From Verity Pennyworth To Punchline

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From Verity Pennyworth To Punchline- Top 10 Hottest Comics Of The Week

From Verity Pennyworth To Punchline – The Top 10 Hottest Comics Of The Week

Article Summary

• Top 10 Hottest Comics Of The Week spotlights Batman #8 as Verity Pennyworth’s first cover heats up fast.
• Punchline from Hero Tomorrow lands in the Top 10 Hottest Comics Of The Week, proving indie buzz can last.
• MCU news fuels heat for Avengers, Venom and Ghost Rider keys as collectors chase first appearances and variants.
• Retailer incentive covers from Money Shot, Lovebunny and Transformers drive big sales in the weekly hot comics list.

I was just thinking, looking at the fuss over the first appearance of Verity Pennyworth on the cover of Batman #8, how much it reminded me of the fuss over the first appearance of Punchline. Those first appearances you can now buy for pennies, of course. What has survived more is the character of Punchline, published by Hero Tomorrow. The creators of that character originally bemoaned that DC Comics had published a character with the same name as theirs, but six years on, they’re the ones in the Top 10 Hottest Comics List, all courtesy of Covrprice, with a Bleeding Cool tag to keep up withprevious editions.

1. BATMAN #8 – JORGE JIMENEZ – THINGS TO COME VARIANT | DC | APRIL 2026 Whenever a new character is introduced to replace a character readers have been with for decades, there can be a lot of hesitation. BATMAN #8 didn’t draw a lot of attention because no one really knew what to expect from this new character. Alfred has been gone since the City of Bane arc, when Bane brutally killed Alfred in front of Damian. In last week’s issue, #12, we see the introduction of Verity Pennyworth. The “passing of the torch” was done extremely well, letting Alfred himself reassure Bruce and readers that Verity is a worthy Pennyworth successor. This issue received positive reception when it was released, causing new fans of Verity to go back to this variant issue, which marks her first cover appearance! We tracked it at a high sale of $75 for a NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $52.
2. AVENGERS #1 – JOHN ROMITA JR. – REGULAR | MARVEL | MAY 2010 This year’s SDCC brought the spotlight back on the MCU. While the MCU has been on somewhat rocky ground with their fans, SDCC was a great time of reassurance. Casting and project announcements made headlines across all pop culture sites. One of the biggest announcements of the MCU was the casting of David Jonsson (The Long Walk, Alien: Romulus) as T’Challa’s son! The casting went over really well with fans, who couldn’t help but get hyped up. While it isn’t clear if the MCU will follow the comics directly, this cameo of T’Challa’s son has been heating up as fans speculate how he will be introduced into the MCU! We tracked it at a high sale of $24 for an NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $9.
3. PUNCHLINE AND THE VAUDE-VILLAINS VS VIOLANTE #1 – J. GONZO – VIRGIN VARIANT (1:5) | HERO TOMORROW COMICS | AUGUST 2026Gonzo has been killing it with the traditional Day of the Dead style cover artwork! The intricate details he adds, along with the almost fluorescent colors, are a unique and captivating piece of art. Fans went crazy for his D’ORC #1 exclusive variant and his DEATH TO PACHUCO #5 cover, each featured on previous Top Ten lists! This week that honor goes to a retailer incentive cover that fans have been hunting down. We tracked it at a high sale of $22 for an NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $14.
4. BATMAN #62 – MITCH GERADS – REGULAR | DC | JANUARY 2019The Absolute Universe has been taking the comic world by storm. As the story unfolds, fans are realizing that Snyder and Dragotta have crafted this universe very meticulously. Details for future villains are left as crumbs, and readers are catching on. Many have noticed that Professor Pyg may have been hidden in plain sight. In a brief panel featuring the Joker, a character with distinguishable features is now thought to be the first cameo appearance of Professor Pyg. Professor Pyg is set to arrive in the Absolute Universe soon and will have a major role in the ABSOLUTE BATMAN: ARM M series. We tracked it at a high sale of $25 for a NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $17.
