“The happiest town in Italy” sounds like a place to book a vacation. In The Holy Boy, it sounds like a reason to start asking questions. Director Paolo Strippoli’s Italian folk-horror film arrives on Shudder Friday, November 27, 2026, bringing a village’s promise of relief into a much more disturbing light.

Strippoli, whose work includes A Classic Horror Story and the upcoming The Spiral, directs a screenplay written with Jacopo Del Giudice and Milo Tissone. Michele Riondino and Giulio Feltri lead the film, which runs 125 minutes and is presented in Italian. The setup promises a community whose apparent peace comes at a terrible cost, with Sergio’s arrival threatening the arrangement.

Riondino plays Sergio, a teacher carrying a painful past who is transferred to the secluded village of Remis. The town has a reputation for happiness, but its residents share a secret behind that cheerful surface. Every week they gather to embrace Matteo, an introverted 15-year-old played by Feltri, whose hugs can take away pain and sorrow.

A town leaning on a child to carry its suffering is already an unsettling idea. Sergio’s discovery that the devotion surrounding Matteo is far from benevolent turns it into something more dangerous. When he tries to rescue the boy known as the Angel of Remis, the community responds with vengeance, putting the promise of shared happiness up against what the village is willing to do to preserve it.

The film comes to streaming after winning the Audience Award and New Wave Best Director at Fantastic Fest, along with Official Selections at the Venice Film Festival and BFI London Film Festival. The press materials include praise from Variety’s Jessica Kiang, Dread Central’s Chad Collins, and RogerEbert.com’s Peter Sobczynski, with their responses emphasizing the film’s grief, unease, and examination of the cost of passing personal suffering onto another person.

“A clever, creepy Italian chiller. Under cover of an enjoyably eerie horror movie, director Paolo Strippoli investigates the dangers of displaced grief.. Maintaining its moral ambivalence even as it ramps up to a spectacular finale.” – Jessica Kiang, Variety

“A holy experience in folk horror worth canonizing. Director Paolo Strippoli’s immensely unsettling Italian chiller The Holy Boy reaches straight through the chest to grab hold of your heart and squeeze it dry.” – Chad Collins, Dread Central

“An intriguing chiller that is more interested in trying to disturb viewers than in simply grossing them out. A precise and cutting examination of the perils of trying to offload one’s own personal pain onto someone else.” – Peter Sobczynski, RogerEbert.com

Before the Shudder debut, the announced screening schedule includes Friday, November 20, at 9 p.m. at Soho House and Ludlow House in New York, Soho House West Hollywood in Los Angeles, and Soho House in Chicago. A Sunday, November 22, at 7 p.m. screening is set for The Twisted Spine in Brooklyn. On Monday, November 23, at 9 p.m., screenings are planned at Soho House in Austin and Nashville. Attendance and RSVP arrangements should be confirmed with the organizers.

The cast also includes Paolo Pierobon, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Sergio Romano, Anna Bellato, Sandra Toffolatti, and Roberto Citran. Producers are Domenico Procacci, Laura Paolucci, Ines Vasilevic, and Stefano Sardo, with executive producers Ivan Fiorini and Attilio Moro and co-producers Jožko Rutar and Miha Černec.

Behind the camera, Cristiano Di Nicola serves as cinematographer, Federico Palmerini edits, and Federico Bisozzi and Davide Tomat provide the music. The film’s Italian title is La valle dei sorrisi.

Born in Corato, Bari, in 1993, Strippoli earned a Performing Arts and Sciences degree from La Sapienza University before graduating in Film Directing from Rome’s Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. In 2019 he won the Franco Solinas Award for Best Screenplay for L’angelo infelice, written with Del Giudice and Tissone. He co-directed Netflix’s A Classic Horror Story with Roberto De Feo in 2020, winning Best Director at the 67th Taormina Film Fest. His 2022 psychological horror feature Piove competed at Sitges, Austin Fantastic Fest, and Alice Nella Città. The Holy Boy and The Spiral, also known as L’estranea, are his third and fourth films. 

