PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN #116

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or color breaks; spine appears tight with no stress lines visible in this image. Slight softness at the top right corner and minor edge wear along the right side are noted. The book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of surface and edges, and the interior/back cover were not assessed.

Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #116 (July 1986) arrived during Marvel's second monthly Spider-Man title, part of a mid-1980s stretch written by Peter David with Sal Buscema handling the primary art chores that defined the book's look for much of the decade. The issue carries no first appearance, death, or other landmark event that collectors or price guides cite as historically significant; it is a representative installment of Spider-Man's ongoing adventures during the Copper Age, a period marked by high print runs and correspondingly large surviving populations.

The certified census reflects that reality: over 400 Universal copies are recorded, with fair market values remaining largely flat from grade 6.5 through 9.0 in the mid-$20s to low-$30s range before rising toward the $70 mark at 9.8. That plateau signals a book where certification cost, rather than underlying scarcity or character demand, sets much of the price floor for mid-and-lower grade slabs, while raw copies in comparable condition trade for a fraction of certified values given the ready availability of the issue in the secondary market.

This is a run-filler for Spider-Man titles rather than a speculative or key acquisition, appealing mainly to collectors assembling complete Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man sets or Sal Buscema art runs. Low and mid-grade raw copies remain inexpensive and easy to source, while pristine 9.8 slabs command a real premium purely on eye-appeal and census scarcity at the top end, making the book a low-cost entry point rather than a graded investment vehicle.