FANTASTIC FOUR #138

Cover shows strong gloss and bright, unfaded colors with sharp corners and clean edges; no visible creases or color breaks. There is minor edge wear at the top corners and a slight softness along the spine, but no major stress lines visible. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve, which obscures fine surface texture detail. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed.

Fantastic Four #138 (September 1973) arrived during Gerry Conway's run as writer, with pencils by John Buscema and inks by Joe Sinnott, continuing Marvel's flagship team title into its second decade. The issue pits the team against the recurring subterranean villain Mole Man, one of the FF's earliest antagonists dating back to the series' first issue, and is representative of the character-driven, action-forward storytelling that defined the title's Bronze Age stretch. It carries no first appearance, death, or other landmark event that collectors track as a key moment in Marvel history.

Market data reflects this: certified sales cluster modestly across the mid grades, with values rising sharply only at the top of the census, where 9.8 copies are scarce relative to the overall population of graded books. Demand is driven primarily by Fantastic Four run-builders and Bronze Age completists rather than speculators chasing a specific character or creator milestone, and the presence of John Buscema pencils gives it some incremental appeal to art-focused buyers assembling his FF work.

The book trades as a steady, unspectacular mid-run title: raw copies in worn condition are inexpensive pickup material for run collectors, while mid-grade raw copies see modest but consistent turnover. High-grade certified examples, especially 9.8, command a real premium due to relative scarcity at the top of the census, making them the primary target for collectors seeking to complete a graded Fantastic Four set rather than casual buyers.