THE MAN-THING #3

Cover shows strong gloss and bright colors with sharp corners and no visible creases or color breaks. There is minor surface wear near the spine and a small amount of edge handling visible at the top left corner, with a faint diagonal crease line near the top of the cover. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve, and interior and back cover were not assessed.

Man-Thing volume two launched in 1980 as part of Marvel's effort to revive the swamp creature after his original 1970s series and black-and-white magazine runs had lapsed. Issue three continues the Michael Fleisher-scripted horror-adventure formula, with art handled by Jim Mooney and Bob Wiacek. The character, created by Steve Gerber, Gray Morrow, and Roy Thomas, had already built a cult following for its blend of muck-monster horror and existential melancholy, but this second volume is a lesser-remembered chapter in that history, produced without major new character introductions or storyline landmarks.

Market data reflects a low-key, thinly traded Bronze Age title. The census of 32 universal copies is modest for the era, and sales activity is sparse outside the top grades, where a small but persistent pool of collectors pursues pristine 9.8 copies for census-completion purposes. The jump from mid-grade sales in the $30-50 range to $170-200 at the top of the census is a function of scarcity at the highest grade rather than any narrative or historical importance of the issue itself. There is no first appearance, death, or creator-defining moment driving demand; the book trades on completism and Man-Thing brand recognition alone.

This is a filler-tier back-issue for dealers: raw copies in low and mid grade move slowly and cheaply through bins and online lots, appealing mainly to Man-Thing series runs-builders. Certified 9.8 copies command a real premium due to census scarcity and will attract targeted bidding from registry-set collectors, but the book holds no crossover appeal to broader Bronze Age or horror-genre buyers. Expect steady, unspectacular movement across all grades with the high end driven entirely by grade rarity rather than content.