MEPHISTO VS. #1

Cover shows sharp corners, glossy unfaded surface, and strong black ink with no visible spine ticks or stress lines. There is a faint small mark near the top-center black area and the book is in a protective sleeve, but no creases, tears, or color breaking are evident. Interior and back cover were not assessed, so grade is capped conservatively at 9.2.

Mephisto vs. #1 launched a four-issue 1987 Marvel limited series pitting the demonic antagonist Mephisto against a rotating cast of Marvel heroes, beginning here with the New Mutants. Written and illustrated by Al Milgrom, the series was a modest direct-market offering during the Copper Age, capitalizing on Mephisto's established role as a recurring cosmic-horror foil dating back to his 1968 debut in Silver Surfer #3. The book does not introduce Mephisto, nor does it carry any first-appearance, origin, or landmark-creator distinction that would elevate it beyond a minor entry in the character's publication history.

Market data reflects a book of limited collector demand: a small CGC population, sparse sales activity across most grades, and a 9.8 FMV in the tens of dollars rather than the hundreds. Interest in the title is driven almost entirely by completists of the Mephisto vs. series and by New Mutants team-book collectors rounding out crossover appearances, rather than by any broader key-issue demand. Pricing across the grade spectrum stays compressed, with even high-grade certified copies commanding only modest premiums over raw material.

This is a book for series completists and Mephisto character collectors rather than speculative investors. Raw copies in low and mid grade circulate cheaply in back-issue bins and online lots, while CGC 9.8 slabs, though scarce on census, still trade in the double digits given the absence of any first-appearance or landmark-creator premium. Expect steady but unremarkable demand tied to broader Mephisto and New Mutants collecting trends rather than independent appreciation.