Approximate
Condition Profile
WESTERN PUBLISHING · 5/67
UNIT ECA-033520
TARZAN #167
Gold Key-era Tarzan adventure with Russ Manning art, low CGC census population
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Publishing | May 1967 | Silver | — | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-033055 | ~8.5 | — | AVAILABLE |
| ECA-033068 | ~8.0 | — | AVAILABLE |
| ECA-033520 | ~7.5 | — | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
The cover shows strong color and gloss with only minor wear: slight blunting at the bottom-left corner, a faint press line near the upper right margin, and light handling wear along the spine that does not break color. No major creases, tears, or stains are visible on the front cover. The book is in a protective sleeve, and the interior and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $4 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $14 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $475 |
// Archive commentary
Tarzan #167, published by Western Publishing under the Gold Key imprint with a May 1967 cover date, is part of the long-running licensed adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs's jungle hero that Western produced through the 1960s. The series during this period is closely associated with artist Russ Manning, whose clean, adventure-strip style became the definitive visual take on the character for a generation of readers and set a benchmark that later Marvel and DC Tarzan runs were measured against. The issue is a standard installment rather than a landmark chapter, but it sits within a run widely regarded by collectors as the strongest artistic era of licensed Tarzan comics.
Market data for this issue is thin, reflecting the low submission volume typical of Gold Key adventure titles relative to superhero contemporaries. Certified sales show a steep, non-linear climb from the low tens of dollars at 9.2 to several hundred dollars at 9.6 and 9.8, with only two 9.8 examples on census and a single recorded sale anchoring the top of the curve. This pattern is common to Silver Age licensed-character books: raw copies in low and mid grades remain inexpensive and plentiful, while the handful of surviving high-grade certified copies command outsized premiums due to genuine scarcity rather than storyline importance.
Demand for Tarzan #167 comes primarily from Burroughs completists, Russ Manning art collectors, and Gold Key specialists building full-run sets rather than from key-issue speculation. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade as affordable pickups within larger Tarzan or Western Publishing collections, while top-census CGC 9.6 and 9.8 slabs are pursued more for condition rarity and registry placement than for any narrative significance. Expect steady, unspectacular demand across most grades with sharp value concentration at the very top of the census.
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