Home › The Avengers › #167

Cover: George Pérez & Terry Austin

The Avengers #167

Name: The Avengers #167
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Jan 1978 · Marvel · 0.35 USD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“Tomorrow Dies Today!”

★ 1st appearance — Carina Walters

About this Issue

Avengers #167 is the opening chapter of the Korvac Saga, a ten-issue storyline widely regarded as one of the defining epics of Marvel's Bronze Age — a philosophically ambitious narrative about the nature of absolute power that writer Jim Shooter would revisit throughout his career. The issue marks the first meeting of the Avengers and the original, 31st-century Guardians of the Galaxy as allied teams, a milestone that gained renewed cultural weight decades later when the MCU reintroduced both groups to mass audiences. It also introduces Carina Walters — the Collector's daughter and Korvac's eventual partner — a character whose seductive, tragic arc drives the emotional core of the entire saga and who later appeared in the 2014 Guardians of the Galaxy film. The cover and interior pencils by George Pérez, already demonstrating his gift for juggling sprawling casts without sacrificing storytelling clarity, represent some of the finest Bronze Age art on the title.

writer Jim Shooter · writer Roger Stern · artist George Pérez · inker Pablo Marcos · colorist Rache · letterer Joe Rosen · cover George Pérez, Terry Austin

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $8

CGC 9.8 · 113 in census $161

CGC 9.6 · 82 in census $104

CGC 9.4 · 63 in census $63

CGC 9.2 · 37 in census $51*

CGC 9.0 · 29 in census $51

CGC 8.5 · 17 in census $33

Show all 22 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 13 in census $27*

CGC 7.5 · 15 in census $24*

CGC 7.0 · 17 in census $22

CGC 6.5 · 8 in census $20

CGC 6.0 · 3 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 4.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 3.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 2.5 none in existence

CGC 2.0 none in existence

CGC 1.5 none in existence

CGC 1.0 none in existence

CGC 0.5 · 1 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.8 ▾ $250–$385 2 listings

CGC 9.8 $250 CGC 9.8 $385

CGC 9.2 $120 1 listing

Raw — NM ▾ $24.99–$34 2 listings

NM $24.99 NM $34

Raw — VF $16.04 1 listing Raw — FN $19.99 1 listing Raw — VG+ $18.5 1 listing Raw — GD $9.99 1 listing

Raw / ungraded ▾ $18.39–$25 5 listings

Raw / ungraded $18.39 Raw / ungraded $19.99 Newsstand $24.99 Raw / ungraded $25 Raw / ungraded $25

Verified matches for The Avengers #167 · eBay asking prices, seen 21 days ago

More listings for this title

VF $4 VERY FINE $9.95 FN $13.99 VF $14.95 VF/NM $15 FN $15.99 VF/NM $19.99 VF/NM $21.95

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 25 total · seen 21 days ago

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

The story's genesis traces back to Roger Stern and Len Wein, who recognized that Korvac — a cyborg villain from the 31st century created by Steve Gerber and Jim Starlin in Giant-Size Defenders #3 (1975) — was a natural adversary for the original Guardians of the Galaxy; they built that connection in Thor Annual #6 (1977), which was intended to launch a Guardians arc before Marvel Presents was cancelled. With that avenue closed, the threads were handed to Jim Shooter, who co-plotted issue #167 with Roger Stern (credited under the pseudonym 'Sterno') and scripted it himself, with George Pérez returning to Avengers pencil duties after a brief John Byrne interlude, inked by Pablo Marcos. The Korvac Saga ran across Avengers #167–168 and #170–177 (January–November 1978), won Pérez and Shooter a 1979 Eagle Award for Best Continued Story, and was first collected in a 1991 trade paperback that included a controversial four-page epilogue written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Tom Morgan — an epilogue removed by editor Tom Brevoort from the 2003 Legends reprint but later restored in the 2012 edition.

Trivia · 8 facts

First meeting of the Avengers and the original (Earth-691, 31st-century) Guardians of the Galaxy as allied teams — members Charlie-27, Martinex, Nikki, Starhawk (Stakar Ogord), Vance Astro, and Yondu all appear.
First appearance of Carina Walters (Carina Tivan), daughter of the Collector, created by Jim Shooter and George Pérez; she is introduced as a fashion model who vanishes with the mysterious man called 'Michael' — later revealed to be Korvac.
Titled 'Tomorrow Dies Today!' (story) and 'Behold… The Guardians of the Galaxy!' (cover/recap); written (script) by Jim Shooter with plot by Shooter and Roger Stern; pencils by George Pérez, inks by Pablo Marcos, colors by Phil Rachelson, letters by Joe Rosen; edited by Archie Goodwin.
Opening chapter of the ten-issue Korvac Saga (Avengers #167–168, #170–177), one of Marvel's first sustained, novelistic mega-arcs — Avengers #169 was a fill-in by Marv Wolfman and is not part of the saga proper.
Wonder Man (Simon Williams) debuts his civilian 'safari jacket' outfit in this issue after his previous costume was destroyed, a look that persisted for years.
Sub-plot involves the Porcupine (Alexander Gentry) attempting to rob Janet Pym's fashion show debut, stopped by Wasp, Yellowjacket, and Nighthawk (Kyle Richmond); Denise Vladimir is also introduced in this sequence.
The Korvac character had prior appearances set up in Thor Annual #6 (1977) and originally in Giant-Size Defenders #3 (1975); Avengers #167 is his first appearance in the core Avengers title and the formal launch of his saga.
Collected repeatedly: in the 1991 Avengers: The Korvac Saga TPB; the 2003 Avengers Legends Vol. 2 reprint; the 2006 Marvel Premiere Classic hardcover; the 2010 and 2012 paperback editions; Guardians of the Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers Vol. 2 (2013); and Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Vol. 17 — reflecting the story's enduring place in the canon.