FANTASTIC FOUR #287

Graded at 9.0 (VF/NM) on 2026-11-04, from new photos taken out of the sleeve: front and back. Top corner at the spine lightly rounded. Thin band of front-cover art along the fold on the back, mostly toward the bottom. Corner box tight to the fold on the front. No color-breaking ticks. Bright yellow back cover clean.

Fantastic Four #287 arrived during John Byrne's celebrated run as writer-artist on the title, a stretch widely regarded as one of the most influential in the book's history for its blend of cosmic-scale plotting and grounded character work. This issue falls within Byrne's Secret Wars II tie-in material, weaving the Beyonder into the team's ongoing continuity while maintaining the polished, dynamic linework that defined his tenure from the early 1980s through this period. It is not a first appearance or origin issue, but it represents a solid example of Byrne's storytelling and art at a point when the Fantastic Four's lineup included She-Hulk in place of the Thing.

Market data reflects a book with a large certified population and steady, modest demand typical of well-collected Copper Age Marvel runs. The 9.8 tier shows meaningful sales volume and a top-end FMV in the $45-50 range, while values drop off quickly through 9.6 and 9.4, consistent with a common, high-print-run title where high-grade copies remain plentiful. There is no evidence of speculative spikes or scarcity-driven premiums; demand is driven primarily by Byrne-run completists and Fantastic Four series collectors rather than key-issue buyers.

This issue suits collectors assembling a complete Byrne Fantastic Four run or a broader Copper Age Marvel collection rather than investors chasing key-issue appreciation. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade cheaply and are readily available, making the book an accessible entry point, while CGC 9.8 slabs command a modest but real premium reflecting the difficulty of achieving top census grade even on a common title. Long-term value is likely to track the overall strength of the Byrne FF run rather than move independently.