It’s a real pleasure to read one of these oversized treasury comics where the artwork is drawn to take advantage of the larger dimensions of the pages. Plenty of full page illos and double-page spreads, and while this may annoy in your standard-sized monthly periodical comics, it feels like a special bonus to get such imagery in these books. Bruno Redondo (along with assists from various artists like Dan Jurgens and Brett Breeding) knocks it out of the park here, and the comic is never anything but delightful to look at.
Now, the story…it takes place slightly in the past, where Superman and Lois’s son Jon was still a boy, before getting aged up for reasons I’ll touch upon shortly. And because it’s the aforementioned Dan Jurgens is the writer, we get more Jurgens creations in addition to Jon popping up throughout the story, such as [reminder: SPOILERS] the Cyborg Superman and Maxima. (Well, okay, Jurgens didn’t create Maxima, but he sure used her a lot.)
As I was reading this, I was just slightly disappointed that these particular characters got dragged out from the last thirty years or so of Superman’s history. I’d hoped for something a little less deep-cut-ish and more accessible for new readers, rather than Jurgens doing a “My Greatest Superman Hits.” But, in fairness, it was either “yet another Superman Vs. Luthor” story versus something that showed off some variety in Superman’s rogues gallery, so ultimately, in retrospect, I suppose I don’t actually have a problem with this.
One this this story does do is establish the history of the current version of Superman, spending a few pages outlining the character’s Big Events (death by Doomsday, his marriage, etc.) and trying to get straight just what exactly is canon for this character, who had his from-scratch reboot in 1986 and has gone through some various revisions in the decades since.
(Also of note: it’s confirmed that Maxima was once a Justice League member, from way back in the pre-Zero Hour DC Universe.)
(Also of note: the “timeline,” as such, ends around the time Superman first encounters his father Jor-El, who survived Krypton’s destruction, but takes place before Jor-El takes Jon on his space trip, during which, due to time travel/dilation/timey-wimey stuff, he ages into his late teens. So Jurgens is really threading the needle here of when this story took place.)
After the story are some pages promoting the new Superman film, with nice big color photos of the cast. Overall, it’s a fun, attractive book…would’ve been okay with not seeing the Cyborg Superman yet again, but, eh, it’s fine. Hopefully this comic will sell well enough to encourge DC to publish more new treasury comics, instead of just reprinting the old ones.
Kevin Smith his own self writes this crossover between the world of Archie and the View Askewniverse, and while not wildly over-the-top funny, it’s certainly amusing enough and will inspire a few Sensible Chuckles.
A good chunk of the humor is in the contrast between the filthy language used by Smith’s characters versus the general innocence of the Archies, commented upon within the book itself:
And I’m not made of stone, seeing characters drawn in the Archie style, in a comic published by Archie Comics, use naughty words made me laugh a bit.
The plot itself works its way up from smaller character pieces and interactions into a giant climactic event at a concert, but I felt the smaller scale scenes worked better. There was just more focus in the earlier bits of the book, while things just got a little too chaotic at the end. Might have been the sort of scene that would work better cinematically but falls a little flat on the page. Not that it wasn’t amusing, it just didn’t entirely work for me.
But overall I enjoyed the comic, which reminded me a little of the Good Ol’ Days of the early Clerks comics from Oni Press. I wouldn’t mind seeing more of these, though I suspect we were lucky to just get the one.
Also, I liked the running gags referencing specific Archie comics titles. I knew that Pep wasn’t in there just by chance!
On a related note, I was listening to some old mix discs of mine (remember mix discs? ask your grandparents) and came across this one track, which is about the first 30 or 40 seconds of this very Not Safe for Work video. That still makes me laugh.
So in the wake of the mid-1980s Crisis on Infinite Earths, the epic mini-series that changed the DC Universe permanently and forever, never to be altered again, the masterminds behind that series, Marv Wolfman and George Pérez, put out a two-part History of the DC Universe. The last two installments of the 12-issue Crisis were intended as an overview of the new, combined, parallel-Earthless DCU, but ended up as its own thing.
The premise of the series was that Harbinger, former associate to the Monitor in Crisis, is documenting the events of this new version of the DC Universe, presenting how everything now fits together when it had all been on multiple Earths before. It was text with beautiful illustrations by Pérez, and was out of date almost as soon as it was published, as DC began its multiple decades of trying to bend everything back into something resembling pre-Crisis shape. However, it still stands as a wonderfully drawn art showcase which still gets rereleased from time to time, including a new reissue of the Crisis on Infinite Earths Omnibus that includes History.
However, after nearly forty years, it’s been decided that it’s probably time to try again and see where the DC Universe stands. This is probably the right time for it, as we seem to have gotten away from DC’s near-yearly attempts at undoing Crisis from the last decade or so and the DCU has settled down into some relative stability.
