GREEN LANTERN #45

This pre-1977 book has only one edition, so no direct/newsstand distinction applies. There is a prominent long vertical crease/tear running through the center of the cover with visible color break and stress lines radiating outward, plus additional creasing near the top right and lower right corners. Corners show blunting and there's noticeable surface wear and rubbing across the cover art with some minor edge chipping along the right side. The overall paper appears aged with slight discoloration; interior and back cover were not assessed from this photo.

Green Lantern #45 arrived in the summer of 1966 as part of the celebrated Gil Kane run that defined the visual identity of Hal Jordan's adventures throughout the Silver Age. Kane's dynamic figure work and clean, kinetic layouts, inked here by Sid Greene, exemplify the house style DC cultivated for its cosmic-adventure line, and the issue slots into a stretch of the series widely read and collected as a cohesive run rather than for any single landmark event. No first appearance, origin, or death is associated with this issue, and it is not cited in price guides as a classic-cover key.

Market data shows a broad, well-populated census of 228 certified Universal copies, reflecting steady collector demand for the title across the grading spectrum. Values climb gradually through the mid grades before accelerating sharply at the top of the census, a pattern typical of Silver Age superhero comics where high-grade survivors are scarce relative to the number of raw and mid-grade copies still in circulation. The near-absence of sales data above 9.6, paired with only a single 9.8 on census, points to real scarcity at the pinnacle of the grading scale even though the book itself was not treated as especially precious by original readers.

This issue suits collectors building a complete Kane-era Green Lantern run more than speculators chasing a single grail. Lower and mid-grade raw copies trade as affordable, accessible pieces of Silver Age DC history, while investment interest concentrates almost entirely on the handful of copies capable of reaching 9.4 and above, where price appreciation becomes steep and nonlinear. Buyers seeking this book for a run should expect ready availability in the $25-$50 range, with values compounding quickly only once a copy approaches true condition census territory.