CREATURES ON THE LOOSE #23

Cover shows good gloss and bright colors with sharp corners; slight surface wear is visible along the top edge and a faint diagonal crease line near the top right of the cover art. Spine appears mostly tight with only minor stress visible at the top. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve, which may obscure minor edge wear; interior and back cover were not assessed. No major creases, tears, or color breaks are apparent in this image.

Creatures on the Loose #23 arrived in May 1973 as part of Marvel's revolving-door anthology title, which shifted its lead feature multiple times across its run. This issue falls within the title's King Kull era, when the Robert E. Howard-inspired barbarian king headlined the book before Man-Wolf took over the series a handful of issues later. The book fits into the broader early-1970s Marvel push into sword-and-sorcery and horror content that also produced Conan the Barbarian and Tomb of Dracula, capitalizing on the loosened Comics Code and a renewed appetite for pulp-adventure storytelling.

Market data for the issue is thin, reflecting its status as a mid-run anthology chapter rather than a spotlighted key. Certified sales cluster almost entirely in the 9.4-9.8 range, with a modest population of thirty-eight universal census copies and only a handful of recorded transactions below that band. The 9.8 tier has softened somewhat over the trailing year, suggesting collector interest is steady but modest rather than driven by any first-appearance or landmark-creator premium; demand appears to come mainly from Kull and Bronze Age horror-anthology completists rather than broad crossover collectors.

This is a book for run-builders and Bronze Age anthology specialists rather than speculative investors. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade for token amounts and are readily available, making the title an easy, affordable pickup for those assembling a complete Creatures on the Loose set. High-grade CGC 9.8 copies command a real but modest premium reflecting genuine scarcity at the top of the census rather than character or creator-driven demand, and the book is best positioned in a dealer archive as a representative, well-preserved example of Marvel's early-1970s sword-and-sorcery experimentation.