The Holy Boy begins streaming on Shudder November 27. For horror fans drawn to a community hiding something rotten under a comforting ritual, this is one to put on the calendar. Remis has found a way to live without pain, and Matteo is the one paying for it.

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Falling in love is complicated enough before the person you care about gets scheduled for decommissioning. Chip Zdarsky and Rachael Stott are taking that problem into White House Robot Romance, a new DSTLRY graphic novel about two robots who defy their programming and go on the run to protect a relationship neither was built to expect.

Zdarsky, whose credits include Time Waits, Captain America, and Avengers, teams with Stott, known for Superman Unlimited and Fantastic Four, for a story that puts a personal awakening in the middle of a much larger mess. The book is scheduled for February 23, 2027.

Service-1 and Chef-9 carry out their assigned duties at the White House. Working in the same place brings them together every day, but robotic programming does not automatically turn familiarity into affection. Then Chef-9 learns that Service-1 is due to be decommissioned, and the possibility of losing that daily connection starts raising questions about what those feelings actually mean.

The timing could hardly be worse. The White House is preparing for conflict with its northern neighbors, with reports of violence from Canada threatening the President’s invasion plans. Into that already volatile situation comes a rogue robot carrying state secrets, leaving a love story tangled up with a dangerous escape.

The hook is the collision between assigned purpose and a choice that programming was never supposed to allow. Service-1 and Chef-9 have jobs to do, but the threat of separation pushes their connection somewhere new. With the two robots running to protect that love, the story makes room for both the relationship and the trouble surrounding it.

You can also visit DSTLRY’s book page for the paperback details.

DSTLRY is offering White House Robot Romance in a $20 paperback and a $50 print-to-order Comic Shop Exclusive Hardcover.Ask your local comic shop about current ordering options, particularly for the print-to-order edition.

White House Robot Romance goes on sale February 23, 2027. Put it on your shop’s radar if your science fiction reading has room for two robots deciding that the connection they have found is worth running for.

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Brooklyn roommates, a forged Justice League ID, and a plan to steal the Mona Lisa. Harley Quinn is apparently taking “new year, new me” as an invitation to create an international incident. Joanne Starer and Lukas Ketner take over Harley Quinn with issue #71 on February 24, 2027, and DC is sending its troublemaker from homegrown chaos to a very questionable trip to France.

Starer, whose credits include Dinner Date, joins Ketner, artist of Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight Returns, for a run that gives Harley plenty of room to make her own mess. The announced creative lineup for issue #71 includes art by Ketner and Dave McCaig, with David Nakayama handling the main cover.

Before she gets anywhere near the Louvre, Harley has business closer to home. Issue #71 brings haunting childhood memories and an adult bat mitzvah into the picture, along with a question that absolutely belongs in a Harley comic: if you invite Batman to a bat mitzvah, does he have to show up? There is room for a gag there, but Starer’s description also points toward the need for approval underneath Harley’s antics.

“At her core, Harley is basically a little kid who desperately wants love, attention, and approval,” said Joanne Starer. “Sometimes she acts out, because even negative attention is attention. But deep down, she just wants someone to be proud of her.”

Once France enters the equation, the complications multiply. Harley is living with two terrible roommates, traveling on a forged Justice League ID, and pulling together an unlikely crew of super-powered individuals for an attempt to steal the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. An international cadre of assassins wants her head, which is a pretty substantial problem to add to the itinerary.

She also stole something from the Eraser, and he intends to erase her. Returning ally Sy Borgman will be part of the new story as Harley tries to make a name for herself on her own terms. The announcement is setting her up to chase recognition while generating enough trouble to make sure people notice.

“In Paris, she’s not a sidekick. She’s not a girlfriend. She’s out to make a name for herself as an individual so the world will take her seriously,” continued Starer. “It’s a new city, a new adventure, and a new storyline.”

