The Pull List — Monday, August 17, 2026: Gotham Goes Feral, Wednesday's Big Five, and a Spider-Milestone
📅 This Day in Comic History
- 1938: Trina Robbins is born in Brooklyn. The underground-comix pioneer and Eisner Hall of Famer is widely credited as the first woman to draw a full-length Wonder Woman comic, and she spent decades documenting women's contributions to the medium. According to Wikipedia and the Eisner Hall of Fame records, her influence on comics history runs deep.
- 1952: Alex Saviuk is born. Spider-Man fans know his pencils from a long run on Web of Spider-Man and years on the Spider-Man newspaper strip. Feeling the Spidey history today? The biggest Spider-book ever is up for grabs below.
Pre-Order Amazing Spider-Man #1000 →
🗓️ New This Wednesday — The 5 Books Everyone's Talking About (August 19)
Wednesday, August 19 brings roughly 88 new releases, according to Key Collector Comics. These five are pulling the most coverage across the comics press.
1. Bug Wars: The Coming of the Wardoom #1 (Image)
Jason Aaron and Mahmud Asrar bring back their backyard-war hit for a new eight-issue chapter, with roach knights, squirrel armies, and corporate exterminators on a collision course. According to AIPT, this kickoff is one of the most previewed books of the week. Available at your local shop.
2. The Last Driver #1 (Image)
Sean Gordon Murphy writes and draws his first Image series since Tokyo Ghost: a future where driving is illegal and one outlaw gets behind the wheel to save his granddaughter. We have a rare SDCC ashcan promo in stock while the #1 hits shelves Wednesday.
3. What If...? Runaways #1 (Marvel)
Rainbow Rowell returns to the Runaways with artist Zulema Scotto Lavina for a standalone story asking what would have happened if the kids had stayed home. According to Collider, it marks the team's official return to publishing.
Order What If...? Runaways #1 →
4. Punisher vs. Spider-Man #2 (Marvel)
The gloves-off Marvel grudge match continues, with a Jonas Scharf cover leading the set. Issue one's foil variant is still in stock too if you're catching up.
Order Punisher vs. Spider-Man #2 →
5. Absolute Green Arrow #4 (DC)
The Absolute line's dark urban-horror take on Oliver Queen keeps building buzz week over week. Available at your local shop.
☕ Today's Big Story: Gotham Has Nine Days Before the Bad Seeds Bloom
DC's next line-wide event, Batman: Bad Seeds, is now just over a week out, and the shape of it is coming into focus. According to ICv2 and AIPT, showrunners Matt Fraction and G. Willow Wilson are steering a 23-issue, ten-week story set across one long Gotham night, as Poison Ivy unleashes prehistoric plant life that swallows whole neighborhoods. The event opens August 26 with a prelude in Poison Ivy #47 and the Batman: Bad Seeds — Sunset #1 one-shot, then spreads through the Bat-line's monthly titles into October. If you missed the pre-order window with us, your local shop will have day-of copies; we'll have related Bat-books ready below.
🗞️ Industry Buzz — News & Reveals
First look at Avengers #1 lands, with Zdarsky and Checchetto reunited.
- According to The Fandom Post, Marvel released a lettered preview and a fresh batch of variant covers for the November 4 relaunch.
- The pairing reunites the Eisner-nominated Daredevil team of Chip Zdarsky and Marco Checchetto.
Marvel's Midnight Universe gets a same-day October 7 launch.
- According to Marvel, Midnight X-Men (Jonathan Hickman, Matteo Della Fonte), Midnight Spider-Man (Phillip Kennedy Johnson, ScieTronc), and Midnight Fantastic Four (Benjamin Percy, Kev Walker) will be the only new Marvel books that day — a first for the publisher.
- According to Bleeding Cool, Hickman's Midnight X-Men is planned for at least twelve issues. We have it → Midnight X-Men #1
Amazing Spider-Man #1000 details keep growing ahead of September 16.
- According to Marvel, the 104-page issue is anchored by Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz's story introducing a new villain, with anniversary shorts from creators including Frank Miller, Dan Slott, and J.M. DeMatteis.
- It's the first mainline Marvel series to reach a four-digit issue number. We have it → Amazing Spider-Man #1000
Marvel's publishing division is packing for Burbank.
- According to The Hollywood Reporter, the comics operation will relocate from New York to Burbank in 2027, ending roughly nine decades in the city.
- According to CBR, Stephen Wacker returns as editor-in-chief as part of the shakeup.
📰 Also This Morning
The Runaways return runs deeper than one issue.
- Rainbow Rowell's acclaimed era with the team is collected in Runaways: Think of the Children, with art by Elena Casagrande and Roberta Ingranata.
- It's the perfect catch-up before Wednesday's What If...? one-shot.
Grab the Runaways collection →
Reading up before Avengers #1? Start with a Vision classic.
- Avengers Epic Collection: Absolute Vision collects Roger Stern's celebrated 1980s run, one of the arcs modern relaunches keep drawing from.
- In stock now in paperback.
Frank Castle homework before Wednesday.
- The current Punisher ongoing kicked off with a memory-damaged Frank Castle, and we have the #1 second print (Negative Space virgin cover) on the shelf.
- Pairs nicely with Punisher vs. Spider-Man #2.
🔥 New First Issues to Watch
🔥 The Last Driver #1 — Sean Gordon Murphy hasn't launched a creator-owned Image series since Tokyo Ghost in 2015, and first issues from the White Knight creator have a strong track record with collectors; Key Collector Comics has the week's debuts on its radar. If you like Tokyo Ghost or Mad Max: Fury Road, you will love this. Our rare SDCC ashcan promo is one-of-one in stock.
📚 In Print & Collections
- Runaways: Think of the Children | Rainbow Rowell's Runaways stories | Trade paperback | In stock now | Buy here
- Avengers Epic Collection: Absolute Vision | Roger Stern's classic 1980s Avengers epic | Trade paperback | In stock now | Buy here
- Batman & Superman: World's Finest collected edition | Recent World's Finest issues | Hardcover | August 19, 2026 | Available at your local shop (per AIPT's Tradewatch)
🗣️ Rumor Mill
The following is unconfirmed and should be treated as rumor until officially announced.
- 🔥 RM-101 (2026-08-17): According to Bleeding Cool's gossip column, high-level industry chatter says Brian Michael Bendis may return to Marvel Comics, with an announcement possibly timed for New York Comic Con. The same report speculates a Bendis role in any future Ultimate Universe relaunch. Source: Bleeding Cool
P.S.
When Amazing Spider-Man #1000 arrives next month, it will be the first mainline Marvel series ever to hit four digits — sixty-four years of web-slinging in one 104-page package.
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