STRIKEFORCE: MORITURI #1

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or color breaks in this photo. There is a small diagonal white scuff/scratch across the upper title area (through the 'Strikeforce' logo) that appears to be a printing line or minor surface scuff, worth noting. Spine appears tight with no visible stress lines, and edges look clean; book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment. Interior and back cover were not assessed.

Strikeforce: Morituri #1 (December 1986) launched writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Brent Anderson's original science-fiction series for Marvel, built around ordinary humans who undergo an irreversible process granting superhuman abilities to fight an invading alien race, the Horde, at the cost of their lives within roughly a year. This debut issue introduces the Morituri Project and its first cadre of transformed operatives, including Scarab, Marathon, Vyking, and Snapdragon, establishing the series' signature blend of superhero action and tragic mortality that set it apart from Marvel's other Copper Age output.

Market activity on this title is thin, with GoCollect recording only a handful of certified sales concentrated at the top of the grade scale. The 9.8 tier shows the most consistent trading, while mid- and lower-grade certified sales are essentially absent from the record, reflecting the book's status as a well-regarded but non-mainstream cult favorite rather than a heavily speculated key. Demand tends to come from readers and collectors of the original run and fans of Gillis and Anderson's later, more celebrated collaborations rather than from crossover superhero-key buyers.

The book trades as a modest-premium Copper Age first issue: raw copies in low and mid grades remain inexpensive and are readily available given the title's substantial newsstand print run, while pristine CGC 9.8 slabs command a real but limited premium due to genuine scarcity at that grade rather than broad demand. Buyers are typically series completists and Bronze/Copper Age specialists building runs of underappreciated Marvel science-fiction titles, with the high end of the market driven more by census rarity than by any landmark first appearance.