DC has shared Ketner’s interior artwork alongside the announcement, giving readers an early look at the new run before February. Starer’s description of their collaboration makes the appetite for absurdity pretty clear, with the artist bringing additional jokes and surprises to the page.

“Lukas isn’t just a phenomenal artist. Every page he turns in has extra jokes and surprises,” said Starer. “And wait till you see his action scenes! Nothing I write is ever too absurd for him. He matches my level of weird, and then takes it up a notch.”

Issue #71 will feature variant covers by Yona, Nimit Malavia, and Khary Randolph, joining Nakayama’s main cover. DC identifies the shared variant artwork as not final. The three announced variants appear below in that order.

The changes continue beyond the creative team’s first issue. Harley Quinn #72 introduces a new look designed by David Nakayama, who joins the series as its new main cover artist. DC has also released the character design, adding another piece of the upcoming era to the preview.

Harley Quinn #71 goes on sale February 24, 2027. Visit DC’s announcement for the new run and follow DC for more updates. Readers looking to explore earlier Harley stories can also check DC UNIVERSE INFINITE, which offers a free trial, is not available in every country, and is not intended for children. Harley’s next adventure has a party to attend and a painting to steal, and February is bringing both to the page.

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This installment of Godzilla vs. America lets its creators run in different directions, and thank goodness for that. Four versions of the same skyline getting stomped would have worn thin fast. Instead, the book moves from Frank Tieri and Mark Texeira’s black-and-white “Kingzilla” to Tango’s “Watermarked,” Anthony Marques and John Renner’s “Best-Laid Plans,” and Anna Meyer’s “Party Crasher.” The switch-ups keep the destruction fresh, although the jump from terrified families to breezy social comedy can feel like somebody changed the channel while you were still holding your breath.

Tieri starts “Kingzilla” in 1933 and gets wonderfully disrespectful with the familiar King Kong setup. Carl Denham, Ann Darrow, the mysterious island, the promise of a sensational attraction: you know the furniture. Somebody replaced the gorilla with a tenant who has absolutely no interest in following the lease. Tieri plays Denham’s self-important narration against one terrible decision after another, letting his confidence dig the hole deeper. You can see the broad joke coming, sure. The pleasure is watching how badly this man misjudges the creature in front of him. Bro really thought he had this handled.

Texeira makes that opener look like an old monster picture somebody smuggled out of a haunted projection booth. His textured grays, heavy shadows and craggy creature rendering give Godzilla weight before the destruction starts. Little people look painfully breakable beside him. The upward views make the buildings feel tall, then Big G makes those same buildings look like disposable scenery. Faces carry panic without needing a balloon full of screaming, and the period trappings hold the whole gag together. A couple of dense, smoky images need an extra look, but I will take that gnarly atmosphere all day. This beast looks mean, fam.

“Watermarked” gets even closer to home. Tango writes and draws a group of subway passengers whose petty friction becomes a survival problem when water starts pouring in. We have all been on a train with somebody acting like the car belongs to their living room. Here, those same strangers have to cooperate before the whole commute turns into a tomb. The dialogue keeps its irritation and humor while the danger rises, so the characters don’t suddenly turn into matching disaster-movie speeches. Their personalities survive the emergency. Their chances are another conversation.

Tango’s page construction makes this my favorite story of the bunch. Tight panels trap us inside the car, close-ups track the passengers sizing each other up, and the underwater escape forces your eye through bodies, seats and rushing water. Ryan Cody’s murky greens and blue-greens make the tunnel feel filthy and airless. When the action reaches the surface, the warmer colors open the view without making the situation feel safe. Godzilla’s appearance lands harder because we have spent time down there with people who cannot simply run away. The monster gets the giant image; those commuters earned the tension leading into it. WEPA, that’s how you build a reveal.

