THE FRANKENSTEIN MONSTER #13

Cover shows strong gloss and vivid color with sharp corners and no visible creasing or spine stress; the book is currently housed in a plastic sleeve which adds some glare but the surface appears clean. No tears, stains, or color-breaking folds are visible along the edges or spine in this view. Interior pages and back cover were not assessed, so the grade reflects front-cover appearance only.

The Frankenstein Monster #13 arrived in November 1974 as part of Marvel's early-1970s wave of black-and-white-to-color horror titles built around classic Universal-style monsters, following the company's licensing of Mary Shelley's creation after the expiration of earlier copyright restrictions. By this point in the series' run, the title had moved past its earliest Mike Ploog-illustrated issues into a period of rotating art and writing talent as Marvel worked to keep its horror line commercially viable amid a crowded newsstand market. The issue is a middle-run installment rather than an origin or landmark issue, and it does not introduce any character of lasting significance to the wider Marvel universe.

Market data shows a pronounced grade curve typical of lesser-collected Bronze Age horror: raw and low-grade certified copies trade for modest sums, with a meaningful jump only at the 9.4 and above thresholds, and a steep premium for the rare 9.8 slabs. Demand is driven less by the Frankenstein Monster as a character and more by census scarcity — only a small fraction of the 78 total CGC-graded copies reach gem status, and 9.8s change hands infrequently. This scarcity-driven, rather than key-driven, demand profile means pricing is more sensitive to certified population counts than to narrative content.

This book suits collectors building a complete run of Marvel's 1970s Frankenstein series or assembling a broader Bronze Age horror archive, rather than character-first buyers chasing a first appearance. Raw copies in low and mid grade are inexpensive and plentiful, making them accessible entry points, while top-census 9.8 examples command outsized premiums relative to the rest of the grade curve simply because so few exist. Long-term appeal will likely track interest in Marvel's horror output of the period broadly rather than any single storyline within this particular issue.