Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 3/74
UNIT ECA-028229
FANTASTIC FOUR #144
Bronze Age Fantastic Four battling Thundra and the Frightful Four, Rich Buckler cover art
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | March 1974 | Bronze | — | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-028229 | ~8.5 | — | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and bright inks with sharp corners and no visible creases or color breaks; spine appears tight with only faint stress lines near the top. Slight edge wear is visible along the right edge, and the book is currently housed in a protective sleeve which limits full inspection of surface texture. No stains, tears, or writing are visible on the front cover. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $10 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $24 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $400 |
// Archive commentary
Fantastic Four #144 (March 1974) arrived during Gerry Conway's scripting run on Marvel's flagship team title, with art by Rich Buckler and inks by Joe Sinnott, continuing the extended Frightful Four/Thundra storyline that had been running through the previous several issues. The book features Medusa filling in for the Invisible Woman on the team roster, a common arrangement in this stretch of the series, and pits the FF against Thundra, the amazonian warrior introduced a few issues earlier. It is a solid, well-illustrated entry from a transitional creative period for the title rather than a first appearance or origin issue.
Market data shows a typical Bronze Age demand curve for a non-key, high-print-run Marvel title: census population is substantial (199 total graded, 190 in the Universal pool), and FMV rises sharply only at the top end, with 9.8 copies commanding roughly triple the price of 9.6 and more than four times 9.4. Sales activity is heavily concentrated in the 8.5 and above tiers, while raw and lower-grade certified copies see infrequent trading, reflecting a book bought primarily by completists building a run rather than speculators chasing a key.
This issue trades as a supporting piece within Fantastic Four Bronze Age collections rather than a standalone target. Raw copies in low and mid grade move slowly and inexpensively, appealing mainly to readers assembling reading runs, while high-grade CGC 9.8 copies see steady but modest premium demand from census-chasers and Buckler/Sinnott art collectors given the relatively small 9.8 population of fourteen against nearly two hundred total graded copies.
INQUIRE_ABOUT_THIS_UNIT
Institutional buyers, auction houses, and private collectors — direct line to the archive.