Approximate
Condition Profile
DC COMICS · 12/77 · NEWSSTAND
UNIT ECA-001732
SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES #234
Bronze Age Legion issue in the 52-page format with a Mike Grell cover, featuring the debut of bounty hunter Bounty and an appearance by the Composite Legionnaire
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC Comics | December 1977 | Bronze | Newsstand | — | AVAILABLE |
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and bright, unfaded colors with sharp corners and no visible creases or tears. A faint vertical press line is visible along the left edge near the spine, and there is minor edge wear at the bottom right corner. The book is in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of spine stress ticks; interior and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $3 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $7 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $170 |
// Archive commentary
Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes #234 arrived during DC's mid-1970s expansion of the Legion mythos under writer Gerry Conway, with art by Ric Estrada and Jack Abel and a Mike Grell cover. The issue is best known among Legion completists for introducing the bounty hunter Bounty and for a story appearance of the Composite Legionnaire, a novelty amalgam character drawn from the team's core lineup. It falls within DC's short-lived 52-page "Dollar Comics" era, giving the issue slightly thicker page counts and back-up material typical of the format.
Market data reflects a low-key Bronze Age title with a modest but active certified population, spread across just a few dozen CGC Universal copies. Pricing rises sharply toward the top of the census, consistent with a book that saw normal newsstand attrition and limited high-grade survival rather than any real speculative demand; the widening gap between 9.4, 9.6, and 9.8 values is driven more by scarcity of pristine copies than by character-driven collector competition.
This is a book collected primarily by Legion of Super-Heroes completists and Bronze Age DC runs rather than by first-appearance investors, since neither Bounty nor the Composite Legionnaire carry mainstream recognition. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade for pocket change and are typically acquired as part of run-building rather than as standalone purchases. High-grade CGC 9.8 copies command a real premium due to genuine scarcity at the top of the census, but this remains a supporting title for series collectors rather than a broadly speculative key.
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-001732 | ~8.5 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
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