Good morning. Marvel dominated last week's marketshare with just three titles, DC cancels half the Dan Quintana glow-in-the-dark variants, and Steven Soderbergh steps in to direct the Batman sequel. Here's what moved.
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Marvel Comics dominated last week's comic store marketshare despite releasing only three titles, according to distributor data tracked by Bleeding Cool. The concentrated release strategy delivered outsized market control compared to competitors who spread bets across dozens of releases.
The company's Midnight Universe launch anchored the performance, with the new supernatural line appearing prominently in the week's top 400 bestselling comics. The three-title sweep demonstrates Marvel's ability to focus retailer orders and consumer dollars on select launches rather than flooding the market.
The marketshare victory comes as Marvel continues restructuring its release calendar under new executive direction. Industry watchers note the publisher has shifted from wide-catalog strategies toward fewer, bigger bets on flagship properties and new imprints designed to command shelf presence.
Competing publishers fielded significantly larger release slates during the same week but failed to match Marvel's concentrated penetration. The outcome suggests retailer ordering patterns remain heavily weighted toward Marvel's core titles when the company applies marketing resources to specific launches rather than spreading attention across a broad monthly catalog.
Why it matters: The three-title dominance signals Marvel can command marketshare without the release volume that typically drives publisher rankings. That gives the company more flexibility to consolidate production resources, focus creative talent, and reduce retailer decision fatigue. For collectors, fewer Marvel releases per week could mean higher secondary-market competition for each title if demand remains constant while supply concentrates. Shops may also face tougher ordering decisions when fewer Marvel books carry more weight in weekly sales totals.
Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
DC cancels six Dan Quintana glow-in-the-dark variant covers DC Comics pulled the plug on six of the specialty glow-in-the-dark variant covers illustrated by Dan Quintana, per Bleeding Cool. The cancellations shrink the originally announced set of Quintana's photo-luminescent covers, which had been solicited across multiple DC titles. The publisher has not stated whether the cuts stem from production issues, reorder performance, or creative direction changes. Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
Steven Soderbergh to complete The Batman Part II while Reeves addresses family matter Director Steven Soderbergh will helm The Batman Part II, scheduled for 2028, while Matt Reeves steps away to handle an undisclosed family issue, The Comics Beat reports. Soderbergh's involvement marks a rare director swap mid-franchise for a DC film. Reeves remains credited as a producer on the sequel, but day-to-day directorial duties have shifted to Soderbergh, known for the Ocean's franchise and a string of critically lauded independent features. Read at source (The Comics Beat) →
Chainkata #1 draws 116 retailer-exclusive variant covers Daniel Warren Johnson's Chainkata #1 from Image Comics will ship with 116 retailer-exclusive variant covers when it hits stands, Bleeding Cool confirms. The wave of store-specific covers reflects sustained retailer enthusiasm for Johnson's creator-owned projects following his work on Transformers and other high-profile books. Each participating shop commissioned unique artwork or cover treatments to drive direct-market preorders and in-store traffic. Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
Peter J. Tomasi launches first Kickstarter with Death Whisperer #1 Veteran DC and Marvel writer Peter J. Tomasi is running his first Kickstarter campaign for Death Whisperer, a creator-owned series co-written with Keith Champagne and illustrated by Neil Edwards. The campaign launched this week and marks Tomasi's debut in crowdfunded comics after decades writing Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern for the Big Two. Death Whisperer centers on a character who can communicate with the dead. Read at source (Bleeding Cool) →
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CBCS vs CGC, with the thin data marked.
On the sales we matched, a CBCS slab traded at 80–97% of the CGC price. That rests on 14 sales across two books, so the chart marks it thin instead of calling it settled. Every number in the 2026 Comics Guide has a source, and the weak ones say so.
What’s in the 2026 Comics Guide →| November 2026 | Pokémon Team Rocket Game |
| 2026-10-16 | Chronicles of Narnia 7 New Books |
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 | ★ Marquee find THOR 137 1967 Marvel Comics 1st Appearance ULIK CGG 9.6 9.4 CBCS 9.6 (U-Choose)$2,895 · CBCS 9.6, high grade, key/1st app. View on eBay → |
 | Key · Top Pick 💚 Savage She-Hulk #1 CGC 9.6 OWW 1980 Origin & 1st Appearance of She-Hulk$200 · CGC 9.6, high grade, key/1st app. View on eBay → |
 | Key · Top Pick Walking Dead #171 CGC 9.8 2017 1st Appearance Juanita "Princess" Sanchez Image$57 · CGC 9.8, high grade, key/1st app. View on eBay → |
“Deal” reflects our automated score — grade, third-party verification, and how fresh the listing is — not a guarantee of the lowest price. Listings are on eBay; price and availability can change or sell out. As an eBay Partner, we earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.
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