FANTASTIC FOUR #173

Cover shows strong gloss and bright inks with sharp corners and no visible creasing or color breaks. There is minor edge wear along the top and slight softness at the bottom corners typical of handling, and the book is currently housed in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of spine stress. No stains, tears, or writing are visible on the front cover; interior and back cover were not assessed.

Fantastic Four #173 (August 1976) arrived during Roy Thomas's run as writer with George Perez on pencils and Joe Sinnott inking, part of a multi-issue Sphinx storyline that occupied the title through the mid-#160s and #170s. The issue features no first appearances, deaths, or origin material, and its place in the run is that of a middle chapter rather than a landmark single issue; its interest lies chiefly in the Thomas/Perez/Sinnott creative combination during a transitional period for Marvel's premier super-team book.

Market data reflects a plentiful, well-preserved population: 245 Universal copies are recorded in census, with 59 already graded 9.8, and FMVs across the mid grades sit in a narrow band (roughly $22-30 from 6.5 through 8.5) before rising more steeply at the top of the census. Demand is driven almost entirely by run completists and George Perez collectors rather than by any speculative first-appearance premium, and sales volume at the top grade (34 recorded) shows steady but unspectacular turnover.

This is a book that trades as a value-priced run-filler in low and mid grades and only becomes a meaningful transaction at the 9.8 tier, where census scarcity relative to Marvel's flagship-title demand supports a real premium. Collectors assembling a complete Fantastic Four Bronze Age run, or focused specifically on Perez's early Marvel work, represent the primary buyer pool; outside of a graded 9.8 slab, raw copies move steadily but at modest, largely condition-insensitive prices.