COMIC CRUSADERS HOT LIST: THE 10 HOTTEST COMICS FOR SEPTEMBER 15th & 16th, 2026

WEPA, Crusaders! New Comic Book Day is coming in hot for September 15th and 16th, and this week is exactly why the HOT LIST exists.

There are big-event books, nasty horror, legacy characters, indie wild cards, collector bait and enough variant-cover madness to make your wallet file a formal complaint. We dug through the week’s releases looking for the books carrying the best combination of reader heat, creative pedigree, story potential, collectibility and that little extra something that makes you stop at the wall and say, ‘Yeah, give me that one too.’

This is not a promise that every book below becomes a retirement plan. Relax, mi gente. Heat does not automatically equal value, and buying comics should still begin with actually wanting to read the damn things. But if you want to know where Comic Crusaders thinks the temperature is rising this week, welcome back to the fire.

Want the complete release picture? Hit our Big 2, Premier Publishers and Independent Publishers editions of What’s on the Shelf. Those are your full maps. This right here is where we circle the ten spots burning hottest.

#10: THE BIG SHAKEDOWN #1 – DARK HORSE COMICS

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Scott Koblish Cover A

The beauty of the HOT LIST is that the obvious books do not get to own the whole damn room. The Big Shakedown #1 earns its way in because a new crime book with something to prove can be a hell of a lot more exciting than another safe chapter in a franchise everybody already knows. This is the type of release I want readers to notice before somebody else tells them they should have noticed it.

Dark Horse has been a dependable home for creator-driven material, and a #1 like this gives readers the cleanest possible entry point. It is exactly the sort of book that can disappear behind the superhero wall if you are not paying attention. Do not make that mistake. Give it the flip test at your LCS and see whether it grabs you.

#9: PANCHO VILLA: MONSTER HUNTER #1 – AMP COMICS / MASSIVE

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Caanan White Cover A

Okay, you put the words Pancho Villa and Monster Hunter on the same cover and you have already earned my attention. Hector Rodriguez III and Ariel Medel launch a three-issue series that throws history straight into the supernatural blender, with Caanan White handling Cover A. That is a concept with an immediate hook, and sometimes that is half the battle on a crowded Wednesday.

The collector angle is refreshingly manageable too. More importantly, this feels like one of those indie swings where the idea itself can create word of mouth. Weird, bold and willing to take a chance? Yeah, HOT LIST territory.

#8: WITCHBLADE #25 – IMAGE COMICS / TOP COW

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Giuseppe Cafaro & Arif Prianto Cover A

Twenty-five issues into the current Witchblade run is not just another Wednesday stop. The Alex Underwood era has rebuilt one of Top Cow’s signature properties for a new audience while still carrying decades of mythology on its back. Milestone numbers matter when the book has earned the road getting there, and this one has.

There is also a nice bit of old-school collector DNA attached to Witchblade. This is a franchise whose history is inseparable from iconic art, variants and the era when Top Cow books could dominate a comic wall on visuals alone. The modern series has been doing the work beyond nostalgia, so #25 gets the nod because this is celebration heat with an actual ongoing story behind it.

#7: OFIUSA #1 – IMAGE COMICS

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Guillem March Cover A

Guillem March going full writer-artist on a new six-part Image miniseries is enough to make me stop scrolling. Ofiusa brings romance, mystery, parallel possibilities and a paradise setting that clearly has teeth underneath the pretty scenery. March has worked on Batman, Catwoman and The Joker, but creator-owned work is where you get to see what somebody does when the guardrails come off.

That makes this one of my sleeper picks of the week. There is no decades-old continuity doing the heavy lifting and no movie logo selling it for you. It has to live on the concept and March’s storytelling. Those are exactly the books I like watching, because if readers connect, issue #1 is where everybody suddenly wishes they had started.

#6: HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – THE DEEP GOSPEL #1 – BOOM! STUDIOS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Rebeca Puebla Cover A

You already know Hellraiser does not arrive looking for a quiet seat in the corner. The Cenobites are back in comic form, and horror collectors are one of the most loyal groups in this whole hobby when a property lands with the right creative energy. A new #1 carrying the Hellraiser name in September, with spooky season basically kicking the door open, has built-in heat.

This also connects directly to what we are doing across the new Comic Crusaders layout. We already have our own The Deep Gospel #1 review in the ecosystem, so this HOT LIST pick is not floating alone. Read the coverage, look at the book, then decide whether Pinhead deserves a spot in your pull. That is how these sections of the site should work together.

#5: DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: RAVENLOFT #1 – DARK HORSE COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Guillem March Cover A

Ravenloft has one of those names that can make longtime D&D players sit up immediately. Amy Chu and Ariela Kristantina enter the Domains of Dread for a four-issue series, and the combination of fantasy, gothic horror and a recognizable Dungeons & Dragons setting gives this book a wider lane than your average licensed release.

