AQUAMAN #38

Cover shows moderate wear with light corner blunting at top left and bottom right, a small crease/stress line visible along the left edge near the spine, and mild surface wear consistent with handling; colors remain bright with no major fading. There appears to be a small tear or split at the bottom left edge of the cover. The book is in a protective sleeve which obscures fine edge detail, and the back cover and interior were not assessed.

Aquaman #38 (DC Comics, April 1968) belongs to the latter stretch of the Silver Age Aquaman series, published during the period when Jim Aparo had taken over as the title's primary artist, lending the book a more moody, dynamic visual style than its earlier Nick Cardy-drawn issues. The series at this point followed Arthur Curry through undersea adventures alongside Aqualad and Mera, continuing plot threads from the ongoing run rather than introducing new characters or concepts. No first appearances, origin retellings, or landmark creative milestones are associated with this specific issue.

Market data reflects a typical mid-tier Silver Age superhero title: modest raw values across low and mid grades, with a pronounced spike at the top of the census. The gap between 9.2 ($150) and 9.8 ($650) is wide relative to the rest of the curve, indicating that collectors chasing true top-census copies pay a substantial premium once a book clears the low-9 range, even though the series lacks a single marquee key to drive broad-based demand. Sales volume is steady but unspectacular in the mid grades, consistent with a book bought mostly by Aquaman-run completists and Aparo art collectors rather than speculative key-issue buyers.

This issue trades as a build-a-run book: budget-minded collectors acquire low- and mid-grade raw copies cheaply to fill Silver Age Aquaman runs, while a small subset of graded-set collectors compete for the scarce 9.6–9.8 copies, which command outsized prices relative to their aesthetic rarity rather than any narrative importance. Long-term demand should track general Silver Age DC interest and Aparo's growing recognition among art-focused collectors, with the top-grade population likely to remain the primary price driver given how few copies exist above 9.4.