Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 8/78 · NEWSSTAND
UNIT ECA-009068
KULL THE DESTROYER #28
Late-run Bronze Age Kull featuring Thulsa Doom, with cover and interior art by Ernie Chan
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | August 1978 | Bronze | Newsstand | — | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and vivid color with sharp corners; a small vertical crease is visible near the left edge below the price box, and there is minor rubbing along the spine. The book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of edges. No major creases, tears, or stains are visible on the front cover; interior and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $2 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $5 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $95 |
// Archive commentary
Kull the Destroyer #28 arrived late in Marvel's run adapting Robert E. Howard's Atlantean king, published in August 1978 under writer Don Glut with art and cover by Ernie Chan, a mainstay penciler-inker on the title during this period. The issue features the recurring villain Thulsa Doom, the sorcerer-antagonist who would later gain wider pop-culture recognition through the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film, though this appearance predates and is unrelated to that adaptation. The book represents a competent but unremarkable entry in a series that never achieved the sales or cultural footprint of Marvel's Conan line, and it carries no first appearances, deaths, or other landmark content that would elevate it beyond its place as a mid-to-late-run issue.
Market data reflects a book with minimal collector demand: census population is small across all graded tiers, and recorded sales are sparse, with only a handful of transactions logged at each grade level. The pricing curve shows a pronounced spike at the top certified grade, but this is a function of scarcity among the few surviving 9.8 copies rather than broad-based demand, since raw and lower-grade certified copies trade for only a few dollars. Thulsa Doom's name recognition provides a modest, secondary interest driver for Howard/sword-and-sorcery completists, but it has not translated into meaningful price appreciation for this specific issue.
This book will primarily interest Kull and Ernie Chan completists, Robert E. Howard adaptation collectors, and dealers filling out Bronze Age sword-and-sorcery runs rather than investment-focused buyers. Raw copies in low and mid grades are readily available and inexpensive, making them accessible entry points for series collectors, while the small number of high-grade certified slabs command outsized premiums driven by scarcity rather than demand depth. Expect this title to remain a low-value, low-volume trader outside of the rare high-grade sale.
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-009068 | ~8.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
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