It also lands at exactly the right time of year. Horror season is waking up, D&D remains a monster brand, and Ravenloft has enough identity to attract people who may not normally chase every licensed comic. Guillem March on Cover A adds another reason to stop at the shelf. Franchise familiarity gets you through the door, but atmosphere is what could keep this one hot.

#4: SPACE GHOST VS. THE HERCULOIDS #1 – DYNAMITE

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Francesco Mattina Cover A

Now THIS is how you weaponize Saturday-morning nostalgia without simply photocopying the past. David Pepose and Jonathan Lau bring the fan-favorite Space Ghost team into a crossover with the Herculoids, and the premise actually matters to the continuing Space Ghost direction. It is not just two logos smashing together because somebody in marketing had coffee.

Dynamite is leaning into the collector side with a serious cover program, including Francesco Mattina on Cover A and additional variants. That can create real Wednesday chatter. We also already have Space Ghost vs. The Herculoids #1 coverage sitting in the Comic Crusaders draft pipeline, so expect this book to keep making noise around here.

#3: EXQUISITE CORPSES: FOX MASK KILLER #1 – IMAGE COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Adam Gorham Cover A

Exquisite Corpses is expanding, and Fox Mask Killer gets a five-part spotlight from Che Grayson, Adam Gorham, Jordie Bellaire and Becca Carey. That is a nasty creative lineup. More importantly, Image is using the spinoffs to expand the mythology around killers readers already have reasons to care about.

Collectors have plenty to chew on here, with Adam Gorham’s Cover A leading the launch. That does not mean chase every copy like rent is optional. It means there is obvious retailer and collector attention around the book. Read the book first, fam, but yes, the temperature is high.

#2: DNX #1 – MARVEL COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Cover A

Marvel putting the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the same event lane is basically the comic-book equivalent of ringing the dinner bell. DNX #1 launches a five-part event built around the X-Virus threat, with Jed MacKay and Federico Vicentini steering the chaos. The X-books already live in a collector-heavy ecosystem, and adding Marvel’s First Family gives this thing crossover muscle immediately.

This is also where the weekly release architecture helps. DNX #1 and the connected books are already visible in our Big 2 edition of What’s on the Shelf, so HOT LIST readers can jump straight from why this is hot into what else connects to it. As a launch issue, event chapter and potential jumping-on point, DNX is an easy #2.

#1: ABSOLUTE CASSANDRA CAIN: THE SHADOW’S HAND #1 – DC COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Bengal Cover A

There can only be one at the top, and this week Cassandra Cain takes the damn crown. Absolute Cassandra Cain: The Shadow’s Hand #1 spins out of Absolute Catwoman and gives the Absolute Universe version of Cassandra room to breathe in her own one-shot. Che Grayson writes, Matías Bergara handles the interiors, and DC is putting real visual muscle behind the release with covers from Bengal, Bergara, InHyuk Lee and Derrick Chew.

Cassandra already has a passionate fanbase, the Absolute line continues to command attention, and this book carries that beautiful combination of character heat and what-does-this-version-change curiosity. A one-shot also makes it painless for somebody who has been watching the Absolute Universe from the sidelines to jump in. You do not need a spreadsheet, three omnibuses and a YouTube continuity lecture. Grab the issue and get to work.

For collectors, that accessibility can cut both ways. A heavily ordered character book is not automatically scarce, and a giant variant ecosystem is not the same thing as guaranteed value. The reason this sits at #1 is broader than speculation: Cassandra Cain plus the Absolute Universe plus a focused origin story gives this release multiple audiences at the same moment. That is heat.

This week’s lesson is simple: do not confuse a mountain of variants with automatic scarcity. Absolute Cassandra Cain, DNX, Exquisite Corpses and Space Ghost vs. The Herculoids all have collector-friendly cover programs, but the smartest move is still buying the cover you actually love at a price that makes sense. Incentive ratios can create scarcity, but demand is the other half of that equation, and nobody gets to guarantee tomorrow’s market.

My sleeper watch is Ofiusa #1, while Pancho Villa: Monster Hunter #1 gets the this-idea-is-too-damn-fun-to-ignore trophy. Witchblade #25 gives the week some milestone energy, and the horror lane is stacked between Hellraiser, Ravenloft and Exquisite Corpses. That is a healthy Wednesday. Different publishers, different audiences, different reasons to walk into your LCS.

Support your local comic shop, buy what you love, read the books before sealing everything in plastic like evidence, and tell us what we missed. The HOT LIST is the heat check, not a commandment carved into stone. Now go make your pull list hurt a little.

THE CRUSADE NEVER ENDS!