BALDER THE BRAVE #3

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or color breaks; spine appears tight with no stress lines evident in this photo. The comic is preserved in a protective sleeve which may be masking minor edge wear. No stains, tears, or writing are visible on the front cover. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, so grade is based solely on the front cover presentation.

Balder the Brave #3 is the third chapter of Marvel's 1985-86 four-issue limited series spotlighting the Asgardian god long relegated to a supporting role in Thor. Written by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio with art by Sal Buscema, the series leans into classic Kirby-era Asgardian mythology, pitting Balder against Hela and other threats to Asgard while exploring his romance with Karnilla. The book carries no first appearances or landmark creative firsts; it is a straightforward continuation of Marvel's mid-1980s mythology-driven output, produced during a period when the publisher regularly greenlit limited series built around established supporting characters.

Market data for this issue is exceedingly thin. The CGC census lists only a dozen certified copies across all grades, with a single meaningful sale on record: a 9.6 that changed hands for $22. No 9.8 has ever been certified, and no raw sales data exists in either the low or mid-grade bands, meaning current pricing rests almost entirely on extrapolation from that one data point. This is consistent with the broader Balder the Brave series, which never developed a strong secondary market and is bought primarily by Thor-adjacent completists rather than speculators.

This is a book for series completists and Asgardian-mythology collectors rather than investors chasing appreciation. Raw copies in low and mid grade trade for pocket change and are typically acquired as part of longbox fills or full-run purchases rather than individual transactions. A CGC 9.8, should one ever surface, would likely draw modest census-chasing interest given the zero population at that grade, but the ceiling remains low across all grades given the absence of any key content or sustained demand.