STAR TREK #12

Cover shows strong, glossy color with sharp corners and no visible creasing or spine stress; the UPC barcode box confirms newsstand edition. Minor light reflection/glare across the surface may be masking small handling wear, and the book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment. No tears, stains, or writing are visible on the front cover; interior and back cover were not assessed.

Star Trek #12 belongs to Marvel's 1980-1982 licensed ongoing series, launched to capitalize on the success of Star Trek: The Motion Picture after two decades of Gold Key publishing the property. This issue, "Eclipse of Reason!," was written by Martin Pasko with Alan Brennert and drawn by Luke McDonnell with inks by Tom Palmer, continuing the title's original stories featuring Kirk, Spock, McCoy, and the Enterprise crew rather than adapting the films or the original television scripts. It carries no first appearance, death, or origin story, and it is not associated with a widely cited classic cover; it is a representative mid-run chapter of Marvel's first stewardship of the franchise before the license moved to DC Comics in 1984.

Demand for this issue is driven almost entirely by Star Trek franchise collectors and run-builders rather than by the superhero key-issue market that dominates Bronze Age pricing discussions. Recent raw sales reflect that reality, with even higher-grade unslabbed copies trading in the low double digits. Certified populations for the Marvel Star Trek run remain thin across the board, and newsstand copies from this period are scarcer than their direct-market counterparts because Marvel's newsstand distribution was already contracting by 1981, which lends a modest premium to well-preserved newsstand copies in top holders even though the underlying book generates little competitive bidding.

This is a book bought by completists assembling the full eighteen-issue Marvel Star Trek run rather than by investors chasing appreciation. Raw copies in low and mid grades are inexpensive and readily available, making them accessible entry points for franchise collectors, while a CGC 9.8 newsstand slab occupies a narrow, low-volume niche where scarcity rather than broad demand sets the price ceiling. Across all grades, the book trades as a solid but unspectacular piece of licensed Bronze Age publishing history rather than a speculative or key-driven asset.