TARZAN LORD OF THE JUNGLE #9

Visible defects include noticeable surface creasing and waviness across the cover (particularly through the upper right and central logo/snake area), a soft crease line running diagonally through the artwork, and slight corner wear at the bottom corners. Colors remain bright with no major fading or staining, and there is no significant spine roll visible, though the cover surface shows a somewhat rippled texture suggesting past moisture exposure or pressure. The book is in a protective sleeve, which limits full assessment of edges; interior pages and back cover were not visible for grading.

Tarzan Lord of the Jungle launched Marvel's license to adapt Edgar Rice Burroughs's jungle hero into an ongoing series during the back half of the 1970s, with Roy Thomas scripting and John Buscema handling the art chores that had already made him a defining Marvel visual stylist on titles like Conan the Barbarian and The Avengers. Issue #9, cover-dated February 1978, falls within the title's main Buscema-illustrated run and continues the writer-artist team's episodic adaptation of Burroughs's source material for a newsstand audience.

The issue carries no first appearance, death, or landmark creative event and is not cited in price guides as a key issue; its market value is driven almost entirely by Buscema's cover and interior art rather than any plot milestone. Census data shows a modest but real collector base for high-grade copies, with eleven 9.8 slabs recorded and consistent demand at that tier, while raw copies in low and mid grades see limited turnover and correspondingly modest prices reflecting the book's status as a solid but non-key chapter in a licensed adventure title.

This issue appeals mainly to Tarzan and Edgar Rice Burroughs completists, Bronze Age Marvel run-builders, and John Buscema art collectors rather than speculative key-issue buyers. Lower and mid-grade raw copies move steadily at low prices as reading or run-filling copies, while CGC 9.8 examples command a real premium reflecting genuine scarcity in top census grades and steady, if thin, high-grade demand.