Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 12/78 · NEWSSTAND
UNIT ECA-026488
CAPTAIN AMERICA #228
Captain America battles Constrictor with a supporting cast pulled from the Avengers' orbit
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | December 1978 | Bronze | Newsstand | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-026488 | ~8.5 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and bright, well-registered colors with sharp corners and no visible creases or spine stress lines. There is minor surface reflection/glare near the lower right that may be obscuring small handling wear, and slight edge wear is visible at the bottom left near the barcode. No tears, stains, or color breaks are apparent on the spine. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, limiting the grade from higher.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $3 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $8 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $150 |
// Archive commentary
Captain America #228 is a late-1978 Bronze Age issue scripted by Roger McKenzie with a cover by Dan Green, inked by John Tartaglione and Mike Esposito, and colored by George Roussos under the editorial hand of Jim Shooter and Roger Stern. The story pits Cap against the villain Constrictor amid a supporting cast drawn from Avengers continuity, including Hercules, Iron Man, the Scarlet Witch, and Beast, giving the issue a crossover flavor typical of the era's team-adjacent street-level Marvel titles. It arrives in a run of the series that, while foundational to Captain America's ongoing Bronze Age narrative, does not carry a first appearance, origin, or death of lasting significance.
Market data reflect a common, well-supplied Bronze Age comic: a census of 55 Universal copies shows steady but modest demand, with fair market values climbing only gradually through the mid-to-high grades before a pronounced jump at 9.6, where the thin population of unblemished copies commands a premium. No 9.8 has yet been certified or sold, underscoring how few copies survive in top preservation despite a healthy overall census. Pricing across grades tracks general Bronze Age collector interest in Captain America's ongoing series rather than any specific character or story milestone.
This issue trades primarily as a piece of a complete Captain America run rather than as a standalone target, appealing to series completists and Bronze Age enthusiasts filling gaps rather than key-issue speculators. Lower and mid-grade raw copies remain inexpensive and plentiful, while top-census slabs draw a smaller pool of condition-focused buyers willing to pay a premium for scarcity at the pinnacle of the grading scale. Long-term demand should stay tied to the broader health of the Captain America collector base rather than to any independent hook within the issue itself.
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