Approximate
Condition Profile
MARVEL COMICS · 3/91 · NEWSSTAND
UNIT ECA-008685
DOCTOR STRANGE, SORCERER SUPREME #27
Copper Age newsstand issue pairing a Doctor Strange lead with the "Legacy of the Wolf" Book of the Vishanti backup featuring Dracula and Chthon
// Unit specification
| Publisher | Cover date | Era | Variant | Key attribute | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel Comics | March 1991 | Copper | Newsstand | — | AVAILABLE |
// Copies in archive
| Unit | Grade | Variant | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECA-008685 | ~9.0 | Newsstand | AVAILABLE |
// Run position
// Condition analysis
Cover shows strong gloss and sharp corners with no visible creases or color breaks. Spine appears tight with no stress lines visible in this photo. Slight softness at the top right corner is noted, and the book is protected in a plastic sleeve which limits full assessment of edges; interior and back cover were not examined.
// Valuation — market reference
| Bracket | Grade | Est. market value | Marker |
|---|---|---|---|
| LOW_RAW | 0.5 – 1.5 | $2 | |
| MID_RAW | 4.0 – 6.0 | $3 | |
| HIGH_CERT | 9.8 SLAB | $60 |
// Archive commentary
Cover-dated March 1991, this installment of Marvel's second ongoing Doctor Strange title carries a Chris Marrinan cover and lead story, with Mark McKenna inks, George Roussos colors, and lettering by Jean Simek Izzo and Pat Brosseau. The issue's added interest sits in the backup feature, "The Book of the Vishanti: Legacy of the Wolf, Part II," written by Jean-Marc Lofficier and Dann Thomas with art by Geof Isherwood, which extends the Russoff family history behind Werewolf by Night and draws Dracula, Chthon, Daemond, and Dr. Glitternight into a single connective narrative. The lead, "Possession is 9/10 of the Logarithm," brings in Dr. Karl Malus and the Hangman. The material has since been collected in the Doctor Strange Epic Collection volume The Vampiric Verses and in the Sorcerer Supreme Omnibus, which places it firmly within the run's most reprinted stretch.
Market behavior here is that of a common late-Copper Age monthly. Print runs were still large in early 1991, survival rates in high grade are good, and the certified census for the issue is effectively empty, so there is no established graded price ladder to work from. Raw copies trade as run filler through back-issue bins and set-completion listings, with condition making little practical difference until a copy is genuinely presentable. Demand is driven almost entirely by collectors assembling the full seventy-plus issue run or by Werewolf by Night and Dracula completists chasing the Book of the Vishanti backups, a small but persistent audience that has grown modestly alongside broader interest in Marvel's supernatural corner.
The realistic buyer is a run collector or a horror-adjacent specialist, not a speculator. Across grades the spread is compressed: low-grade and mid-grade copies occupy nearly the same tier, and only a certified high-end copy separates itself, and then largely because grading and slabbing costs set a floor rather than because the market has bid the book up. Anyone considering certification should weigh those costs against the scarcity of graded competition, which cuts both ways on a title with thin certified trading. For dealers, this is a book best moved within a complete or near-complete run, where it contributes to the whole rather than standing alone.
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