IRON MAN #240

Cover shows strong gloss and vibrant color with sharp corners and a tight spine; no visible spine ticks, creases, or color breaks are apparent in this photo. Slight surface glare from the protective sleeve obscures fine detail assessment. Edges appear clean with no chipping or dents noted. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, so grade is based solely on the visible front cover condition.

Iron Man #240 arrived in March 1989 during the Copper Age stretch of Marvel's flagship armored-hero title, published in the direct market only. The issue falls in the stretch of the series following the celebrated Armor Wars arc, with David Michelinie continuing as writer alongside penciler Mark Bright and inker Bob Layton, who also supplied the cover. The book does not contain a first appearance, death, or other landmark event; it is a solid, well-produced mid-run issue from a run that collectors value primarily for its earlier Armor Wars material and for Tony Stark's ongoing armored-adventure continuity.

Market data reflects that ordinary status: certified population is modest at 38 universal copies, sales activity is thin across the grade spectrum, and pricing is concentrated at the top end, with a small cluster of 9.8s driving nearly all recorded transactions. There is no meaningful raw or mid-grade sales record, consistent with a book that trades mostly as bulk long-box material until it reaches near-pristine certified condition, at which point Copper Age scarcity in top grade creates a real, if modest, price premium.

This is a completist's and run-collector's book rather than a speculative one. Iron Man series collectors filling out the late-1980s issues, and CGC 9.8 registry builders chasing a low-population high grade, represent the primary buyers. Raw copies in low and mid grade will move cheaply and steadily through dealer bins and online lots, while certified 9.8 copies command a real premium reflecting genuine scarcity at the top of the census rather than any narrative significance.