STRANGE TALES #3

Cover shows strong gloss and vibrant, unfaded color with sharp corners and no visible creases or spine stress from this angle. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve which adds slight glare but no defects are apparent through it; the Spider-Man head logo (rather than a UPC barcode) confirms this is the direct market edition. No tears, stains, or writing are visible on the front cover. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, so the grade reflects only the visible front surface.

Strange Tales #3 (Marvel Comics, cover-dated June 1987) is the third issue of the short-lived second Strange Tales volume, a title Marvel revived to give the street-level duo Cloak and Dagger a dedicated home after their run as backup features in Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man. Writer Bill Mantlo continued the characters' morally shaded crime-and-drugs storylines, with art handled by the era's rotating Marvel Copper Age bullpen. The book sits early in this volume's brief nineteen-issue existence, before the series was eventually retitled Cloak and Dagger outright, reflecting the characters' gradual promotion within Marvel's lineup.

As a mid-run issue of a niche spinoff title with no first appearances, origin stories, or major creator milestones, this issue carries no distinguishing significance beyond its place in the Cloak and Dagger publication history. Demand is limited to completists assembling the full Strange Tales vol. 2 run or Cloak and Dagger character collectors, and the absence of a tracked market valuation reflects a book that circulates in bulk lots and dollar bins rather than through targeted key-issue sales.

This is a reader's copy suited to fans filling out a Cloak and Dagger or Copper Age Marvel run rather than an investment-grade acquisition. Raw copies remain inexpensive and plentiful across grades, while a high-grade certified slab would appeal only to a narrow pool of character-specific or run completists rather than general key-issue buyers.