MAGNUS, ROBOT FIGHTER 4000 A.D. #23

Cover is complete and reasonably bright with good color, but there is visible wear along the right edge with small chips/nicks and a rough edge profile, plus light corner blunting at the upper left and lower right. Spine area shows minor stress and slight roll; the left edge shows small pink/color-break spots near the logo panel. Photo is taken through a mylar/bag with heavy glare that may hide additional creasing; interior and back cover were not assessed.

Magnus, Robot Fighter 4000 A.D. #23 arrived from Western Publishing under the Gold Key imprint in August 1968, continuing the futuristic adventures of the titular hero and his ally Leeja in a robot-dominated North Am of the year 4000. The series, created by Russ Manning, remains notable for its clean, meticulously rendered science-fiction art and its influence on later robot-themed adventure comics; issue #23 carries contributions from both Manning and Dan Spiegle, two of the strongest visual stylists to work on Gold Key's adventure line. While this issue is not a first appearance or origin story, it represents a solid mid-run entry in a title collectors continue to pursue as a complete run.

The certified population data shows a modest but active collector base, with 41 of 42 graded copies falling in the Universal census and steady turnover across the 9.0-9.6 range. Values climb sharply at the top of the grade curve: mid-grade copies trade for modest sums in the $30-75 range, while high-grade 9.4 and 9.6 copies command a real premium, and the rare 9.8 copies — only three on census — reach into the hundreds of dollars. This pattern reflects a book that is not scarce in absolute terms but is genuinely difficult to find in top preservation, typical of Silver Age newsstand comics printed on lower-grade stock and handled by young readers.

Magnus, Robot Fighter appeals primarily to Silver Age science-fiction collectors and Gold Key completists building toward a full run rather than speculators chasing a single key issue. Low- and mid-grade copies remain affordable entry points for readers and set-builders, while a 9.8 slab is a genuine condition-census trophy given the tiny population at that grade. Demand is steady rather than explosive, with pricing driven almost entirely by grade scarcity at the top end of the census.