COMIC CRUSADERS HOT LIST: THE 10 HOTTEST COMICS FOR SEPTEMBER 22nd & 23rd, 2026

WEPA, Crusaders! New Comic Book Day heat is hitting September 22nd & 23rd, and this week is LOADED.

DC is swinging with the Absolute line, Marvel has Hulk and Wolverine trying to turn each other into expensive stains on the floor, Star Trek is launching a brand-new era, Image has creator-owned heat all over the shelf, and Hellraiser is still finding new ways to make pain look collectible. So yeah, the wallet is already nervous.

As always, the HOT LIST is not me telling you what is going to become somebody’s retirement fund. Buy comics because you actually want the damn comics. We are looking at reader heat, creative teams, story potential, collector attention, new-reader accessibility and that little bit of Wednesday insanity that makes a book impossible to ignore.

Want the whole release map? Check our Big 2, Premier Publishers and Independent Publishers editions of What’s on the Shelf. This right here is the heat check.

#10: GHOST OF A GHOST #1 – DARK HORSE COMICS

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Michael Avon Oeming Cover A

Michael Avon Oeming on a new Dark Horse #1 is enough to make me stop at the shelf. In a week full of giant logos and characters who have been punching people since our grandparents were young, a fresh four-issue launch has to fight for oxygen. That is exactly why it belongs here.

This is the flip-test book of the week. Pick it up, look inside and give something new a chance. HOT LIST cannot just be ten books everybody already knew were coming.

#9: CRIMES AGAINST NATURE #1 – IMAGE COMICS

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Mattia Monaco Cover A

A Hollywood animal trainer and his gorilla best friend get framed for a crime and go on the run. Fam, sometimes a pitch is weird enough that I do not need you to sell me twice. Eliot Rahal and Mattia Monaco are launching a neo-noir buddy crime comedy that sounds like somebody threw three movies into a blender and decided the gorilla deserved top billing.

That kind of creator-owned weirdness is healthy for comics. It is a $3.99 series premiere, it has an easy entry point, and it does not need twenty years of continuity homework. I am watching this one.

#8: GAMBIT GONE #1 – MARVEL COMICS

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Simone Di Meo Cover A

Gambit getting a new #1 in the current X-Men climate was always going to pull eyes. Remy has one of those fanbases that never really goes away, and Marvel knows exactly what happens when you put that Cajun on a cover and give readers a clean jumping-on point.

The collector warning still applies. A #1 and a popular character do not magically equal scarcity. The heat here is the character, the launch and the chance to see whether this becomes a Gambit story people actually keep talking about after release week.

#7: HELLRAISER: RESURRECTIONS – HELL’S COUNCIL #1 – BOOM! STUDIOS

HOT METER: FOUR FLAMES

Cover Pick: Suspiria Vilchez Cover A

Spooky season is basically standing outside the door with a crowbar, and BOOM! is feeding it properly. Hell’s Council continues the Hellraiser: Resurrections one-shot rollout as the franchise builds toward its new ongoing series. Horror readers do not need much convincing when the Cenobites come calling.

We have already been following this resurrection at Comic Crusaders, including our The Deep Gospel #1 review. The franchise has momentum, the timing is perfect, and yes, the cover program gives collectors plenty to stare at while pretending they are only buying one.

#6: STAR TREK #1 – IDW PUBLISHING

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Dennis Menheere Cover A

IDW is opening another door into the final frontier with a brand-new Star Trek #1, and Seven of Nine leading a new crew is a hell of a way to get attention. Trek has just celebrated sixty years, but the smartest thing a franchise can do after looking backward is give readers a reason to look forward.

We recently covered the Star Trek 60th Anniversary Special, so this launch lands at a nice moment for Trek readers around here. New #1, recognizable captain, new mission. Beam it onto the list.

#5: THOR #801 – MARVEL COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Alex Ross Cover A

Legacy numbering still has juice when the number actually feels ridiculous in the best possible way. Thor #801 follows the massive #800 milestone and pushes Al Ewing’s run into its next phase. Eight hundred and one issues of thunder is a whole lot of history sitting behind one comic.

The danger with milestone aftermath is assuming the party ended one issue ago. Sometimes the issue after the giant anniversary is where the actual road ahead begins. That is why I am watching #801 instead of treating it like the cleanup crew after #800.

#4: THAT TEXAS BLOOD: HELL COMES TO ALLISON RANCH #1 – IMAGE COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Jacob Phillips Cover A

Chris Condon and Jacob Phillips are back in Ambrose County with a six-issue miniseries, and this is exactly the kind of return I like seeing on a weekly shelf. That Texas Blood already built its reputation on slow-burn crime, atmosphere and people making very human decisions that tend to go very badly.

We have been tracking Hell Comes to Allison Ranch since it was announced. Image is also positioning this #1 as friendly to new readers, and the issue comes loaded with bonus material. Existing audience plus a genuine jumping-on point is a strong combination.

#3: ABSOLUTE WONDER WOMAN #24 – DC COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Hayden Sherman Cover A

The Absolute Universe keeps refusing to cool down, and Diana has been one of its strongest visual statements from day one. Issue #24 brings the gods into Gateway City, which sounds like exactly the sort of escalation this version of Wonder Woman was built to handle.

Comic Crusaders was already in the trenches with our Absolute Wonder Woman #23 review. If you have been following Diana’s trip through hell and back, this is not the week I would suddenly decide to wander off.

#2: INFERNAL HULK VS. WOLVERINE #1 – MARVEL COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Nic Klein Cover A

Hulk. Wolverine. Demonic nightmare fuel. Marvel did not exactly whisper the sales pitch. Infernal Hulk vs. Wolverine #1 kicks the road toward Hulk War into another gear, and putting these two monsters across from each other has comic-book muscle going back decades.

We have already covered the road to Hulk War and reviewed The Infernal Hulk #1, so this one has been on our radar for a minute. Event setup can be empty calories when publishers stretch it too far, but Hulk versus Wolverine is the kind of simple, violent comic-book math I am willing to test for myself.

#1: ABSOLUTE BATMAN #24 – DC COMICS

HOT METER: FIVE FLAMES

Cover Pick: Nick Dragotta Cover A

Yeah, Batman takes the top spot this week, but not just because his name can sell a comic while Bruce Wayne is probably asleep. Absolute Batman #24 puts Barbara Gordon in a Batsuit, and the Absolute line has made its reputation by taking familiar pieces of DC mythology and asking how far they can bend before something snaps.

That Barbara angle is enough to create reader conversation before anybody starts screaming about variants. The book has multiple covers, Batman collectors are Batman collectors, and the Absolute Universe remains one of DC’s biggest attention magnets. None of that guarantees future value. It does guarantee that a whole lot of eyes are going to be on this issue Wednesday.

This is a strong week because the heat is not coming from one corner. DC has the Absolute books, Marvel has character-driven launches and a Hulk/Wolverine collision, IDW gets a fresh Star Trek era, BOOM! has horror, Dark Horse has a new Oeming project and Image is doing what Image does best: giving weird and dangerous creator-owned books room to breathe.

My sleeper watch is Crimes Against Nature #1. Ghost of a Ghost #1 is the book I want people to actually pick up and inspect instead of walking past, while That Texas Blood might be the easiest recommendation for somebody who wants crime comics without capes anywhere near the premises.

Buy what you love, support your local comic shop and do not let a shiny ratio cover convince you that groceries suddenly became optional. The HOT LIST tells you where we see the heat. Your pull list is still yours.

THE CRUSADE NEVER ENDS!