5. MONEY SHOT: THE F*CK OFFS #1 – SUSPIRIA VARIANT (1:50) | VAULT | AUGUST 2026 Suspiria has been taking over the comic book scene. Her art style is easy to spot and hypnotically captivating. Last week was the release of this killer 1:50 retailer incentive cover. For those who love retro movie posters, this cover may look familiar to you. It is an homage to a classic sci-fi film poster, The Green Slime. If you aren’t already familiar with the film, give yourself a treat and check out the theme. This homage was so well done that it quickly shot to the top of many collectors’ wishlists! We tracked it at a high sale of $300 for a NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $230.
6. VENOM: LETHAL PROTECTOR #1 – DIRECT EDITION | MARVEL | FEBRUARY 1993 Spider-Man: Brand New Day just released at the beginning of the month, but the future of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man is already getting theories. Firstly, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Michael Mondo (Mac Gargan/Scorpion) stated that he believes that Brand New Day was just the beginning of Gargan’s potential… ideally culminating in becoming the MCU’s Venom. In another interview with Amy Pascal and Kevin Feige, they were asked about a potential crossover between Tom Hardy’s Venom and Holland’s Spider-Man, to which Feige cryptically replied, “Always have hope”. Finally, in the same interview, Amy Pascal confirmed that an animated Venom movie is still in the works at Sony. Needless to say, Venom has big things coming in the near future! We tracked it at a high sale of $48 for an NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $34.
7. DEVIL’S DUE PRESENTS: LOVEBUNNY & MR. HELL #1 – SVETA SHUBINA – FOIL VARIANT (1:25) | DEVIL’S DUE PUBLISHING | AUGUST 2026 Sveta Shubina releases another killer cover this week, in the form of a 1:25 retailer incentive. This foil cover drew a lot of attention when it was released. This release was pushed back by a few weeks, which probably served to drive up the hype on this cover release. Now that the series is seeing new life, this cover is the hot artwork to chase down! We tracked it at a high sale of $100 for an NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $81.
8. TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE #3 – E.J. SU – 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION – CONNECTING COVER (1:10) | IMAGE | AUGUST 2026The 40th anniversary of the Transformers kicked off a new reprinted run of the original 3-part series. The first issue’s 1:10 retailer incentive hit our Top Ten when it first dropped, and now the last issue’s retailer incentive is following the same pattern. This final issue is the last part of the 3-part connecting artwork, and it’s a great piece, featuring Galvatron and Hot Rod engaged in battle! We tracked it at a high sale of $20 for an NM copy and a current raw NM FMV of $15.
9. GHOST RIDER VOL 2 #15 – DIRECT EDITION | MARVEL | JULY 1991Ghost Rider is officially entering the MCU! While Ghost Rider has had many iterations in the comics, no one is certain which Ghost Rider will be debuting on the silver screen. While fans try to piece together and speculate on which Ghost Rider will appear, Ghost Rider covers have been moving on the aftermarket. This is an interesting one, as it features one of the first glow-in-the-dark variants to debut in mainstream comics! In some circles, it is the consensus that this is the first comic to feature a glow-in-the-dark cover. Whether that is true or not, it is still a badass Ghost Rider cover to own! We tracked it at a high sale of $60 for a Graded 9.6 copy and a current raw NM FMV of $12.
10. GHOST RIDER VOL 2 #1 – DIRECT EDITION | MARVEL | MARCH 1990Ryan Gosling’s casting as Ghost Rider was a surprise that caught the majority of MCU fans by surprise. While Ghost Rider has been one of the top characters requested to join the MCU, there was no timeline as to when we would see him appear. Still, the casting announcement was just the first step. Fans still don’t know which Ghost Rider Gosling will be portraying. However, it is much easier to secure a copy of Danny Ketch’s first appearance than it is to purchase a first appearance of Johnny Blaze. We tracked it at a high sale of $200 for a Graded 9.6 copy and a current raw NM FMV of $29

*Disclaimer: CovrPrice’s Top 10 list is automatically generated from real aftermarket sales data and is not manually curated. It reflects the week’s top trending comic books based on a weighted mix of sales volume and price movement. This list is not a recommendation on what to buy. It simply shows what collectors are actively purchasing online and how those choices shape the market for the week ending Sunday, August 9th, 2026.*

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