Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 4/88 · DIRECT EDITION
UNIT ECA-005275
CAPTAIN AMERICA #340
Mark Gruenwald's Captain America run continues during the John Walker/"The Captain" era
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | April 1988 | Copper | Direct Edition | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-005275 | ~9.2 | Direct Edition | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows sharp corners, strong glossy black background with minimal print or handling wear visible, and no obvious creases or color breaks in this photo. Slight edge softness may be present at top right corner but is hard to confirm due to the protective sleeve and glare. Spine appears tight with no visible stress lines. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, and the book is in a protective sleeve which may hide minor defects.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $3 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $6 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $80 |
// Archive commentary
Captain America #340 arrived in April 1988 during Mark Gruenwald's lengthy tenure as writer, a stretch of the series still remembered for its sustained, soap-operatic reworking of Steve Rogers's identity crisis following his resignation as Captain America and the government's installation of John Walker in the role. This issue falls within that transitional storyline, offering continuity-driven plotting and art typical of the period's Marvel house style, with Tom Morgan among the pencillers who worked the title through these years. It is a representative chapter of a well-regarded creative run rather than a stand-alone landmark issue.
Market activity reflects that status: certified sales are thin and concentrated at the high end of the grading spectrum, with only a handful of transactions recorded across 9.4, 9.6, and 9.8. The absence of recorded sales below 9.2 indicates that collector interest in raw or lower-grade copies is minimal, consistent with a late-Copper-Age direct-market issue that was printed in significant quantity and never carried first-appearance or major creative-milestone status. Demand is driven almost entirely by Captain America and Gruenwald-run completists rather than by speculative or crossover interest.
This issue suits collectors assembling a complete run of Gruenwald's Captain America or specialists in the John Walker/"Captain" storyline arc. Lower-grade raw copies trade as inexpensive fill-ins with negligible premium, while the gap between mid-grade raw material and pristine certified copies is unusually wide relative to the modest overall demand, reflecting a small population of top-graded submissions rather than broad market heat. High-grade slabs will appeal mainly to registry-driven Captain America specialists rather than general Copper Age investors.
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