STRANGE TALES #126

This 1965 12-cent issue predates the direct/newsstand distinction so no variant applies. Cover shows significant wear: heavy spine stress with multiple visible ticks and creasing running the length of the spine, a distinct vertical crease through the lower-left corner cover art with color break, and rounded/worn corners top and bottom. There are small edge tears along the left margin and general surface wear/soiling consistent with age; the book is also encased in a protective sleeve which limits full assessment of texture and gloss. Interior pages and back cover were not visible for assessment.

Strange Tales #126 (November 1965) is best known to collectors as the first appearance of Dormammu, the ruler of the Dark Dimension and the definitive recurring antagonist of Doctor Strange. The character emerged from Steve Ditko's back-up Doctor Strange feature, scripted by Stan Lee, at a point when the strip was moving decisively into the hallucinatory, dimension-spanning visual style that would define Ditko's late run on the title. The issue's lead story starred the Human Torch and the Thing, a pairing that anchored Strange Tales' front half throughout the mid-1960s, while the Doctor Strange back-up carried the greater long-term significance for the Marvel mythos.

Market data shows a book with substantial collector participation across the grading scale, with well over a thousand certified copies and dozens of recorded sales at nearly every grade point, reflecting steady demand tied to Dormammu's stature within the Doctor Strange rogues' gallery and his later prominence in Marvel Studios' feature films. Pricing accelerates sharply above the mid grades, with values climbing from double digits in low grade to the thousands by 9.2-9.4, consistent with a recognized key that is not a headline-grade grail but commands a durable premium over ordinary mid-1960s Marvel issues. The near-total absence of 9.8 certifications on census, against a comparatively deep pool of 9.4-9.6 copies, points to a natural ceiling of surviving high-grade material rather than any lack of demand.

The book trades actively across the full grade spectrum, appealing to Doctor Strange and Marvel villain completists at the low and mid end and to focused key-issue investors at the top. Given the scarcity of 9.6 and 9.8 copies relative to census depth below them, any well-preserved high-grade example is likely to see continued appreciation, while raw and low-grade copies remain accessible entry points for collectors building a Ditko-era Doctor Strange run.