CAPTAIN AMERICA #272

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or spine stress lines. Slight edge wear is possible at the top right corner but is hard to discern through the protective sleeve's glare. The book is in a plastic sleeve which slightly obscures fine surface detail, and interior pages/back cover were not assessed.

Captain America #272, cover-dated August 1982, arrived during the acclaimed run by writer J.M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Zeck, a creative team recognized for grounding Steve Rogers in character-driven drama while maintaining the high adventure the title was built on. The era followed directly on the heels of the celebrated Roger Stern/Zeck stretch and continued to explore Cap's internal conflicts alongside costumed threats, with Zeck's dynamic, cinematic pencils giving the book a distinctive visual identity that collectors of the run still seek out. This particular issue is a representative single chapter of that period rather than a storyline or character milestone.

Market activity is thin but consistent with a well-regarded but non-key Bronze Age issue: certified sales cluster in the $18 to $75 range through the mid-to-high grades before jumping sharply at the 9.8 tier, where a small handful of transactions have cleared around $400. This shape is typical of a title with a dedicated but modest collector base — demand is driven primarily by Captain America completists and admirers of the Zeck art era rather than by any first appearance or landmark story, so raw copies in lower and mid grades trade for modest sums with little urgency.

This issue suits Captain America run-builders and Mike Zeck admirers more than speculative buyers. Lower and mid-grade raw copies move steadily but cheaply through online and show markets, while pristine 9.8 census copies command a real premium reflecting their scarcity relative to demand from grade-conscious collectors. Absent any key-issue distinction, price appreciation is likely to track the broader Bronze Age Captain America market rather than outperform it.