SUPERBOY #144

Cover shows strong gloss and bright color with no major creases visible; corners appear reasonably sharp with only slight blunting at bottom corners. There is minor edge wear along the top and right edge, and a faint vertical crease line near the spine may be present but is hard to confirm through the protective sleeve's glare. No visible tears, stains, or writing on the cover. The book is in a protective sleeve which obscures fine surface detail; interior and back cover were not assessed.

Superboy #144, cover-dated January 1968, is a representative entry from the late Silver Age run of DC's Superboy title, published during the period when the Boy of Steel's adventures regularly crossed over with Legion of Super-Heroes continuity and supporting characters such as Mon-El. The issue reflects the house style of DC's Superman family books of the era: clean, code-approved storytelling aimed at a young readership, produced amid editor Mort Weisinger's tightly continuity-conscious oversight of the Superman line.

Market data for this issue shows a typically thin certified population for a non-key Silver Age DC book, with fewer than two dozen total census copies across all grades and sparse recorded sales at most grade points. Pricing is flat through the low-to-mid grades, climbs modestly in the 8.0-9.4 range, and only becomes meaningfully steep at the top of the curve, where 9.6 copies have traded near $210 against a nearly untested 9.8 population. This shape is consistent with a book collected mainly as part of a complete Superboy or Legion-adjacent run rather than for any singular first appearance or landmark event.

Demand centers on Silver Age Superman-family completists and Legion of Super-Heroes run collectors filling gaps rather than speculators chasing a key. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade for modest, stable sums reflecting general Silver Age backfill demand, while high-grade certified examples command a disproportionate premium simply due to scarcity at the top of the census. Absent a certified 9.8 population of any depth, a first-to-market slab at that grade would likely set the pricing benchmark for the issue going forward.