Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 3/76
UNIT ECA-039411
FANTASTIC FOUR #168
Bronze Age Fantastic Four featuring early George Pérez pencils under Roy Thomas
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | March 1976 | Bronze | — | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-028157 | ~8.5 | — | AVAILABLE |
| ECA-039411 | ~8.0 | — | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong color and gloss with sharp corners and a mostly tight spine; no major creases or color breaks are visible in this photo. There is minor rubbing/wear along the top edge and a faint diagonal press mark near the upper right corner, plus slight softness at the bottom right corner. The book is housed in a protective sleeve, which limits full inspection of edges; interior pages and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $5 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $14 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $240 |
// Archive commentary
Fantastic Four #168 (March 1976) arrived during Roy Thomas's writing tenure on the title, with interior art by George Pérez early in his Marvel career, inked by longtime FF veteran Joe Sinnott. The issue is a standard entry in the team's long Bronze Age run, continuing storylines involving the FF's core roster of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing without introducing a new character or plot element that price guides single out as historically pivotal.
Market data shows a typical Bronze Age back-issue curve: values stay compressed and modest from mid grade through the low 9-range, then rise sharply at 9.6 and again at 9.8, reflecting the difficulty of finding pack-fresh copies of a title that saw heavy newsstand handling. Sales volume is present across the certified population (181 of 189 graded copies are Universal), but demand is driven almost entirely by grade rarity rather than character or story significance — the book is bought to fill a run rather than sought as a standalone key.
This issue suits Fantastic Four completists and Bronze Age run-builders rather than key-issue investors. Raw copies in low and mid grade trade cheaply and are readily available, while high-grade certified examples, especially 9.6 and 9.8, command a real premium due to census scarcity at the top end. Expect steady but unspectacular demand, with pricing sensitive mainly to overall Fantastic Four collector interest and Pérez's later reputation rather than to any event within the issue itself.
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