FANTASTIC FOUR #240

Graded at 9.0 (VF/NM) on 2026-11-03, from new photos taken out of the sleeve: front and back. Tiny crinkle at the lower spine corner. Otherwise sharp corners and clean edges. Bright colors with strong gloss. Back cover clean with the catalog coupon uncut and unfilled. Narrow pale band beside the spine.

Fantastic Four #240 arrived in March 1982 during John Byrne's celebrated run as writer-artist on the title, a stretch widely regarded as one of the strongest creative periods in the series' history. By this point Byrne had assumed full plotting and art chores, reshaping the team's dynamic and visual storytelling after taking over from earlier creative teams. The issue is a representative entry from that run rather than a foundational or first-appearance issue, featuring the core lineup of Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing in continuing adventures that built toward Byrne's larger cosmic storylines of the period.

Market data for this issue is thin, reflecting its status as a mid-run Bronze Age book rather than a heavily tracked key. Recorded sales cluster tightly at the top of the grading scale, with 9.8 copies trading in the low-to-mid sixty-dollar range and a marked drop-off through 9.6 and 9.4. No certified sales exist below 9.4, and no copies have been graded at 9.9 or 10.0, suggesting a book that was not preserved in quantity at the highest tiers despite ample newsstand distribution at the time. Demand is driven primarily by completists assembling the Byrne FF run rather than by any singular collecting event tied to this specific issue.

This is a book for series and run collectors rather than speculators chasing a landmark first appearance. Raw copies in low and mid grade trade cheaply and are readily available, reflecting the high print runs typical of early-1980s Marvel newsstand output. Value concentrates disproportionately in top-census CGC 9.8 slabs, where scarcity of pristine surviving copies, rather than character or story significance, accounts for the premium. Collectors building complete Byrne-era Fantastic Four sets will find this an affordable, easily sourced addition in any grade below near-mint-to-mint.