Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 12/90 · DIRECT EDITION
UNIT ECA-005146
CAPTAIN AMERICA #380
Late Gruenwald-era Captain America issue from the direct market Copper Age run
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | December 1990 | Copper | Direct Edition | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-005146 | ~9.2 | Direct Edition | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows sharp corners, strong glossy surface, and bright unbroken colors with no visible spine stress or ticks. Slight bend/wave near top left of the black background area may indicate minor handling but no color break is evident. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve, which limits full assessment of edges; interior pages and back cover were not visible for review.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $1 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $4 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $40 |
// Archive commentary
Captain America #380 arrived in December 1990 during Mark Gruenwald's long tenure as writer, a run defined by deep continuity work and steady exploration of Steve Rogers's psychology and mission. This issue falls within the latter stretch of Gruenwald's run, a period generally overshadowed in collector attention by his earlier storylines and by the character's more heavily documented origin-era Golden Age material. No first appearance, death, or landmark creative event is associated with this specific issue, and it has not attracted recognition as a key entry in Captain America's history.
The market profile reflects this status: certified sales are scarce, with only a handful of transactions recorded across the graded population of 22 copies, and pricing at the top of the census remains modest. Demand for the issue is driven primarily by series completists and readers assembling a run of Gruenwald's Captain America rather than by speculative or investment-driven collecting. The thin sales record across nearly every grade tier underscores that this is a book acquired for narrative continuity rather than chased for scarcity or landmark status.
Collecting activity for this issue centers on long-time Captain America readers filling gaps in a Copper Age run, along with dealers stocking bulk lots of late-1980s and early-1990s Marvel direct editions. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade cheaply and are widely available, while a hypothetical high-grade certified example would likely draw only modest premiums given the low overall demand ceiling. This is a book that moves steadily but unremarkably through the market, valued more for completeness than for singular desirability.
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