THE THING #30

Cover shows sharp corners, strong glossy surface, and no visible spine ticks or stress lines. Colors appear bright and unfaded with no signs of creasing or edge wear visible through the protective sleeve. No barcode present, replaced by the Secret Wars II corner box, confirming direct edition. Interior and back cover were not assessed; slight glare from the protective sleeve may obscure minor surface defects.

The Thing #30 arrived during the character's short-lived solo Copper Age series, itself a byproduct of the Fantastic Four roster shakeup that saw Ben Grimm step aside as the Thing joined a supporting cast that included Sharon Ventura and Dennis Dunphy, the future Ms. Marvel/She-Thing and Demolition Man. This issue folds into the Secret Wars II crossover event, bringing the cosmic Beyonder into the book's street-level orbit. Mike Carlin scripts with Ron Wilson on pencils and covers, a pairing that defined much of this title's run, inked here by Dennis Janke.

Market data for this issue reflects its status as a mid-1980s direct-market comic produced in significant quantity, with a thin but present CGC census. The FMV curve is steep rather than gradual: high-grade Universal 9.8 copies command a real premium near $90 against a scant four recorded sales, while 9.6 copies settle at a fraction of that figure, and lower certified grades show little to no trading activity at all. This pattern is consistent with a book whose demand is concentrated almost entirely at the top of the condition scale, driven by census scarcity rather than character or story demand.

Collecting interest in The Thing #30 centers on completists building the Thing's solo run, Secret Wars II crossover chasers, and grade-focused buyers seeking a clean 9.8 for census position rather than narrative significance. Raw copies in low and mid grades remain inexpensive bulk-bin or dollar-box material with minimal appreciation potential, while certified 9.8 copies retain outsized value purely as top-of-census trophies. The gap between these tiers is unusually wide for a book of this era, and buyers should expect the raw market to stay flat while any well-preserved slabbed copy continues to draw disproportionate bidding.