FANTASTIC FOUR #293

Graded at 8.5 (VF+) on 2026-11-04, from new photos taken out of the sleeve: front and back. Front color wraps a little onto the back along the spine, widening toward the bottom. Dark front field with good gloss and no spine ticks seen. Tiny white speck in the dark field of the back. Corners sharp.

Fantastic Four #293 (August 1986) marks the conclusion of John Byrne's celebrated run as writer and artist on the title, a tenure that ran from #232 and is widely regarded as one of the definitive creative stretches in the team's publishing history. The issue wraps the "Trial of Reed Richards" arc, in which Reed is tried by the Shi'ar Imperium for his role in sparing Galactus, and it serves as Byrne's valedictory statement on characters he had shaped for years. Steve Englehart would take over scripting duties beginning with the following issue, making #293 a clean endpoint for collectors assembling a complete Byrne FF run.

Market data shows a typical copper-age distribution: certified population is substantial (108 Universal copies across the CGC census), and value climbs steeply only at the top of the grade curve, with 9.8 copies commanding a real premium over 9.6 and below. Demand is driven almost entirely by Byrne-run completists and Fantastic Four team runs rather than any first appearance or origin story, since the issue introduces no new characters and features no landmark cover moment. Recent sales activity in 9.8 shows some volatility, with a strong one-year average pulled down toward a lower ninety-day figure, suggesting a book that trades in modest, sporadic volume rather than constant turnover.

This is a bookend issue for a well-regarded creative run rather than a marquee key, so it draws steady interest from Byrne-era FF collectors and those completing 1980s Fantastic Four sets, but it will not command grail-level attention. Raw copies in low and mid grade remain inexpensive and plentiful, reflecting healthy print runs typical of direct-market copper-age output, while CGC 9.8 slabs carry the only meaningful premium, appealing to registry-focused buyers chasing top-census condition on a run-defining issue.