SUPERMAN’S GIRL FRIEND, LOIS LANE #86

Coverless — the photo shows an interior story page (page 15) with the "GIANT LOIS LANE" running header, not a cover. The remaining wrap/first pages show heavy damage: the spine edge is chewed and paper is missing along the left margin, staple area is torn through with visible staple holes and stress tears, pages are uniformly tanned/browned with brittle edges and scattered moisture stains at the top. Interior completeness and back cover were not assessed; the book is incomplete and heavily damaged.

Superman's Girl Friend, Lois Lane #86 (October 1968) is a standard entry in DC's long-running Lois Lane solo title, part of the broader Superman editorial family overseen by Mort Weisinger. The issue's principal point of interest is its cover: pencilled by Neal Adams and inked by Al Plastino, it dates from the period when Adams was moving from advertising and romance-comic work into mainstream superhero art, shortly before his more famous runs on Batman, X-Men, and Green Lantern/Green Arrow. E. Nelson Bridwell scripted the interior story, which features the established supporting cast of Lois Lane, Superman, Jimmy Olsen, and Lucy Lane. The issue introduces no new characters, deaths, or origin material, and its story content is not singled out in standard price-guide key listings.

The book's market profile reflects a low-population Silver Age humor/romance-adjacent title rather than a superhero key. Census figures show roughly 55-59 certified copies spread thinly across the grading scale, with sparse sales activity at nearly every tier and no recorded 9.8 sale despite one such copy existing in census. Pricing rises sharply only at the top of the certified population, consistent with covers by a name artist commanding outsized premiums once supply thins out, while raw and mid-grade copies remain inexpensive due to limited crossover demand beyond Adams completists and Lois Lane run collectors.

Demand for this issue comes primarily from two overlapping groups: collectors assembling Neal Adams' complete cover output across his early DC career, and those building full runs of the Lois Lane title or the broader Superman family line. Outside of these niches, the book does not attract first-appearance or origin-driven buyers, which keeps low- and mid-grade raw copies trading as inexpensive fillers. High-grade certified copies, by contrast, see disproportionate interest given the thin population at the top of the census, making a well-preserved slab the more actively contested end of the market for this issue.