ICEMAN #4

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or color breaks. There is minor surface texture/waviness visible under angled lighting, likely from the protective sleeve rather than the cover itself, and a couple of tiny white specks near the top edge. Spine appears tight with no stress lines visible. Book is in a protective sleeve; back cover and interior pages were not assessed.

Iceman #4 (June 1985) concludes Marvel's six-issue limited series spotlighting Bobby Drake, one of the original five X-Men, in his first extended solo outing away from the team. Written by J.M. DeMatteis with pencils by Alan Kupperberg, the miniseries explored Iceman's origins and personal life during a period when Marvel was experimenting with spinoff minis for individual X-Men, paving conceptual ground for later solo treatments of the character. The issue itself is a resolution chapter rather than an introduction of any new character or concept, and it carries no first appearances or landmark creative milestones.

Market activity is light and consistent with a low-print, low-demand Copper Age miniseries: certified population sits at only 44 Universal copies, and sales data is sparse even at the top of the grade scale. Demand is driven almost entirely by X-Men completists and Iceman character collectors rather than broad speculative interest, and the modest gap between 9.6 and 9.8 FMVs reflects a shallow but present premium for top-census copies rather than aggressive bidding pressure.

This is a book bought to complete a run rather than chased as a standalone key. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade cheaply and infrequently, appealing mainly to Iceman or X-Men-family collectors filling out the 1984 limited series; higher-grade CGC 9.6-9.8 copies see modest but real premiums given the tight census, making this a low-cost, low-volatility addition to a Copper Age X-Men collection rather than an investment-grade certified asset.