Marques puts a father and his family through the wringer in “Best-Laid Plans,” with Renner on art and Heather Breckel on colors. A rescue becomes another emergency, and every route out seems determined to make things worse. Renner tilts the architecture and cuts across the page with slanting panels, keeping the family stranded inside a city that will not stay upright. Breckel’s cool nighttime blues give the wreckage depth, while orange light burns through the danger zones. There is some proper stomach-drop business here, especially when the characters have to move across open space with precious little between them and the street.

The family connection is immediate, though the narration sometimes tells us about fear or uncertainty when Renner has already drawn it clearly. Give those faces room, papi. We can read them. The repeated escapes also push the story toward action-movie convenience, which takes a little sting out of the peril. Still, Marques keeps the goal personal and easy to follow: get these people out alive. Godzilla can dominate a page without becoming the emotional center of every story, and this entry uses him well as the enormous threat making every human decision harder.

Meyer closes with “Party Crasher,” handling story, art and letters, and the book suddenly has jokes about friendship drama, neighborhood habits and the sacred business of getting coffee. Two women navigate a kaiju attack while their own argument keeps refusing to leave the conversation. That’s a funny choice because petty feelings do not always disappear just because life gets serious. Meyer draws them with elastic expressions and relaxed, clean lines, then drops a chunky blue Godzilla into their day like the world’s least welcome party guest. The soft colors and playful sound effects announce the lighter tone immediately.

Some readers will want a harder finish after the previous story’s family peril. I get it. Meyer’s comedy deliberately shrinks the disaster into the background of everyday grievances, and the characters’ self-absorption may grate before the punch line arrives. For me, the neighborhood specificity keeps it entertaining. The storefronts, bridge ride, coffee nonsense and stubborn conversation give the city more personality than another splash of a landmark falling over would have. New York can be exhausting even when nobody is breathing atomic fire on it. Meyer knows where to poke.

Tom Napolitano letters the first three stories, keeping the captions and exchanges readable across three very different visual approaches. His sound effects have enough muscle for the destruction without swallowing the human action. Meyer’s lettering belongs comfortably inside her own cartooning, where drawn-out roars and oversized effects become part of the joke. Nathan Fox’s cover deserves love too: those searing oranges, purples and electric greens make the Brooklyn Bridge destruction look gloriously unhinged. Brian Kolek handles design and production, with Jake Williams and Nicolas Niño editing a package that gives each team its own space.

A few familiar disaster beats and some bumpy tonal handoffs keep it from running the whole block, but the range of art, the nasty charm of “Kingzilla” and the human scramble in “Watermarked” make this an easy recommendation for kaiju fans. Fellow New Yorkers will have extra reasons to laugh, wince and argue with the page. Big G can take the skyline, fam. Somebody down below is still going to complain about the service.

CRUSADERS SCORE:
4/5

“Kingzilla”
Story: Frank Tieri
Art: Mark Texeira
Letters: Tom Napolitano

“Watermarked”
Story & Art: Tango
Colors: Ryan Cody
Letters: Tom Napolitano

“Best-Laid Plans”
Story: Anthony Marques
Art: John Renner
Colors: Heather Breckel
Letters: Tom Napolitano

“Party Crasher”
Story, Art & Letters: Anna Meyer

Design & Production: Brian Kolek
Editors: Jake Williams & Nicolas Niño

Publisher: IDW Publishing

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A chainsaw-wielding warrior queen and a Riley Rossmo exclusive are heading for the same drop, Crusaders. Image Comics is bringing a Chainkata #1 Riley Rossmo variant to Whatnot on Wednesday, November 18, 2026, at 5 p.m. Eastern. Collectors will have two editions to consider, with the dressed cover priced at $30 and the virgin edition at $50.

The sale is part of Image’s official Whatnot programming, and readers interested in joining live can bookmark the event page. You can also follow Image Comics on Whatnot for this event and future surprise appearances. Whatnot lets fans shop, sell and connect through the app, so anyone planning to take part should have the event saved ahead of the start time.

