CAPTAIN AMERICA #382

Cover shown through a protective sleeve appears glossy with strong color and sharp corners; no visible creases, tears, or spine stress in this image. Slight glare from the plastic sleeve obscures fine detail, and the back cover/interior were not assessed. Based on visible surface only, this presents as a high-grade copy, though sight-unseen estimates are capped below near-mint-plus.

Captain America #382 falls within Mark Gruenwald's long, meticulously plotted run on the title, arriving during a Serpent Society storyline that showcases the villain team's ensemble dynamic. Mark Bagley provides pencils early in a career that would soon define his Spider-Man work, with Danny Bulanadi inking the cover and Dan Panosian handling interior inks. The issue is a mid-continuity chapter rather than a debut or landmark event, populated by established characters including Anaconda, Asp, Black Mamba, Bushmaster, Cottonmouth, Coachwhip, and Diamondback alongside Captain America and Bernie Rosenthal.

Market data for this issue is thin. The certified population is small, with only a handful of copies graded and no 9.8 examples recorded on census or in sales history. The best documented result sits at 9.6, and pricing at that tier remains modest, consistent with a Copper Age Marvel title that trades mainly among run-builders rather than speculators chasing a specific key. The newsstand distribution designation adds a layer of scarcity relative to direct-edition copies of the same issue, though this has only a marginal effect on realized prices given the overall low demand ceiling.

This issue suits collectors assembling a complete Gruenwald-era Captain America run or those tracking early Mark Bagley pencil work rather than buyers seeking a marquee investment piece. Raw copies in low and mid grades trade for nominal sums reflecting bulk-bin availability, while a hypothetical pristine certified copy would command a premium chiefly due to census scarcity rather than storyline importance. Expect this book to remain a value-priced building block for long-box collectors and Bagley completists rather than a headline lot.