TALES OF SUSPENSE #25

Cover shows moderate wear consistent with a pre-Silver Age monster comic: visible spine stress with a couple of small ticks along the top spine edge, mild corner softening at all four corners, and light surface wear/soiling especially at the top edge and left margin. There is a small vertical crease near the upper spine and slight color loss along the top edge; overall color is bright with no major tears, stains, or missing pieces observed. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve, which limits full assessment; interior pages and back cover were not visible and were not assessed.

Tales of Suspense debuted from Marvel (then Atlas) in 1959 as one of the company's science-fiction and monster anthology titles, part of the wave of Cold War-era suspense books that filled newsstands before the superhero revival. Issue #25, cover-dated January 1962, arrived roughly a year and a half before the series would be transformed by the introduction of Iron Man in issue #39, and it reflects the house style of the period: short suspense and monster tales typically scripted by Stan Lee and illustrated by artists from Marvel's regular stable of the era, including Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, both frequent contributors to the title's covers and interiors at this stage.

Demand for this issue is driven almost entirely by collectors assembling a complete run of Tales of Suspense, particularly those working backward from the Iron Man era, rather than by any first appearance or landmark event contained within the issue itself. The certified population is modest and skews toward mid-grade, with sales activity concentrated in the $100-$300 range across grades 4.0 through 8.0, and a sharp value increase only above grade 9.0, where population thins dramatically. No CGC 9.4 or higher copy has recorded a sale, and the complete absence of any census entries at 9.6 through 10.0 underscores how rarely this issue survives in top condition.

The book functions in the market as a mid-tier run-building title rather than a marquee investment piece: low-grade raw copies serve as inexpensive reading or placeholder copies for collectors filling out early Tales of Suspense runs, mid-grade raw copies represent the most commonly traded tier and a realistic entry point for most buyers, and high-grade certified copies are scarce enough that a true gem-mint example would likely draw strong competitive bidding from registry-focused collectors despite the issue's otherwise modest profile.