FANTASTIC FOUR #309

Graded at 8.5 (VF+) on 2026-11-04, from new photos taken out of the sleeve: front and back. Upper right corner visibly rounded. Thin pale line along the lower part of the open edge on the dark back. Spine clean with no color-breaking ticks. Strong gloss on the front.

Fantastic Four #309 appeared in December 1987 during Steve Englehart's tenure as writer, with art in this stretch of the series handled by the Keith Pollard/Romeo Tanghal art team, continuing the title's long-running saga of Marvel's First Family. The issue falls within a transitional period for the series, following shake-ups to the team's roster and storyline direction that characterized the late Copper Age Fantastic Four, but it does not carry a first appearance, death, or other event typically cited in price guides as a key moment.

Market activity for this issue is thin, reflecting its status as a mid-run chapter rather than a sought-after single. Certified populations are modest, with the bulk of graded copies concentrated at the high end of the scale, and pricing data shows a steep climb only at the top of the grade curve, where scarcity in true Gem Mint condition drives outsized premiums over near-mint copies. Demand is largely driven by Fantastic Four series-run collectors and Englehart-era completists rather than character or event speculation.

This book suits collectors assembling a complete run of the series or the writer's or artist's body of work rather than buyers chasing a specific milestone. Raw copies in lower and mid grades trade for modest sums reflecting bulk long-box supply, while highest-grade certified examples command a real premium due to the difficulty of finding Copper Age comics that have survived in top condition. Across the grade spectrum, this is a book whose value curve is driven almost entirely by condition scarcity rather than any inherent narrative importance.