FANTASTIC FOUR #102

Cover shows strong gloss and bright, unfaded colors with sharp corners and clean edges; spine appears tight with no visible stress lines or ticks in this photo. There is minor edge wear at the top right corner and slight waviness near the bottom edge, but no creases, tears, or color breaks are evident. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve, which limits full assessment of surface texture; interior and back cover were not examined.

Fantastic Four #102 (September 1970) closes out one of the most consequential creative runs in American comics: Jack Kirby's decade-long stint as the series' regular penciler, inked here by longtime collaborator Joe Sinnott over a Stan Lee script. Kirby departed Marvel for DC shortly after this issue shipped, ending the Lee-Kirby FF partnership that had defined the title since Fantastic Four #1 in 1961. While the book carries no first appearance or origin story, it stands as a documented endpoint of that collaboration, a fact widely noted in collector references and price guides covering Kirby's Marvel tenure.

Demand for the issue is driven almost entirely by Kirby completists and Bronze Age Fantastic Four run-builders rather than character-first-appearance buyers. The census reflects a book that was well-preserved in quantity at the time of grading, with the bulk of certified copies clustering in the 8.0-9.4 range, but a comparatively small pool of 9.6 and 9.8 copies. Pricing across the low-to-mid grade spectrum stays modest and largely flat, while the FMV curve accelerates sharply above 9.4, with the 9.8 tier commanding a premium many multiples over the mid-grade average, indicating collectors pay chiefly for top-census condition rather than for the issue's content alone.

The book trades as a solid, second-tier piece within a serious Kirby or Bronze Age Marvel collection rather than as a marquee investment vehicle. Lower and mid-grade raw copies move steadily at modest prices to readers and set-builders completing the Lee-Kirby FF run, while CGC 9.8 examples draw targeted competition from condition-census collectors and Kirby specialists willing to pay a substantial premium for a top-graded copy of his last regular issue on the title.