FANTASTIC FOUR #309

Graded at 8.0 (VF) on 2026-11-05, from new photos taken out of the sleeve: front and back. Hairline crease about a quarter inch in from the spine on the dark back, just below the middle. Three short color-breaking ticks along the same stretch and one on the lower front spine. Short line in from the spine just above the bottom of the back. Corners close to sharp, the top right softly rounded. Thin dark strip along the fold 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.