Rossmo brings a recognizable visual personality to this exclusive. His credits include The Moon Is Following Us, Harley Quinn, Constantine: The Hellblazer, Martian Manhunter and Batman/The Shadow. The two supplied versions let readers see the same artwork with the trade dress and with the image taking center stage. Check out both below before deciding which version belongs on your shelf.

The title behind the cover is Daniel Warren Johnson’s Chainkata, an upcoming science-fiction adventure built around Luma. She is a warrior queen armed with a chainsaw, searching the vastness of space for an unknown power. What she actually wants is peace, but violence and terror keep tracking her through every black hole. That contradiction gives the pitch its pull: somebody trying to put the fight behind her, carrying a weapon that practically announces the next round.

Johnson has spent years building toward this kind of launch. Space-Mullet, now reaching a wider market through Image, helped get readers watching his work, followed by Extremity and Murder Falcon through Image/Skybound. Those projects established a reputation for comics with big physical energy and characters who give the destruction a reason to matter.

Do A Powerbomb pushed that profile even higher and earned Johnson his first Eisner Award in the Best Publication for Teens category. His work on Skybound’s multiple Eisner-winning Transformers relaunch brought another huge audience, while The Moon Is Following Us added another acclaimed project to the run. Add Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star and Absolute Batman, and the anticipation around this new series makes sense.

Image describes Chainkata as combining the large-scale science fiction of Beta Ray Bill and Space-Mullet with the character development readers found in Extremity and Do A Powerbomb. For readers who follow Johnson for both the action and the emotional weight behind it, Luma’s search sounds like a place where those interests can collide hard.

We previously covered the 116 retailer-exclusive covers for Chainkata #1, and this Rossmo edition adds a specific live-event option to the collecting conversation. Keep the dates and prices handy: November 18 at 5 p.m. Eastern, $30 dressed and $50 virgin. If this cover is the one calling your name, save Image’s event page and be ready when the drop begins.

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The world has already lost to the vampires, fam, and humanity’s emergency plan is to bring back Vlad the Impaler. Impaler returns in February 2027 as an all-new, six-issue miniseries from Image Comics and Top Cow, with William Harms writing, Christian DiBari on art and Lee Loughridge handling colors. The first issue reaches comic shops on Wednesday, February 3, 2027.

Harms is returning to a world he has wanted to revisit, with a creative team built for a bleak vampire apocalypse. The BAFTA nominee’s credits include White Sky, Mafia III and Infamous. DiBari comes aboard with Revolvers, Magdalena: Reformation and Destiny Gate among his credits, while GLAAD Media Award-winning colorist Loughridge brings experience from books including The Darkness and Aquaman.

The setup does not give the survivors much room to breathe. Vampires have destroyed the world, and the people still standing are sheltering in the ruins of the Pentagon. Their remaining hope rests on resurrecting Vlad the Impaler. Whether he saves them or finishes the job is the question hanging over that desperate decision, and it is a nasty one to have to answer when the alternatives have already disappeared.

Harms describes Impaler as a love letter to frightening, brutal and relentless vampires. He says the series has always held a special place in his heart and that watching DiBari and Loughridge bring this return to life has been thrilling. His excitement extends to longtime readers and people entering the world for the first time, making this new miniseries an invitation to both groups.

DiBari is just as enthusiastic about the collaboration and the material. “Working with Bill and Top Cow has been a real treat for me, getting to dive into this bleak, dark story with all kinds of cool characters and world building is the best kind of storytelling experience.” That is a good appetite to bring to a book where even the possible rescuer might be a catastrophe waiting to happen.

The announcement comes with a substantial look at the artwork, including the first issue’s covers and interior previews. The cover lineup draws in Matt Timson, whose credits include Popgun and The Darkness; Jason Shawn Alexander of Killadelphia; and Dani of Coffin Bound. Brad Simpson joins Dani on the relevant cover editions, and a blank sketch edition gives collectors another option.

