ADVENTURE COMICS #287

This Silver Age 10¢ issue shows heavy handling consistent with a well-read Golden/Silver Age book: significant spine wear with multiple stress lines and chips, a visible tear/split along the top spine edge, tape or residue repair visible on the right edge of the cover, and rounded/worn corners. There is noticeable soiling, foxing spots, and color rub throughout the black background areas, plus a piece of tape near the upper spine. The comic is protected in a plastic sleeve; interior pages and back cover were not assessed.

Adventure Comics #287, cover-dated August 1961, holds a firm place in DC's Silver Age lineup as the first appearance of Aqualad, introduced in the Aquaman backup feature "The Kid from Atlantis" by writer Robert Bernstein and artist Ramona Fradon. Aqualad would go on to become a founding member of the Teen Titans and later evolve into the adult hero Tempest, giving this issue lasting relevance well beyond its original run as an anthology backup feature. The book arrives at a pivotal moment for Aquaman's own mythology, as DC was actively expanding his supporting cast ahead of the character's eventual solo title later in the decade.

Market data reflects a modest but steady demand curve typical of secondary Silver Age first appearances: sales cluster in the mid and high grades, with prices rising from roughly the low hundreds at 6.5-7.0 up to the $130-160 range at 8.0-8.5, and a pronounced scarcity above that threshold, with only a single 9.6 on census and no certified 9.8 to date. This shape indicates a book that trades actively among mid-grade collectors but becomes disproportionately difficult to source in top condition, driving outsized premiums for any copy approaching the top of the census.

Demand centers on Teen Titans and Aquaman completists, character-first-appearance collectors, and buyers assembling runs of key DC sidekick debuts. Lower and mid-grade copies remain accessible and trade in line with typical Silver Age backup-feature pricing, while high-grade and unslabbed top-census copies command a steep premium reflecting genuine scarcity rather than broad crossover demand. The absence of any 9.8 on the census leaves room for a new benchmark sale whenever a top copy surfaces.