MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #26

Cover shows strong gloss and vivid color with sharp corners and no visible creasing or spine stress on this front image; slight surface reflections from the protective sleeve make fine assessment difficult in a few areas. No color breaks, tears, or stains are apparent along the visible edges. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, so grade is based solely on this front photo.

Marvel Two-In-One #26 (April 1977) pairs Ben Grimm with Deathlok the Demolisher, the cyborg soldier Luther Manning, in a story scripted by Marv Wolfman with art by Ron Wilson and Pablo Marcos. The issue also brings in SHIELD regulars Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, and Valentina de Fontaine, along with the villainous duo Mentallo and the Fixer, situating the Thing's usual monster-team-up format within a espionage-adjacent plot. Deathlok had debuted a few years earlier in Astonishing Tales and by this point was appearing as a guest star across the Marvel line, making this a minor stop in his early Bronze Age circulation rather than a foundational appearance.

As a mid-run issue of an anthology-style team-up title, the book was produced in high volume for newsstand distribution and has never carried a premium in the secondary market. Its value has stayed near cover price across decades of trading, with only incremental movement tied to high-grade certified copies. Interest in the issue is driven almost entirely by Deathlok collectors filling out his 1970s appearance run and by Thing/Marvel Two-In-One completists, rather than by any first-appearance or landmark-event status.

This is a book most likely to move as part of bulk lots, dollar-bin pulls, or as an affordable addition for readers assembling a run of Marvel Two-In-One. High-grade slabs see occasional interest from Deathlok character collectors chasing early crossover appearances, but demand at that level remains thin and price-sensitive rather than competitive. For most buyers this is a reading or reference copy, not an investment piece.