Here is the full first-issue lineup so nobody has to guess at the cover letters: Cover A is by DiBari and Loughridge; Cover B is by Timson; Cover C is by Alexander; Cover D is by Dani and Simpson; and Cover E is the Blank Sketch Cover. The incentive editions are Cover F, the 1:10 Timson virgin variant; Cover G, the 1:25 Alexander virgin variant; and Cover H, the 1:50 Dani and Simpson virgin variant. Check with your comic shop about the edition you want when placing an order.

Digital readers will also have options. The announced platforms include Amazon Kindle, Google Play, Apple’s iBooks, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Scribd’s Everand, Kobo, Overdrive, Hoopla, Sweet app and Comic Plus, with more availability planned across digital services.

Check out the supplied covers and preview pages below, then talk to your shop about Impaler #1 for February 3, 2027. We have also followed Harms’ White Sky at Image, and this return puts another very different nightmare on his slate. For more from the publisher, visit Image Comics.

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WEPAAAAAAAAAAAA! WHAT’S GOOD, MY FELLOW CRUSADERS?! New York has a Predator problem, Megatron has something nasty cooking, and Garth Ennis wants us taking advice from a snail. Yeah, mi gente, the comic shop is going to be a dangerous place for the wallet this week! Our November 10th and 11th Hot List counts down ten books worth your attention, with this week’s selected single issues all arriving Wednesday, November 11.

We’re weighing the creative teams, story hooks, collector appeal and fandom pull, with six picks from beyond Marvel and DC getting their shine. These are my weekly heat picks, not review scores. Bring your opinions, leave a little room in the pull box, and let’s get into it!

#10. EC Artists from the Abyss: Charlie Adlard #1

Publisher: Oni Press / EC Comics
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writers: Chris Condon and Tim Seeley | Artist: Charlie Adlard
HOT METER: 4/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Charlie Adlard Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: HALLOWEEN IS OVER, BUT CHARLIE ADLARD DID NOT GET THE MEMO! Oni kicks off its artist-focused EC one-shots by putting the man who helped make The Walking Dead such a visual monster front and center. This collection brings his EC horror work together and adds a new story with Chris Condon. For readers who follow the hands making the nightmares, that is a proper reason to show up.

Adlard’s regular cover gets my money. The black-and-white artist edition is a temptation for the original-art crowd, but the main attraction is seeing one artist’s storytelling hold the spotlight. A #1 that celebrates the person drawing the damn comic? Give me more of that, fam.

#9. Action Comics #1104

Publisher: DC Comics
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer: Mark Waid | Artist and colorist: Patricio Delpeche | Letterer: Steve Wands | Cover: Chris Brunner and Rico Renzi
HOT METER: 4/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Chris Brunner and Rico Renzi Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: CLARK KENT MAKES A FRIEND. THE REST OF US KNOW HOW BADLY THIS COULD GO! Lex Luthor returns to Smallville as “Lex Luthor: Year One” continues, and Mark Waid puts the future enemies on the same side of a friendship. There is something deliciously uncomfortable about watching Clark offer somebody his trust when you know the history hanging over that handshake.

The appeal here is getting back to the people underneath the legendary rivalry. Patricio Delpeche’s art is another reason to keep this arc on your radar, and the Brunner and Renzi main cover is my pick. Superman fans do not need another planet exploding every month to have a compelling comic. Sometimes the dangerous thing is the kid sitting beside you.

#8. Daredevil #9

Publisher: Marvel Comics
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer: Stephanie Phillips | Artist: Lee Garbett | Cover: Lee Garbett
HOT METER: 4/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Lee Garbett Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: NEW YORK WITHOUT FEAR? HAVE YOU SEEN HOW PEOPLE ALREADY CROSS THE STREET?! Stephanie Phillips and Lee Garbett have Matt Murdock dealing with Mr. Fear’s citywide scheme while trying to protect the students at E.S.U. Taking away fear sounds wonderful until you remember that sometimes fear is what keeps somebody from doing the stupidest thing imaginable.

