This is one of the biggest Wednesdays of the year. Amazing Spider-Man hits issue #1000, the Xenomorphs finally crash the X-Men, and Venom gets a new mini with a Junji Ito cover horror fans will be chasing. All three are also dropping on VeVe the same day. Here's everything we know about each book and every cover, plus where we'd actually spend our money. As always, this is speculation, not financial advice. Buy what you love first.

🕷️ Amazing Spider-Man #1000 (Marvel, $9.99, 104 pages)

The book. It's a giant anthology for Spidey's 1,000th issue, and the lineup is ridiculous. Joe Kelly and Pepe Larraz lead the main story, which wraps up their run so far and kicks off the next phase. Noah Hawley, the creator of Fargo and Legion, makes his Marvel comics debut with art by Patrick Gleason. Frank Miller and Peach Momoko team up for the first time, and Bendis and Stuart Immonen reunite on Spidey. Dan Slott, J.M. DeMatteis, Larry Lieber and Marcos Martin round things out.

Why collectors care. Key Collector confirms the first appearance of Cormac Crane as Ravage. Marvel is calling him Spidey's most frightening new villain in decades, and he's clearly built to drive the book going forward. Early Local Comic Shop Day copies also revealed a new Spider-Girl, or Spider-Queen, in the Miller and Momoko story. It's worth watching, but it's too early to call her a real key.

The catch. Orders reportedly topped 400,000, and a second printing is already set for October 28. The regular covers won't be scarce anytime soon.

Every cover (47 total)

Main: A Pepe Larraz, B John Romita Jr. and Paolo Rivera.

Open-order ($9.99): Todd Nauck (part one of the Legacy connecting cover), Lee Bermejo Amazing Visions, Marvel Tokon, the Brand New Day movie cover, Paco Medina Muppets, J. Scott Campbell, Skottie Young, Mr Garcin, Steve Ditko, Momoko and Miller, Larraz, Mark Bagley, the 1967 animated series wraparound, Alex Ross, Gleason Web-Head, Immonen, Humberto Ramos, Marcos Martin, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Ryan Stegman Ravage, JRJr, Julian Totino Tedesco, the SKAN LCSD cover, and an Ed McGuinness foil (about $17 at Midtown).

Ratio variants:

• 1:25 Erik Larsen: about $15 to $25.

• 1:50 Steve Ditko B&W: sold out at High Noon ($65) and Big Time ($29.99), with Midtown still taking orders at $36.

• 1:100 Lee Bermejo virgin: sold out at High Noon and Big Time, with Midtown at $81 and Infinity6 asking $200.

• 1:200 J. Scott Campbell virgin: Big Time sold out at $189.99, and Midtown is at $225.

Second printing (10/28): JRJr sketch and Larraz B&W.

Store and con exclusives: The limited ones to watch are SKAN ComicsPRO spot-color virgin (300 copies), Gleason B&W virgin (900) and Natali Sanders NYCC (1,500). The rest are Mico Suayan for Big Time (three versions), Tyler Kirkham for Gotham City Limits, Iban Coello for Jiman, Larraz and Bermejo for Scott's NYCC, and Gabriele Dell'Otto for Fan Expo.

Our take. Read and enjoy the regular covers, but don't expect them to climb. If you're hunting value, stick to the 1:50, 1:100 and 1:200 covers and the low-print store exclusives. High risk on everything else.

👽 Alien Vs. X-Men #1 of 4 (Marvel, $5.99, 40 pages)

The book. Kieron Gillen is back with the X-Men, with Geraldo Borges on art. The X-Men go looking for a Phoenix egg and bring a Xenomorph home instead. The backup is a gift for longtime fans: Chris Claremont writes Kitty Pryde against the Brood and the Xenomorphs, with art by David Messina.

Why collectors care. Key Collector confirms the first appearance of a new Alien Queen. That's a real hook, it's a licensed crossover with two huge fanbases, and it already made Bleeding Cool's Top 50 most anticipated list.

Every cover (7 total)

• A: Ryan Stegman ($5.99). Already sold out at Big Time.

• B: Alan Quah poster homage ($5.99)

• C: Leinil Francis Yu ($5.99)

• D: Bjorn Barends ($5.99)

• E: John Romita Jr. foil ($8.99)

• F: 1:25 Ivan Shavrin: about $22.50 at Midtown

• G: 1:100 Leinil Francis Yu virgin: $90 at Midtown and still orderable

Our take. This is our favorite key of the week. Grab a Stegman A and the JRJr foil at cover price, because the foil is the best-value cover on the shelf. The Yu virgin is the chase cover. Medium risk.

🖤 Amazing Venom #1 of 5 (Marvel, $4.99, 32 pages)

The book. Jordan Morris writes and Luke Ross draws this mini. It follows Fred Myers, formerly Boomerang and now Comeback, and his symbiote Passenger in the fallout from Queen in Black.

Heads up. Passenger's first appearance was Web of Venom #1 back in April, not this issue. With no key inside, this book is all about the covers.

Every cover (8 total)

• A: Stefano Caselli ($4.99). Sold out at Third Eye.

• B: Erik Larsen homage ($4.99)

• C: Junji Ito trade dress ($4.99). Sold out at High Noon and Big Time.

• D: Luke Ross ($4.99)

• E: Ryan Browne ($4.99)

• F: Matteo Lolli foil (about $8 at Midtown)

• G: 1:25 Stephen Segovia: about $18

• H: 1:100 Junji Ito virgin: sold out at Big Time at $89.99, and Midtown lists it at $90 but isn't taking orders

Our take. Junji Ito on Venom is the story here. If your shop has the Ito trade dress on the wall, grab it, because it's already getting hard to find. With ASM #1000 out the same day, the regular covers may get lost in the shuffle. Medium risk.

📱 Going digital? All three picks are on VeVe's official lineup for this week, dropping at 12 AM PT Wednesday (3 AM ET), the same day they hit shops. Dragon Man #1 from our radar list is on there too. VeVe hasn't posted covers, edition sizes or prices yet, so we'll be watching at drop time to see whether any of them come with VeVe-exclusive covers, since those are the ones you can't get anywhere else. If you just want to read, Marvel's new issues also land on GlobalComix the same day, and Marvel Unlimited usually adds them about three months later, according to readers.

Also on our radar: FF: First Foes – Dragon Man #1, the Dan Mora cover on Superman: Kingdom of Zod Special #1, and Geiger #25 for Image fans.

What we'd skip: Regular ASM #1000 covers as quick flips, tie-in covers with no key hook, and $50-plus premium covers that aren't actually selling out.

What's on your pull list this week, and which cover are you hunting? 🕷️👽🖤