DARKHAWK #16

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases, folds, or spine stress; the spine appears tight with no color break visible in this photo. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve which slightly obscures fine surface detail via glare. No stains, tears, or writing are visible on the front cover. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, limiting the grade to a conservative estimate based on the front cover alone.

Darkhawk #16, cover dated June 1992, continues Danny Fingeroth and Mike Manley's run on the character Marvel launched in 1991 as a homegrown teen hero for the post-Punisher, pre-Image market. Chris Powell's amulet-driven alter ego is pushed into the Peristrike Force storyline here, introducing Scattershot, Siberion and Volga Belle alongside the debut of Dr. Vonya, while a flashback recaps the Tombstone and Venom confrontations from the preceding issues. Manley handles cover, pencils and layouts with Ricardo Villagran on inks, Joe Rosas on color and Bill Oakley lettering, under Tom DeFalco and Nel Yomtov's editorial oversight.

Market demand for the issue is modest and driven almost entirely by set completion. The Venom material is retrospective rather than a new appearance, so the book does not draw the symbiote-chasing money that lifts Darkhawk #13 and #14, nor the first-appearance premium attached to Darkhawk #1. Raw copies circulate freely in dealer bins and multi-issue lots, and completed-sale data is sparse enough that pricing is set by shipping cost as much as by scarcity. Certified copies are uncommon simply because grading fees outrun the book's value, which means the small high-grade population reflects submission economics rather than genuine condition rarity.

Buyers are Darkhawk run collectors, Fingeroth and Manley completists, and registry-minded collectors assembling the full 1991-1995 series in matched high grade. The book trades as filler below about 8.0, moves at a small step up in solid Near Mint raw condition, and shows a pronounced jump only at the census ceiling, where competition among a handful of set builders sets the price. Renewed screen or publishing attention to Darkhawk would lift the whole run, but the first issue and the Venom crossovers would capture most of that movement before mid-run issues followed.