FANTASTIC FOUR #226

Graded at 8.5 (VF+) on 2026-11-03, from new photos taken out of the sleeve: front and back. Narrow pale band along the spine edge from a slight miswrap. Top left corner lightly blunted. White front clean and bright. Spine clean with no color-breaking ticks. Back cover clean.

Fantastic Four #226 appeared in January 1980 during Marv Wolfman's extended writing tenure on the title, a period bridging John Byrne's earlier pencil run and his later return as full writer-artist starting with the celebrated Trial of Galactus and Trial of Reed Richards storylines. Interior art in this stretch was largely handled by Sal Buscema, while Byrne continued to supply covers even after stepping back from interior duties. The issue is a standard entry in the team's long-running cosmic-adventure continuity, without a first appearance, death, or other landmark event attached to it.

Market activity for this issue is sparse, with only a couple of certified sales on record and no census population reported above the mid-9 range. The recorded prices, in the neighborhood of twenty to fifty dollars for near-mint copies, are consistent with a well-collected but non-key Bronze Age title where demand is driven by series completism rather than any single defining moment. The absence of any 9.6 or 9.8 certified copies reflects the low submission volume typical of unremarkable middle-run issues from this era rather than genuine scarcity of surviving copies.

This issue is best suited to Fantastic Four run collectors and Bronze Age generalists filling out long boxes rather than key-issue investors. Raw copies in worn condition circulate cheaply at conventions and online marketplaces, while presentable mid-grade examples trade modestly higher as reading or display copies. A high-grade CGC 9.8, were one to surface, would likely command a disproportionate premium over the current top census grade simply due to condition rarity for a late-1970s newsstand comic, not because of any inherent character or story significance.