IRON MAN #249

Cover shows sharp corners, strong glossy surface, and bright unfaded colors with no visible spine stress or ticks. The Spider-Man head logo box (rather than a UPC barcode) confirms this is the direct edition. Book is in a protective sleeve which slightly obscures fine surface detail; no creases, tears, or stains are visible, but interior pages and back cover were not assessed.

Iron Man #249 arrived in November 1989 during a period when the title was helmed by John Byrne on scripts with John Romita Jr. providing pencils, a pairing recalled fondly by readers of the era's Iron Man but not tied to any first appearance, death, or origin story. The issue sits within the broader Copper Age output of Marvel's armored-hero franchise, a period marked by high print runs and direct-market distribution that left the title with ample surviving copies in dealer stock and collections. It is a representative mid-run issue valued today primarily for its creative team and completist appeal rather than any landmark event.

Market data for this issue is thin across all grades, reflecting its status as a common, plentiful Copper Age book rather than a heavily traded key. Certified sales cluster at the top of the grade scale, with a small number of 9.2 through 9.8 transactions establishing a steep price curve typical of high-grade Copper Age comics: modest values in the twenties and fifties climbing sharply once a copy reaches gem mint. Raw copies in low and mid grades see negligible collector demand and trade closer to bulk long-box pricing, with value concentrated almost entirely in top-census slabs.

This is a book for run-builders and Iron Man/Byrne-Romita completists rather than key-issue investors. Lower and mid-grade raw copies are inexpensive and readily available, making them a low-cost addition to a collection or dealer bargain bin, while CGC 9.8 copies command a real premium due to genuine scarcity at that grade and the difficulty modern-day census growth presents for late-1980s direct editions. Buyers pursuing this issue in high grade should expect limited liquidity and should treat any 9.8 sale as a thin but real data point rather than an established, deep market.