That twist on Daredevil’s defining phrase earns this a spot. Matt has people to look after while the city loses one of its brakes, which gives the superhero problem a human consequence. Garbett’s main cover is the recommendation. If your pull box needs some street-level Marvel with a nasty psychological hook, keep the red suit in the rotation.

#7. Legion of Super-Heroes #3

Publisher: DC Comics
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer: Joshua Williamson | Artist: Hayden Sherman | Colorist: Tamra Bonvillain | Cover: Hayden Sherman
HOT METER: 4.5/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Hayden Sherman Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: MATTER-EATER LAD IS PART OF THE PROBLEM NOW? SOMEBODY EXPLAIN TOMORROW TO ME! Joshua Williamson and Hayden Sherman put Lightning Lad opposite Brainiac 1 of 5 and Matter-Eater Lad, with a painful loss looming over his early hero career. This is the kind of wonderfully strange lineup that makes the Legion worth having on the shelf.

Williamson, Sherman and Tamra Bonvillain give this young run serious creative appeal. I want the future to look and feel different, and this team has the tools to make that happen. Sherman’s main cover keeps the purchase straightforward. The promised heartbreak is a story hook, so read the issue before declaring a death or a new key. Right now, the reason to buy is the book’s potential to surprise you.

#6. Minor Threats: The Cleaner #1

Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer: Gerry Duggan | Minor Threats co-creators: Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum | Artist: Mark Torres | Cover: Scott Hepburn
HOT METER: 4.5/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Scott Hepburn Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: THE SUPERHEROES BREAK EVERYTHING, AND THIS GUY GETS THE CLEANUP BILL! Gerry Duggan and Mark Torres introduce David O’Halloran, a small business owner whose night job involves making the superpowered world’s worst messes disappear. Then Diamond Dahlia enters his life with a connection to the Insomniac, and an already ugly business gets complicated.

This is exactly the sort of corner of Twilight City I want explored. Somebody has to handle what happens after the spectacular battle, and superhero noir gives that overlooked worker a story of his own. Scott Hepburn’s main cover is the move. The four-issue format also makes this an approachable commitment for anyone curious about the Minor Threats universe. Get in while the mop is still relatively clean!

#5. Godzilla vs. America: New York City #1

Publisher: IDW Publishing
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writers: Frank Tieri, Tango, Anthony Marques and Anna Meyer | Artists: Mark Texeira, Tango, John Renner and Anna Meyer | Colors: Ryan Cody and Heather Breckel 
Letters: Tom Napolitano and Anna Meyer | Cover: Nathan Fox
HOT METER: 4.5/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Nathan Fox Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: GODZILLA IN NEW YORK? THE RENT BETTER GO DOWN AFTER THIS! You know the Brooklyn boy in me is showing up for this one. IDW brings its city-smashing anthology to the Big Apple with a crew including Frank Tieri, Mark Texeira, Tango, Anthony Marques, John Renner and Anna Meyer. Multiple creators getting to mess with my hometown and the King of the Monsters is an easy invitation.

The local flavor is the draw, and Nathan Fox’s Cover A is my recommendation for the kaiju shelf. Dean Haspiel’s alternative gives collectors another very tempting route. This one-shot lets Godzilla fans grab a complete city-specific package without catching up on an ongoing storyline. Somebody check the bridges, protect the bodegas and tell the big guy the subway is already having a rough enough week!

#4. Scott Pilgrim EX: Dawn of Metal Scott #1

Publisher: Oni Press
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer, artist and cover artist: Bryan Lee O’Malley
HOT METER: 5/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Bryan Lee O’Malley Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: BRYAN LEE O’MALLEY BACK ON SCOTT PILGRIM? THAT IS HOW YOU GET THE FANDOM TO PUT THE CONTROLLER DOWN! This one-shot is a prequel to the Scott Pilgrim EX video game, bringing Scott and Ramona into another threat after a stretch of peace. The creator returning to his own characters gives this something stronger than a familiar logo slapped on a game tie-in.

