Galactus First Appearance: Fantastic Four #48 Value by Grade

Galactus first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 (cover date March 1966), published by Marvel, by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby. The source puts it this way: "featuring the first appearance of the Silver Surfer and first cameo of Galactus".

PriceCharting values for Fantastic Four #48 (1966) by CGC grade, based on recorded sales and updated September 25, 2026:

• CGC 2.0: $432
• CGC 3.0: $612
• CGC 4.0: $752
• CGC 5.0: $845
• CGC 6.0: $1,196
• CGC 7.0: $1,769
• CGC 8.0: $3,000
• CGC 9.0: $4,739
• CGC 9.2: $6,124
• CGC 9.4: $11,000

The spread from CGC 2.0 ($432) to CGC 9.4 ($11,000) shows how much condition matters on a key issue. Restored, trimmed or incomplete copies sell far below these figures, and reprints and facsimiles (see below) are worth a small fraction. Grade and restoration are confirmed by a grading service such as CGC or CBCS; prices move with the market and the character's popularity.

• Cover date on CGC census record: CGC's census record lists the cover date as 3/66.
• Interior story detail (Galactus as herald's master): in this issue, the Silver Surfer descends from the cosmos on his gleaming surfboard as the herald of the world-devouring cosmic entity known as Galactus.

• Indicia: the small print on the first page or inside cover gives the issue number, date and publisher; reprints usually say so there.
• Cover price and barcode: a price or barcode format that did not exist in the year printed means a later edition.
• Paper and staples: decades-old newsprint is tan at the edges; bright white pages on an old date are a warning sign.
• Restoration: color touch, trimmed edges and married covers are common on expensive keys; a grading service can detect them.

Shoot the front cover flat, straight on, in even light, then the indicia page and the back cover. Include the top edge and staples in one frame. The app reads the title, issue number and cover and matches it against the checks above; the indicia photo settles most reprint questions.

Fantastic Four #48 has Galactus only at the end; the next issue, Fantastic Four #49 (April 1966), is where he appears in full, and PriceCharting also lists it as the first Silver Surfer cover. PriceCharting values retrieved September 25, 2026:

• Ungraded: $269.99
• CGC 4.0: $400.00
• CGC 6.0: $660.13
• CGC 8.0: $1,795.22
• CGC 9.2: $6,000.00

In most grades #49 costs less than #48 (at CGC 4.0, $400 against $752 on the same date), but PriceCharting shows 9.2 copies trading only about once a year, so the top figure can move on a single sale.

Issues #48 to #50 form the Galactus Trilogy by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby (Wikipedia). Kirby said he thought of Galactus as "a sort of god" and of the Silver Surfer as the fallen angel. His origin was written later: he was Galan, an explorer from the planet Taa in the universe that existed before the Big Bang, who merged with the Sentience of the Universe and emerged as Galactus. His heralds have included the Silver Surfer, Air-Walker, Firelord, Terrax, Nova (Frankie Raye), Morg and Stardust (Wikipedia). On film he appears as a cosmic cloud in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and is played by Ralph Ineson in The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).

He has died more than once in the comics (Wikipedia):

• Galactus the Devourer (September 1999 to March 2000): a six-issue miniseries by Louise Simonson and John Buscema that ends with Galactus's death.
• Thor (vol. 6) #1 to #6 (March to August 2020): Wikipedia says Galactus was killed by Thor in the Herald of Thunder arc.

Wikipedia also notes that the death of Galactus lets Abraxas, an embodiment of destruction, escape from imprisonment.

The thing Galactus backs away from is the Ultimate Nullifier, a device that can erase any target from existence. Wikipedia notes that Galactus retreats when threatened with it, and that he later calls it a part of himself.