mid grade move slowly and at modest prices, mostly to readers and run-builders. CGC 9.8 copies see steadier, more active trading, reflecting demand from Byrne-era specialists and registry set builders who want the highest certified grade of a well-executed but non-key issue. Expect stable, unspectacular appreciation tied to broader Byrne-FF-run interest rather than sharp key-issue-style spikes.