THE THING #23

Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creasing or color breaks. There is minor waviness/shadow near the top of the logo, possibly from the protective sleeve rather than the cover itself, and slight indentation is visible along the upper right edge. Spine appears tight with no visible stress lines. Interior and back cover were not assessed, so grade is based solely on the visible front cover.

The Thing #23 is a mid-run installment of Marvel's short-lived 1983-86 solo series starring Ben Grimm, arriving during a period when the character's title leaned on Fantastic Four continuity to sustain reader interest. This issue continues the emotionally charged subplot involving Johnny Storm and Alicia Masters that had been seeded in Fantastic Four #277, drawing Franklin Richards, the Invisible Woman, and Mr. Fantastic into the narrative alongside Thing himself. Mike Carlin scripts the issue, with penciler Ron Wilson – the title's regular artist throughout its run – joined by inker Bob Sinnott on a cover that pairs the two in one of their more polished collaborations for the series.

Market data for this issue is thin, consistent with its status as a non-key mid-run Copper Age newsstand book. Only a handful of copies have been certified, with a small cluster at the top of the census (9.6 and 9.8) accounting for the only recorded sales; no certified sales exist below that range, and raw copies in low and mid grades trade for nominal sums reflecting bulk long-box supply rather than active demand. Buyer interest is driven almost entirely by series completists and Fantastic Four crossover collectors tracking the Johnny Storm/Alicia subplot rather than by any first appearance, origin, or landmark creative event.

This is a book for FF-adjacent series runs and Ron Wilson cover collectors rather than speculative buyers. Raw copies in low and mid grades are inexpensive and plentiful, appropriate for reading copies or run-fillers, while the handful of certified high-grade slabs command a modest premium simply due to census scarcity rather than storyline significance. Expect steady, low-volume trading with little price volatility across all grade tiers.