Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, 1961) Marvel Silver Age Hero Comic #1. This is where it all started for Marvel as we know it today, the origin and first appearance of the Fantastic Four, Marvel's first superhero team. It's also the origin and first appearance of the villainous (though misunderstood) Mole Man. Writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby were behind this one. The first title under the publishers name Marvel Comics switching from Atlas Comics that year. This is the first official silver age Marvel Comics superhero book and would be one of the most scarcest Marvel hero books of the era as there was no hype when this book came out. #3 most valuable 1 st appearance silver age Marvel (1960-62) comic. Print run estimate: 125,000 copies. The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium. The Fantastic Four was the first superhero team created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, who developed a collaborative approach to creating comics with this title that they would use from then on. The four individuals traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space, are Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and the leader of the group, who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; the Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm), who eventually married Reed, who can render herself invisible and later project powerful force fields; the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can generate flames, surround himself with them and fly; and the monstrous Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, a former college football star and Reed's college roommate as well as a good pilot, who possesses superhuman strength and endurance due to the nature of his stone-like flesh. As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed a cornerstone of the company's 1960s rise from a small division of a publishing company to a pop culture conglomerate. The title would go on to showcase the talents of comics creators such as Roy Thomas, John Buscema, George Pérez, John Byrne, Steve Englehart, Walt Simonson, and Tom DeFalco, and is one of several Marvel titles originating in the Silver Age of Comic Books that is still in publication in the 2010s. Created by artist/co-writer Jack Kirby and writer Stan Lee, the character first appeared in The Fantastic Four No. 1 (Nov. 1961). The Mole Man was originally Harvey Rupert Elder, an American nuclear engineer and explorer. Elder was socially shunned due to a combination of his abrasive personality and his homely, dwarfish appearance. Furthermore, his fellow explorers ridiculed him for his eccentric, crackpot theories regarding a Hollow Earth. In 1956, while following the group of explorers called the Monster Hunters, he stumbled upon Monster Island, which was at the time a base of the Deviant Warlord Kro. When Elder fell into a massive cave leading deep into the underground realm of Subterranea, he decided his theories had finally been vindicated. However, he suffered permanent damage to his eyes when he gazed directly upon a highly reflective deposit of diamonds. CGC Universal 577 copies / NM 9.6 or better = 1 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 107 copies as of 9/10 CGC Universal 807 copies / NM 9.6 or better = 2 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 172 copies as of 3/13 CGC Universal 1,027 copies / NM 9.6 or better = 2 copies / Heritage Auctions sold 233 copies as of 7/15 OVERSTREET ANNUAL PRICE GUIDE VALUES FOR EACH GRADE 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 9.0 9.2 2015 $2,200.00 $4,400.00 $8,400.00 $29,000.00 $74,500.00 $120,000.00 2014 $2,100.00 $4,200.00 $8,000.00 $28,000.00 $69,000.00 $110,000.00 2013 $2,000.00 $4,000.00 $7,500.00 $27,000.00 $66,000.00 $105,000.00 2012 $2,000.00 $4,000.00 $7,500.00 $26,000.00 $58,000.00 $90,000.00 2011 $2,500.00 $5,000.00 $7,500.00 $24,000.00 $52,000.00 $80,000.00 2010 $2,200.00 $4,400.00 $6,600.00 $21,000.00 $45,500.00 $70,000.00 2009 $1,700.00 $3,400.00 $5,100.00 $16,000.00 $34,000.00 $52,000.00 2008 $1,250.00 $2,500.00 $3,750.00 $12,500.00 $26,750.00 $41,000.00 2007 $1,050.00 $2,100.00 $3,150.00 $10,500.00 $23,750.00 $37,000.00 2006 $950.00 $1,900.00 $2,850.00 $9,700.00 $22,850.00 $36,000.00 2005 $875.00 $1,750.00 $2,625.00 $9,200.00 $22,100.00 $35,000.00 2004 $850.00 $1,700.00 $2,550.00 $8,925.00 $21,463.00 $34,000.00 2003 $842.00 $1,684.00 $2,526.00 $9,350.00 $20,675.00 $32,000.00 2002 $800.00 $1,600.00 $2,400.00 $8,800.00 $17,900.00 $27,000.00 2001 $800.00 $1,600.00 $2,400.00 $8,800.00 $16,600.00 $24,000.00 2000 $740.00 $1,480.00 $2,220.00 $7,400.00 $13,200.00 $19,000.00 1995 $1,080.00 $2,160.00 $3,250.00 $8,125.00 $10,600.00 $13,000.00 1985 $120.00 $310.00 $500.00 $800.00 $950.00 $1,100.00 1975 $60.00 $75.00 $90.00 $105.00 $112.50 $120.00 1970 $20.00 $22.50 $25.00 $27.50 $28.75 $30.00 HIGHEST SALES = HERITAGE AUCTIONS www.ha.com Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, 1961) CGC VF+ 8.5 Off-white pages.... Signature October 12, 2002 $18,400.00 Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, 1961) CGC FN/VF 7.0 Off-white to white pages.... Signature November 15, 2008 $15,535.00 Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, 1961) CGC VF+ 8.5 Off-white pages.... Signature July 20, 2003 $14,662.50 Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, 1961) CGC FN+ 6.5 White pages.... Signature August 4, 2007 $13,384.00 CGC COMICS - ALL GRADED/SLABBED COPIES - CENSUS TO CHECK RARITY .