The Pull List โ Oct. 5, 2026: Marvel's Midnight Universe Arrives Wednesday, The Demon Returns & The X-Files Comes Back
Monday, October 5, 2026 ยท Your three-minute comic briefing from Epic Panels Comics.
๐ This Day in Comic History
- 1965 โ Master Mold, the towering machine that builds Sentinels, made its debut in X-Men #15 by Stan Lee and Werner Roth, according to Marvel.com.
- 1976 โ Carol Danvers headlined her first solo book, Ms. Marvel #1 by Gerry Conway and John Buscema (cover-dated January 1977), per Marvel.com. The "Ms." title was a deliberate nod to the women's movement of the era.
- 2018 โ Sony's Venom opened in theaters, according to the same Marvel.com history roundup. ๐ฌ
The Ms. Marvel legacy lives on through Kamala Khan, and we have a graded key from her early days:
๐๏ธ New This Wednesday (October 7) โ Top 5
Ranked by how many major outlets are previewing each book this week.
1. Midnight X-Men #1 (Marvel) โ Jonathan Hickman and Matteo Della Fonte
Hickman's return to mutants pits vampires against a mutant faction in New York, according to Marvel.com. It tops Key Collector Comics' list for the week with 33 variants. Available at your local shop.
2. Midnight Spider-Man #1 (Marvel) โ Phillip Kennedy Johnson and ScieTronc
A body-horror retelling where Oscorp turns a young Peter Parker into a spider hybrid. It's also artist ScieTronc's first Marvel work, per Marvel.com. Available at your local shop.
3. Midnight Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel) โ Benjamin Percy and Kev Walker
A new origin built on cosmic dread: four people warped by a scientist's obsession with forbidden dimensions. Available at your local shop.
4. The Demon #1 (DC) โ written and drawn by James Harren
The Ultramega creator takes on Jason Blood and Etrigan as an ongoing DC Next Level series, with Dave Stewart on colors, according to Comic Watch. Available at your local shop.
5. Something Is Killing the Children #50 (BOOM!) โ James Tynion IV and Werther Dell'Edera
Erica Slaughter's series hits a milestone fiftieth issue at $6.99 with 58 variants tracked by Key Collector Comics. Available at your local shop.
โ Today's Big Story: Marvel's Midnight Universe Launches Wednesday
According to Marvel.com, all three Midnight debuts arrive together on October 7, and they are the only new Marvel comics shipping that day, a rare move for the publisher. The line recasts Marvel's biggest heroes through horror, with each book leaning into a different strain of the genre, as Overstreet and Popverse have reported. Main editions use "Cloaked Covers" that hide the art until you turn the page. If you want a taste of Hickman's long-game plotting before Wednesday, his Fantastic Four run is on our shelves.
Shop Hickman's Fantastic Four โ
๐๏ธ Industry Buzz โ News & Reveals
The X-Files returns to comics at Dynamite
- According to Comic Book Club, writer Joe Harris is back on the property with artist R.D. Brown, picking up after the show's eleventh season.
- The X-Files #1 is set for December 9, 2026.
IDW teases two big New York Comic Con reveals
- According to Comic Book Club, Stan Sakai, Christopher Cantwell, Matthew Rosenberg, Mariko Tamaki and Patrick Horvath sit on IDW's Friday panel. NYCC runs October 8โ11 at the Javits Center.
Snake Plissken heads north in Escape From the North Pole
- According to The Beat, Mad Cave's one-shot comes from Fred Kennedy and Danilo Beyruth and sends Snake to a mutant-filled Arctic bioweapons lab. It ships December 23, 2026.
DC GO! runs its first digital crossover
- "Runway to Ruin" crosses five DC Universe Infinite titles and wraps October 29, with three new digital series to follow in November, per Comic Book Club.
New York Public Library names its Best Comics of 2026
- Picks include Image's Everything Dead & Dying by Tate Brombal, according to True North Country Comics.
๐ฐ Also This Morning
Absolute Superman #24 lands Wednesday
- It ranks third on Key Collector Comics' list for October 7.
- New to the Absolute line? The second hardcover collection is in stock.
Shop Absolute Superman Vol. 2 โ
X-Men '97: Season Two #5 is on deck ๐ฌ
- According to Comic Watch, issue #5 arrives October 14.
- Catch up with issue #1, which is still on our shelves.
Shop X-Men '97: Season Two #1 โ
Marvel Premier Collection adds an X-Men volume
- Comic Book Club reported on September 29 that an X-Men entry is joining the compact Premier Collection line.
- We stock earlier volumes, including Ta-Nehisi Coates' Black Panther: A Nation Under Our Feet.
๐ฅ New First Issues to Watch
The Demon #1 (DC, October 7) ๐ฅ
James Harren handles both script and art, so every page reflects one creator's vision. Key Collector Comics flags it as a key issue. Pricing runs $3.99 for the main cover, $4.99 for card stock and $6.99 for the foil, per Comic Watch. If you like Ultramega or Mignola-style occult action, you will love this. Available at your local shop.
๐ In Print & Collections
- Fantastic Four: Solve Everything | Opening of Hickman's FF run | Paperback (Marvel Premier Collection) | In stock | Buy
- Absolute Superman Vol. 2: Son of the Demon | Second Absolute Superman collection | Hardcover | In stock | Buy
- Concrete Omnibus | Paul Chadwick's Concrete stories | Omnibus | 2027, per Dark Horse | Available at your local shop
๐ฃ๏ธ Rumor Mill
The following is unconfirmed and should be treated as rumor until officially announced.
- RM-101 (Oct. 5, 2026) ๐ฅ โ Could Usagi Yojimbo move back to IDW? Comic Book Club called it "pure speculation," based only on Stan Sakai's spot on IDW's NYCC panel. The series ran at IDW from 2015 to 2022 before moving to Dark Horse. Source: Comic Book Club.
P.S.
"I haven't been this excited about a book in a very long time." โ Jonathan Hickman, via Marvel.com, June 18, 2026, on Midnight X-Men.
Follow Epic Panels
Facebook ยท Instagram ยท TikTok ยท YouTube
The Pull List is free every weekday morning. Subscribe to get it in your inbox.