Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 1/70
UNIT ECA-028378
FANTASTIC FOUR #94
First appearance of Agatha Harkness, Jack Kirby cover and art
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | January 1970 | Bronze | — | First appearance of Agatha Harkness; Jack Kirby pencils with Joe Sinnott inks | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-028378 | ~8.0 | — | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and vibrant color with sharp corners and a tight spine with no visible ticks or stress lines. Slight softness at the top left corner and minor edge wear along the right edge are visible; the book is in a protective sleeve which slightly obscures fine surface detail. No creases, tears, or color breaks are apparent, though interior pages and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $30 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $64 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $8,750 |
// Archive commentary
Fantastic Four #94 (Marvel, January 1970) is written by Stan Lee with art by Jack Kirby and inks by Joe Sinnott, arriving late in the Lee-Kirby collaboration on the title. The issue introduces Agatha Harkness, the witch who becomes governess to the infant Franklin Richards and later plays a recurring role in Fantastic Four mythology as a link to the Salem's Seven and the mystical undercurrents of the Marvel Universe. Her introduction here, in a story built around domestic concerns of the Richards family rather than a supervillain clash, marks a notable shift in tone for the series as it moved into the 1970s.
Market data shows a title with a large, actively traded census and a demand curve that steepens sharply at the top end: prices remain modest and stable from low through high-mid grades, then climb dramatically at 9.6 and especially 9.8, where certified population thins considerably relative to the overall census. This pattern is typical of a well-known but non-blockbuster Bronze Age issue whose long-term collector interest is anchored to a single, character-specific first appearance rather than a team or villain debut with broader crossover demand. Harkness's later prominence in film and streaming adaptations has kept the issue on collector radar even though it lacks the marquee status of contemporaneous FF issues featuring first appearances of major villains.
The book trades as a steady mid-tier Bronze Age key: readily available in raw form across most grades at accessible prices, with real premiums reserved for pristine certified copies. Character-focused collectors assembling Fantastic Four or Agatha Harkness-specific runs drive demand for problem-free mid-grade raw copies, while investment-minded buyers and grade completists compete for the scarce 9.6 and 9.8 slabs, where the price curve detaches sharply from the rest of the run.
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