KULL THE CONQUEROR #9

Cover shows sharp corners, strong color and gloss with no visible spine ticks or stress lines in this image. The direct-market Spider-Man head logo box is intact and clean, and there is no visible creasing, staining, or edge chipping. Book appears to be in a protective sleeve, which limits full assessment of surface sheen and interior; back cover and interior pages were not evaluated.

The ninth issue of Marvel's third Kull the Conqueror series carries "The Sword of Gonra," written by Alan Zelenetz with pencils by John Buscema, inks by Mel Candido, and color by Marie Severin, under editors Ralph Macchio and Jim Shooter. Robert E. Howard's Atlantean king is drawn back into court intrigue and old legend after Brule the Spear-Slayer departs Valusia, with Ridondo and Tu filling out the familiar supporting cast. The cover is by Barry Windsor-Smith, whose association with Howard adaptations at Marvel dates to the earliest Conan work, and his participation here is the issue's principal draw beyond the run itself.

The title was a late, short-lived revival that ran only ten issues and was published into a market already contracting around Marvel's barbarian line, so print runs and survival rates are modest by Copper Age standards. That scarcity does not translate into strong dollars: raw copies circulate freely and cheaply through dealer inventory and online marketplaces, and the book is bought as a run filler far more often than as a standalone target. Certified copies are the exception rather than the rule, and the small census means high-grade examples are priced less by comparable sales than by submission cost and the willingness of a Windsor-Smith cover collector to bid.

Buyers divide into two groups: Howard and sword-and-sorcery completists assembling the full 1983-85 run, who are grade-tolerant and price-sensitive, and cover-artist collectors chasing Windsor-Smith production work, who concentrate entirely at the top of the scale. The result is a flat curve across low and mid grades, where condition barely changes the transaction, and a sharp step at the certified near-mint level. Sellers with clean, well-centered copies of a book this readily available should expect the market to reward certification only at the very top of the grading scale.