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Strange Tales #185 front cover

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~8.5 AI-Estimated
Approximate
Condition Profile
STRANGE TALES #185
MARVEL COMICS · 5/76
UNIT ECA-037637

STRANGE TALES #185

Final issue of the original Strange Tales run, May 1976

SIG 2/10 Available

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// Unit specification

PublisherCover dateEraVariantKey attributeStatus
Marvel Comics May 1976 Bronze — — AVAILABLE

// Copies in archive

UnitGradeVariantStatus
ECA-037637 ~8.5 — AVAILABLE

// Run position

// Condition analysis

⚠ AI-Estimated / Approximate Condition Profile

Cover shows strong gloss and vivid color with sharp corners and no visible creases or spine stress. There is minor edge wear at the top right corner and a faint scuff near the lower left corner, plus the book is stored in a protective sleeve which is not part of the grade. No tears, stains, or color breaks are visible on the spine. Interior and back cover were not assessed.

// Valuation — market reference

⚠ AI-Estimated values — approximate, not an appraisal · no market comps found — era-based estimate
BracketGradeEst. market valueMarker
LOW_RAW 0.5 – 1.5 $2
MID_RAW 4.0 – 6.0 $6
HIGH_CERT 9.8 SLAB $85

// Archive commentary

Strange Tales #185 (Marvel Comics, cover-dated May 1976) closed out the first volume of one of Marvel's longest-running anthology titles, a series that began in 1951 and over its life had hosted horror shorts, Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Doctor Strange, and, in its final Bronze Age stretch, a run of new backup features and reprinted material as Marvel wound the numbering down. By 1976 the title had cycled through several identities, and #185 represents the tail end of that publishing history before the Strange Tales name went dormant until its later revival in the 1980s.

As a late-run anthology issue with no first appearance, milestone story, or widely cited cover, the book carries the profile of ordinary Bronze Age reader stock: modest demand, plentiful surviving copies, and pricing anchored close to original cover price in raw grades. It draws interest mainly from completists tracking the full Strange Tales volume-one run or from Doctor Strange and Nick Fury historians rounding out related back issues, rather than from key-issue speculators.

Expect this issue to trade as a filler book in long boxes and dollar bins in lower grades, with modest premiums appearing only for well-preserved raw copies or graded submissions reaching high grades. It is not a book collectors chase for investment purposes; it functions as a supporting piece for those building a complete run of the title or the era's Marvel output rather than a standalone draw.

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