The Punisher's Bronze Age Key Issues (1974-1985)

The Silver Age ended around 1970; the Punisher arrived four years later. Any list of "Silver Age Punisher keys" would be fiction: the real grails cluster on a handful of Bronze Age issues, nearly all guest appearances in Spider-Man, Captain America and Daredevil titles.

This guide sticks to the verifiable: live eBay medians (via our estimator) and documented facts. When a precise figure isn't reliable (too few listings) or unavailable, we describe it qualitatively rather than inventing it.

The Punisher's real Bronze Age keys (live data, June 2026)

Values = median of active eBay listings, all editions and grades combined (our estimator, eBay.fr + eBay.com). Medians are dragged down by raw copies and lots; high-grade CGC copies trade well above.

Why #129 crushes everything else

Amazing Spider-Man #129 is the character's undisputed grail, and by far the most liquid issue on this list. Three concrete reasons:

• The founding event. It's Frank Castle's first appearance, written by Gerry Conway and drawn by Ross Andru, in February 1974. No other Punisher issue carries that status.
• The grade gap. The "all grades" median (€1,368.48) hides an enormous spread: listings range from under €6 (lots, very low grade) to over €3,900 for high-grade copies. On this issue, grade is everything.
• Liquidity. 82 active listings at any time for a 1974 comic — a rare volume that signals deep demand, refreshed by every screen adaptation (from Dolph Lundgren in 1989 to Jon Bernthal in Daredevil: Born Again in 2025).

Marvel Preview #2: the origin, off the estimator

Marvel Preview #2 (1975) contains the first telling of the Punisher's origin — a 32-page story by Gerry Conway and Tony DeZuniga, under a painted cover by Gray Morrow. It's also the first appearance of Dominic Fortune.

This magazine isn't indexed by our estimator (limited to standard comic-format series), so we won't quote a precise figure. Worth knowing for collectors: as a large-format Curtis magazine, it survived better than average and remains relatively accessible in high grade per Heritage and GoCollect indexes. It's the logical companion to #129: first appearance on one side, first origin on the other.

The secondary Bronze keys: #135, Captain America #241, Daredevil #182-184

• Amazing Spider-Man #135 (Aug. 1974) — the Punisher's 2nd appearance, again by Conway/Andru. eBay median of €156.10 (100 listings, June 2026): a tenth of #129, but a genuine Bronze key in its own right.
• Captain America #241 (1979) — one of the Punisher's earliest appearances outside Spider-Man, two years before Daredevil. Our estimator returns only a handful of listings (too thin to be reliable), so we cite it qualitatively. It's a sought-after but accessible issue.
• Daredevil #182-184 (1982) — Frank Miller and Roger McKenzie's "Child's Play" arc. Daredevil #183 is the 1st meeting between Daredevil and the Punisher; it carries the highest median of the trio at around €33 (29 listings), versus €16 for #182 (45 listings) and €19 for #184 (35 listings). Affordable, heavily collected Miller keys.

Collector strategy (grounded in real data)

• #129 = the centerpiece. If budget allows, this is THE issue to secure: best liquidity, first-appearance status, demand independent of the film calendar.
• #135 and Daredevil #183 = the entry points. At €156 and ~€33 median, these are the most reasonable ways into a genuine Bronze key for the character.
• Grade is everything. On #129 especially, the gap between a raw copy and a high-grade CGC runs into the thousands. Always check condition and the live value before buying — the medians above date to June 2026 and prices move.