Approximate
Condition Profile
DC COMICS · 5/91 · NEWSSTAND
UNIT ECA-017789
ACTION COMICS #665
Roger Stern and Tom Grummett Superman issue closing "Time and Time Again" and opening the Baron Sunday storyline, newsstand edition
// Unit specification
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-001584 | ~9.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
| ECA-017789 | ~9.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases, tears, or color breaks. Spine appears tight with only the faintest hint of stress at the top edge. Minor handling wear is possible but not clearly visible at this resolution; 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 | $4 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $60 |
// Archive commentary
Action Comics #665 (May 1991) closes out Roger Stern's "Time and Time Again" arc, a time-travel storyline that sent Superman through several eras of DC history, and pivots into the introduction of the Baron Sunday zombie plotline. Tom Grummett provides pencils, continuing his run as one of the primary Superman artists of the era alongside inker Brett Breeding, giving the book the clean, dynamic house style that defined the Superman titles' tightly coordinated continuity in the early 1990s. As a mid-numbered issue in Action Comics' original run, it sits within a title whose historical weight rests almost entirely on its 1938 debut and a handful of landmark issues decades earlier; by 1991 the series was one of four interlocking monthly Superman books with a large, loyal readership but no first appearances or origin material of lasting significance in this particular issue.
The absence of a published fair-market value reflects the book's status as a plentiful, unremarkable issue from a high-circulation Copper Age title. It was distributed simultaneously through direct and newsstand channels, and this copy carries the newsstand variant, which saw a smaller print allocation than direct-market copies of the same cover date; that distribution gap tends to matter almost exclusively in high certified grades, where surviving newsstand copies are comparatively scarce. In circulated condition the issue trades for pocket change, consistent with the overwhelming majority of early-1990s Superman comics that lack a defining first appearance, death, or landmark creative event.
Collectors of this issue are typically Superman completists assembling a run of the four-title crossover era, or newsstand-format specialists chasing high-grade rarity rather than story significance. Low- and mid-grade raw copies will move steadily but slowly at nominal prices as reading or run-filler copies, while a well-preserved, professionally graded 9.8 newsstand example can command a real premium purely on condition census scarcity. Outside of that top tier, the book is not a speculative vehicle and should be valued and acquired as a common, honest piece of early-1990s Superman continuity.
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