THROUGH THE ASHES #1

Cover shows sharp corners, clean glossy surface, and no visible spine stress, creases, or color breaking. The book is protected in a plastic sleeve which limits full assessment but no wear, dents, or discoloration are apparent from the visible front cover. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, so grade is capped conservatively despite the strong front-cover presentation.

Through the Ashes #1 was published in 2001 by Crusade Fine Arts Ltd., a small independent press operating during the crowded post-1990s black-and-white and creator-owned publishing landscape. Like many such debut issues from short-lived imprints of the era, the book represents a first issue of a series that did not achieve wide distribution or lasting readership, and specific creator credits and character details have not been widely documented in standard references.

The absence of a published fair-market value for this issue is consistent with its status as a minor, low-circulation independent release rather than any oversight; such books typically trade at or near cover price when they surface at all, reflecting thin secondary-market demand rather than scarcity-driven desirability. Collector interest in Modern Age small-press debuts of this kind is generally limited to completists of the specific imprint or genre rather than mainstream key-issue buyers.

This is a reader-grade or curiosity acquisition rather than an investment-grade item. Raw copies in various conditions circulate inexpensively among longbox browsers and independent-comics collectors, while a certified high-grade slab would appeal mainly to a niche completist seeking a graded example of an obscure small-press title rather than to speculators chasing appreciation.