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Tales to Astonish #78 cover
Cover: Gene Colan & Vince Colletta

Tales to Astonish #78

Apr 1966 · Marvel · 0.12 USD
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In "The Prince and the Puppet!", Namor finds himself caught in a deadly game when the Puppet Master hijacks his mind during a tense standoff with Hank and Jan over an underwater drilling operation. Forced to obey the villain’s commands, the Sub-Mariner is sent to New York to rob a bank, returning with a stack of unbreakable treasury bonds—only to be ordered back for cash, now pursued by the military as he tries to return to Atlantis. Written by Stan Lee and illustrated by Adam Austin with inks by Vince Colletta, the story’s eerie tension is captured in Gene Colan’s striking cover art.

Contains 2 stories
The Prince and the Puppet!
12 pp · Superhero

In "The Prince and the Puppet!", Namor finds himself caught between duty and deception when the Puppet Master hijacks his mind during a tense standoff with Hank and Jan over a drilling operation threatening Atlantis. Forced to carry out a bank heist in New York, Namor returns with a stack of treasury bonds—only to be sent back for cash, his actions now a weapon in a villain’s scheme. As military forces close in, the Puppet Master’s final command sends Namor into a deadly confrontation, testing the limits of his will and his loyalty.

The Hulk Must Die!
10 pp · Superhero

In a pulse-pounding tale from Tales to Astonish #78, the Hulk returns from the future only to be captured by the military, setting off a chain of revelations and danger. Rick's confession to Betty that Bruce Banner and the Hulk are one and the same shakes her world, while Dr. Zaxon, the ambitious replacement at gamma base, sees the Hulk’s power as the key to global domination.

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta
Raw (VG) $13
CGC 9.6 · 3 in census $1,246
CGC 9.4 · 8 in census $454
CGC 9.2 · 11 in census $194
CGC 9.0 · 20 in census $140
CGC 8.5 · 20 in census $73
CGC 8.0 · 17 in census $68
Show all 18 grades
CGC 7.5 · 14 in census $51
CGC 7.0 · 15 in census $51
CGC 6.5 · 17 in census $39*
CGC 6.0 · 10 in census $35*
CGC 5.5 · 8 in census $27
CGC 5.0 · 6 in census $26
CGC 4.5 · 4 in census $22*
CGC 4.0 · 5 in census $21*
CGC 3.5 · 2 in census $20*
CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*
CGC 2.5 · 3 in census $20*
CGC 2.0 none in existence
* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade
Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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Cast · 13 characters

Full credits

writer Stan Lee
letterer Artie Simek
cover pencils Gene Colan
cover inks Vince Colletta

Reprints

Reprinted in Terrific! #9 (1967), Los Vengadores #62 (1967), Hit Comics Die Spinne #231 (1971), Eclipso #20 (1972), Marvel Super-Heroes #33 (1972), The Mighty World of Marvel #31 (1973), Die Spinne #8 (1974), Etranges Aventures #36 (1974), Hulk #24 (1975), Hulk Pocket Book #6 (1980), Essential Hulk #1 (1999), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #1 (2002), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #2 (2004), The Incredible Hulk Omnibus #1 (2008), Essential Sub-Mariner #1 (2009), Marvel Masterworks: The Sub-Mariner #1 (2011), Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #2 (2012), Incredible Hulk Epic Collection #2 (2017), Hulk : L'intégrale #1964-1966 (2021), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Namor, the Sub-Mariner #1 (2022), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk #3 (2023), Marvel Origins #35 (2024), Namor the Sub-Mariner Omnibus #1 (2025)

Key issues in Tales to Astonish

Variants (1)

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