Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 12/89 · DIRECT EDITION
UNIT ECA-005217
CAPTAIN AMERICA #365
A late-1980s Gruenwald-era Captain America issue in the direct-market Copper Age run
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | December 1989 | Copper | Direct Edition | — | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and vivid color with sharp corners and no visible creases or spine stress lines. A tiny bit of edge wear is possible near the top right corner but is hard to confirm through the protective sleeve's glare. The book is bagged, so surface texture is partially obscured; interior and back cover were not assessed.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $3 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $6 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $80 |
// Archive commentary
Captain America #365 arrived in December 1989 during Mark Gruenwald's long tenure as writer, a stretch of the series noted for its steady exploration of Cap's supporting cast and ongoing subplots rather than single-issue spectacle. The book is a representative artifact of the era's line-wide house style, produced amid Marvel's push toward direct-market exclusivity, and it does not carry a first appearance, origin, or other event typically flagged by price guides. Its interest lies chiefly in being part of a long-running, widely collected title rather than in any standalone historical significance.
Market data shows a small certified population, with only 27 total CGC Universal copies recorded and sales activity scattered thinly across the grading spectrum. Pricing climbs from the teens at mid grade toward the $80 mark at the top of the census in 9.8, a curve consistent with a low-demand back-issue title where price is driven more by scarcity of top-graded copies than by broad collector competition. There is no recorded sales activity at 9.4, and no copies exist above 9.8, meaning the current top of census effectively caps the certified market.
This issue trades as a bulk-bin or bargain-box book in low and mid grades, appealing mainly to Captain America run-builders and Gruenwald-era completists rather than character-key hunters. High-grade certified copies see modest but real premiums due to the small 9.6-9.8 population, making a well-preserved slab a minor curiosity for census-chasers, though the ceiling remains low relative to genuinely key Copper Age issues. Long-term demand will likely track general nostalgia for late-1980s Captain America rather than any speculative key-issue narrative.
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-005217 | ~9.2 | Direct Edition | AVAILABLE |
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