THE HAWK AND THE DOVE #2

Cover shows strong gloss and bright inks with no major color breaks visible. Slight softness at the top corners and minor edge wear along the right border; a faint vertical crease may be present near the spine but is hard to confirm through the protective sleeve. No major creases, tears, or stains are visible on the front cover. Interior and back cover were not assessed, so overall grade could shift once those are examined.

The Hawk and the Dove #2 continues the eponymous series DC Comics launched following the characters' debut in Showcase #75, with Steve Ditko again supplying art atop Steve Skeates's scripts. Hawk and Dove were conceived as ideological opposites, brothers Hank and Don Hall, embodying the era's clashing philosophies of aggression and pacifism amid the Vietnam War's cultural fallout. Ditko's involvement gives the book particular art-historical interest, arriving during his post-Marvel period when he was increasingly foregrounding personal philosophical themes in his work for DC.

The certified population is modest but well-documented, with 94 universal copies spread across the grading spectrum and steady sales activity through the mid-grade tiers. Pricing is notably flat from grade 6.0 through 8.0, reflecting a book that circulated in reasonable numbers but drew only moderate collector demand at those levels. The market curve steepens sharply above 9.0, and the sole recorded 9.8 commands a substantial premium over the next-highest tier, underscoring how scarce true high-grade survivors are for a six-issue series that saw limited high-grade preservation at the time of publication.

Demand centers on Ditko completists, Silver Age DC specialists, and collectors building out the short Hawk and Dove run alongside its Showcase predecessor. Raw copies in low and mid grades remain accessible and affordably priced, trading closer to reading-copy levels than to key-issue territory. Certified high-grade examples, by contrast, are pursued more competitively given the thin population at the top of the census, making a 9.8 a genuine standout for buyers focused on condition census representation rather than narrative significance.