IRON MAN #156

Cover shows strong gloss and vivid color with sharp corners and no visible creasing or spine stress in this photo; the barcode box indicates a newsstand edition. Slight glare from the protective sleeve obscures fine surface detail, and there is minor waviness near the top edge consistent with light handling. No tears, stains, or color breaks are visible along the spine or edges. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed.

Iron Man #156 (March 1982) arrives from the David Michelinie/Bob Layton writing partnership with John Romita Jr. on art, a creative run generally well regarded for its stretch on the title during this period. The issue features Scott Lang's Ant-Man in a supporting role alongside a confrontation involving the villain Mauler and industrialist Edwin Cord, whose armored alter ego appears under the name War Machine — a designation unrelated to the later, better-known James Rhodes character of the same name. It is a mid-run entry with no first appearances, deaths, or landmark story beats attached to it.

Market activity on this issue is sparse across all certified grades, reflecting its status as a lower-demand link in the Iron Man Bronze Age run rather than a sought-after chapter. The scant sales on record — a single high-grade example and a single mid-grade example — point to a book that trades quietly and infrequently, with pricing driven more by general Bronze Age Marvel collecting and Romita Jr./Layton art appreciation than by any specific character or story draw. Newsstand distribution for this printing is unremarkable and does not itself confer scarcity premium at this title's typical demand level.

This is a book acquired primarily by Iron Man completists and Bronze Age dealers filling out full-run sets rather than by character or key-issue collectors. Raw copies in lower and mid grades move for modest sums and are readily available; certified high-grade copies are scarce on the census, which can produce outsized results when they do surface, but overall trading volume and buyer competition remain limited. It functions best as a value-priced addition to a broader Iron Man or Michelinie-era collection rather than as a standalone investment piece.