Read @ Joe’s

Title: Absolute Batman, Vol. 1: The Zoo (2024) Author: Scott Snyder // Nick Dragotta Publisher: DC Comics Book jacket: Without the wealth, without the cave, he’s still the Absolute Dark Knight! Meet Batman as you’ve never seen him before, reimagined with a modern origin story at the hands of superstar creative team Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta! Joe says: Absolute Batman Vol. 1 strips Bruce Wayne of his fortune and doubles down on muscle, violence, and reinvention, delivering a slick, Gen-Z-ready remix of the Dark Knight mythos. This is fast, fun, and visually sharp, but for all its noise and attitude, it never quite lands the gravitas that makes Batman truly timeless.

Absolute Batman Vol. 1 takes an axe to the Dark Knight mythos. Perhaps this Absolute version was editorially crafted for a new generation. Or it’s simply a ploy to bring in new readers. Maybe this is just a chance to do something “new.” If so, DC Comics succeeded. Absolute Batman is as fresh as a punch to the face.

Written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta, Absolute Batman presents a younger Batman, dumps the trust fund, inexplicably adds 40 pounds of muscle, and… hands him an axe. This is a younger, angrier Bruce Wayne with a living mother, a dead father, and zero billionaire insulation between him and Gotham’s rot. Alfred is a hardened merc with a ZZ Top beard and a trigger-heavy discipline. Jim Gordon is mayor. The Batmobile looks like a Constructicon with a grudge. And Gotham itself is under siege as Black Mask’s Party Animal gang turns chaos into civic policy.

Snyder clearly aims this version of Batman at a new generation: louder, faster, and stripped of nostalgia, even when the story beats feel (ahem…) absolutely familiar. Yet on a whole, this is nothing more than Batman as mere reinvention remix rather than a reverent reflection. This skews more video game pop; less Frank Miller metal.

This non-millionaire Batman is brutal but principled, swinging axes and throwing batarangs while somehow keeping things non-lethal. In a tragically interesting twist, Snyder presents Bruce’s closest friends as card-playing jokers who, back on Earth-One, make up his classic rogues gallery of Riddler, Two-Face, Killer Croc, Penguin, and Catwoman.

Snyder’s dialogue snaps and Nick Dragotta’s art is energetic and referential, echoing past Bat-artists Kelley Jones, David Mazzucchelli, and Scott McDaniel without feeling stale. Absolute Batman Vol. 1 is fun, fast, and readable. But for all its cool factor, the story never quite lands the emotional weight. After all, an axe should be used to remove dead weight. Right?

This is fast, fun, and visually sharp, but for all its noise and attitude, it never quite lands the gravitas that makes Batman truly timeless.

Absolute Batman is entertaining and slick, just a little too light to feel essential. Absolute, sure. Classic? Not yet.