For the collectors, O’Malley’s cover is the obvious pick. For the readers, know what you are buying: the package contains the 16-page Dawn of Metal Scott comic plus extras, within a 24-page issue. That compact format is worth knowing before you reach the register. A creator return, a gaming connection and a fandom that loves these characters put this high on my list.

#3. The Snail #1

Publisher: Image Comics / Ninth Circle
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer: Garth Ennis | Artist and cover artist: John McCrea | Colors: Jack Davies | Letterer: Rob Steen
HOT METER: 5/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: John McCrea Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: GARTH ENNIS. JOHN McCREA. A TALKING SNAIL OFFERING YOUR HEART’S DESIRE. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING COULD GO WRONG! The Hitman collaborators reunite for a standalone horror story about desire, power and the sacrifices people will make when something offers them the life they want. Ennis and McCrea working together is already a selling point. Giving them a premise this unpleasantly strange pushes it further up the pile.

This is my indie heat pick for the reader who wants something outside the usual superhero rotation. The 40-page one-shot gives you a contained purchase, and McCrea’s regular cover makes the mood pretty clear before you open it. Keep this one on the grown-up shelf. If a snail starts offering you career advice afterward, leave the room, mi gente!

#2. Transformers #38

Publisher: Image Comics / Skybound
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer: Robert Kirkman | Artist and Cover A: Jason Howard | Colorist: Mike Spicer
HOT METER: 5/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Jason Howard Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: MEGATRON’S COCOON IS OPENING, AND I DOUBT A BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY IS COMING OUT! Robert Kirkman, Jason Howard and Mike Spicer have a very direct question for Transformers readers this week: what has emerged, and how much trouble does it mean for the Autobots? That is a strong piece of ongoing-story bait, especially for those of us who always keep one eye on the Decepticons.

Howard’s main cover is my pick because the silhouette sells the mystery without answering it for you. Daniel Warren Johnson and Mike Spicer’s Cover B is another attraction for collectors following the series’ artists. I am ranking this for the Megatron hook, the creative team and the franchise pull. The reveal still has to earn its reputation on the page, but this is absolutely a book I want in hand before the spoilers start flying.

#1. Predator vs. Punisher #1

Publisher: Marvel Comics / 20th Century Studios
On sale: November 11, 2026
Writer: Frank Tieri | Artist: Jesús Saiz | Cover: Dustin Weaver
HOT METER: 5/5
RECOMMENDED COVER: Dustin Weaver Cover A

WHY IT’S HOT: FRANK CASTLE JUST BECAME THE BIG GAME. NEW YORK, CANCEL YOUR PLANS! Frank Tieri and Jesús Saiz bring the Predator into the Punisher’s territory, where an alien looking for a worthy hunt finds a man who has built his life around hunting other killers. Kingpin, Jigsaw, Silvermane and the Owl are among the criminals caught around the collision. Imagine being a mobster and finding out Castle is no longer your only problem!

This takes my number-one spot because the crossover pitch is immediate, the two characters fit the same brutal hunting story, and a debut gives both fanbases a clear place to enter. Dustin Weaver’s main cover gets my vote, with the variant selection there for collectors who have a favorite artist. Tieri and Saiz still have to deliver the fight, but of everything on this week’s rack, this is the showdown I most want to crack open. WEPAAAA, LET THEM LOOSE!

THERE’S YOUR TEN, FAM! Predator vs. Punisher takes the crown, Transformers has me watching the Decepticons, and The Snail is the grown-up oddball I want horror readers to notice. Scott Pilgrim brings the creator reunion, while the rest of this stack proves there is plenty happening beyond the most familiar capes. Tell us what YOU are putting at number one!

Want to compare pull boxes? Check out last week’s Hot List and explore more of The HOT List! Support your local comic shop, give a new creator a chance, and actually read those books you’re bringing home. Until next week, THE CRUSADE NEVER ENDS!

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