Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 9/76
UNIT ECA-009303
TOMB OF DARKNESS #22
Marvel's mid-1970s horror anthology line, late in its original run
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | September 1976 | Bronze | — | — | AVAILABLE |
// Condition analysis
Cover shows mild wear at the top edge with slight fraying, minor whitening/rubbing on the black background near the logo, and a small crease visible on the upper right corner. Corners appear reasonably sharp with only slight blunting, and the spine shows minimal stress with no major ticks visible. Colors remain bright and glossy with no significant fading or staining noted. Interior and back cover were not assessed from this photo.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $4 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $14 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $450 |
// Archive commentary
Tomb of Darkness was one of several black-and-white-influenced horror anthology titles Marvel ran in the black-and-white boom years of the mid-1970s, mixing new short stories with reprints drawn from earlier suspense and mystery lines such as Chamber of Chills and Journey Into Mystery. Issue #22, cover-dated September 1976, arrived late in the title's 29-issue run as the anthology horror wave was beginning to cool and Marvel was consolidating its supernatural line. The book carries no first appearance, origin, or landmark creator work that price guides single out, and its cover, while typical of the era's shock-horror aesthetic, has not achieved recognition as a widely cited classic.
The certified population is extremely small, with only thirteen CGC Universal copies recorded and just a few sales spread across the mid grades, tapering off with no 9.8 or higher ever graded. Pricing at the top of the census sits in the low hundreds of dollars, reflecting the book's status as a minor, lightly collected anthology title rather than an actively pursued key; demand is driven almost entirely by horror-genre completists and Bronze Age Marvel anthology runs rather than any single character or creator draw.
This is a book that trades quietly: raw copies move inexpensively through back-issue bins and online lots, while a true high-grade example is scarce simply because so few copies have ever been submitted for grading, not because of outsized demand. Collectors most likely to seek it out are those building complete runs of Marvel's 1970s horror anthology titles or assembling broader surveys of the era's supernatural comics; a submitted 9.8, should one ever surface, would likely command a premium purely on condition rarity rather than any recognized key status.
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-009303 | ~7.0 | — | AVAILABLE |
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