WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #9

Cover shows moderate wear typical of the era: visible spine stress lines and slight whitening along the spine, minor corner softening at top left, and a faint vertical crease running through the lower cover art. Colors remain bright with no major fading or staining, and the book is protected in a plastic sleeve, though there is a small blue mark visible near the left edge. Interior and back cover were not assessed in this photo.

Werewolf by Night #9 arrived from Marvel in September 1973 during the publisher's early-1970s expansion into horror and monster titles, a line that also produced Tomb of Dracula and Ghost Rider. The series starred Jack Russell, cursed to transform under the full moon, and this issue falls within the run illustrated by Mike Ploog, whose moody, expressionistic pencils defined the title's early visual identity. While issue #9 does not carry a recognized first appearance or landmark event, it is part of a tightly collected run prized for Ploog's contribution to Marvel's horror line before Don Perlin took over art duties later in the series.

Market data shows a steep, non-linear rise from mid-grade to top-census condition, characteristic of a common but well-loved Bronze Age title with a small population of pristine copies. Raw mid-grade examples trade in the mid-twenty-dollar range with minimal movement across the 5.0-6.0 band, while CGC 9.8 copies command roughly thirty times that figure despite a modest census of thirteen at the top grade. The pronounced premium at 9.8 reflects the scarcity of surviving high-grade copies rather than any narrative significance, a pattern typical of ordinary issues within otherwise desirable runs.

This issue appeals primarily to Werewolf by Night series completists and Ploog art collectors rather than key-issue speculators, so demand is steady but not aggressive. Lower and mid-grade copies move as reading or run-filling material with limited upside, while pristine 9.8 slabs draw competitive bidding from condition-census chasers given how few exist. Expect the book to track the broader Bronze Age horror market rather than move independently, with value concentrated almost entirely at the top of the grading scale.