THE INCREDIBLE HULK #297

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or spine stress lines; the reflective black background would readily show white stress marks and none are apparent in this image. Minor edge wear cannot be ruled out due to the protective sleeve glare, and the book is currently bagged which limits full surface inspection. Interior and back cover were not assessed.

The Incredible Hulk #297 arrived in July 1984 during the long, prolific Bill Mantlo/Sal Buscema run that defined the title through much of the early-to-mid 1980s. Mantlo's scripts during this stretch continued to explore the Hulk's fractured psyche and his uneasy relationships with allies like Rick Jones and Doc Samson, while Buscema's kinetic, workmanlike art remained the visual backbone of the series. This issue is a representative entry from that era rather than a storyline milestone, with no first appearance, death, or origin material attached to it.

Market data for this issue is thin, consistent with its status as a mid-run Copper Age comic that collectors pursue mainly as part of a complete Hulk run rather than as a standalone target. The sole certified sale on record, a high-grade copy trading in the $70 range, indicates modest but real demand at the top end, while the complete absence of a 9.6 or above population suggests few copies have been submitted for grading, likely reflecting both print durability and limited collector interest in seeking pristine examples of non-key issues from this stretch of the title. Newsstand editions of this vintage are generally more available than direct-market variants but do not command a premium absent a key or classic cover.

This book trades primarily within long-box and complete-run contexts: Hulk completists and Bronze-to-Copper Age run builders are the natural buyers, with raw copies changing hands cheaply at conventions and online marketplaces. A high-grade certified example carries scarcity value simply because so few have been graded, but demand is unlikely to escalate absent new context (such as a modern MCU tie-in or retroactive character significance). Collectors should expect this issue to remain a value-priced addition to a run rather than an independent investment vehicle.