CAPTAIN AMERICA #198

Cover shows good gloss and bright colors with sharp corners, but there is a visible spine crease/stress line and minor surface wear along the top edge; the book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of edge wear. No major tears, creases, or color breaks are apparent, though slight whitening at the spine and minor handling wear keep this from a higher grade. Interior and back cover were not assessed.

Captain America #198 arrives late in Jack Kirby's celebrated 1970s return to the character he co-created, with Kirby again handling writing, penciling, and editing duties, inked by Frank Giacoia. The issue continues the period's Falcon back-up feature, giving Sam Wilson his own spotlight strip within the book, and introduces the villain Argyle Fist. It is a representative example of Kirby's idiosyncratic, high-energy Bronze Age work on the title rather than a landmark issue in its own right, with no first appearance, death, or origin story attached to it.

Market data shows a thin but active certified population, with 107 of 113 total graded copies in the CGC Universal census. Values are essentially flat across the mid grades, with 7.5 through 9.2 copies all clustering in the $50-99 range, before stepping up meaningfully at the 9.6 and 9.8 tiers, where higher-grade scarcity and Kirby-cover demand assert themselves. This pattern is typical of Bronze Age Marvel books that are collected primarily as part of a creator run rather than for any single defining moment, with demand driven by Kirby completists and Captain America/Falcon run collectors rather than key-issue speculators.

The book is best positioned as a run-filler for collectors assembling Kirby's Captain America stint or a complete Falcon back-up sequence. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade modestly, reflecting the absence of any first-appearance premium, while high-grade certified copies command a real but not dramatic premium tied to census scarcity at the top end. Expect steady, unspectacular demand rather than sharp appreciation, with the 9.8 tier the primary value driver for this issue.