And that new try? Behold, The History of the New DC Universe written by Mark Waid, issue #1 illustrated by Jerry Ordway and Todd Nauck, main wraparound cover here drawn by Chris Samnee:
I did love Samnee’s cover, and if I gave in to temptation, I would have kept one of every cover for myself. I did manage to restrict myself to just one cover, though, and it’s the wraparound group shot cover by Scott Koblish:
Here’s a detail I pulled off the back cover, specifically because this image includes Sheldon Mayer’s Scribbly:
There’s a specific reason why I like the Koblish covers specifically, in that it includes characters like some of those funny animal characters that don’t get mentions in the comic itself but have their existence acknowledged in this huge group shot. We also get characters that, In Real Life, first appeared during the Golden Age, but in the new DCU are presented as more contemporary characters, like the Marvel/Shazam! Family.
The actual content itself is split into two parts: the main “story,” as such, is Barry Allen, the Silver Age Flash, presenting a chronological step-by-step New History of the DC Universe, as it says on the tin, light on the text and transitions, almost by necessity, but heavy on the swell art:
Yes, I picked a Swamp Thing-related image as an example, You know whose blog you’re on.
Another nice touch is that Barry acknowledges at the very beginning the presence of “Crisis-level events” that have mucked about with continuity, which does have me curious as to how the series is going to handle things like Crisis on Infinite Earths, or Dark Crisis, or the various Metal series, or, God help us, Doomsday Clock.
Of course, it’s easy to draw comparisons between this series and the History of the Marvel Universe by Waid and Javier Rodriguez, released about six years ago. Similar in layout, with art heavy pages and small blocks of text in the front of the book, with pages of notes in the back (more on the notes section shortly), it differed in that it the Marvel history seemed to go out of its way to point out and correct continuity issues.
I imagine it’s at least in part because Marvel’s mostly avoided line-wide reboots or endless rejiggerings of its fictional world. But some characters, like the Punisher, had their origins in the Vietnam War, which is maybe a little too far back in real world history for the Punisher to still be an active and effective vigilante in stories set in modern times. As such, the fictional Siancong War was created to replace the Vietnam War, always some vague time in the recent-ish past, being pushed along forward in time much like the Marvel characters themselves, staying current in relation to the real world year.
If I recall correctly, characters like Reed Richards and Ben Grimm from the Fantastic Four, who originally had fought during World War II (and was still a thing, so to speak, as of 1981, kinda sorta), had their wartime experiences shifted to the Siancong War. But some WWII-era characters who had an “out,” like Captain America’s initial 20-years-long suspended animation being extended eventually to now, what, 60 or 70 years, are still WWII-bound. And there’s Namor, who’s long-lived, and there’s the Red Skull, whatever his deal was…all still connected to the 1940s.
It’s mentioned here only because New History of the DC Universe hasn’t yet dropped any huge change along those lines, at least that I’ve noticed. To be honest, I was expecting something drastic being done with the Justice Society of America, a World War II-era superteam, some of whom are still around and kickin’ today. I think the Golden Age Green Lantern is kept vital by his ring, and the Golden Age Flash is…his connection to the Speed Force, maybe? At any rate, they’re all literally 100 years old or more now, or thereabouts.
I think the solution provided, seemingly inspired by Last Days of the Justice Society by Roy and Dann Thomas and David Ross, that they were on an “interdimensional adventure” that extended their lives “by decades.” It’s sort of the DC version of Marvel’s “Captain America was frozen in ice for [x] years,” where they can just keep increasing that value of [x] as needed. Anyway, I think this preferable to changing the DC WWII superheroes to, like, some newer war or an invented war.
As I said, like the Marvel History, there are pages of extra notes in the back, titled “New History of the DC Universe Timeline, written by Dave Wielgosz, based on the research he and Waid underwent for this project.
In case you’re wondering, yes, Scribbly gets a mention in the Timeline.
Almost by necessity, the “comic book” section of the publication had to skip a lot of the finer details while hitting the big moments of the history. There’s really only so much space to work with, and while I’m sure everyone involved would have liked to spend page after page detailing the origins of every Golden Age character, but that just wasn’t going to happen. But here in the notes, or Timeline, section, you can get those details and even specific issue numbers. It’s a nice, informative supplement to the main thrust of the book.
New History of the DC Universe is a wonderful artistic showcase, supported by the very thorough informative writing and research by Waid and his team. Like I said above, I’m looking forward to seeing how the later more volatile eras get hammered into coherent shape.
So as a funnybook-readin’ adult, there are very few times where I’ve had a direct, visceral reaction to something in a comic book. Like, a literal shock to an event or, well, something else. I mean, I’ve enjoyed comics, I’ve been in suspense, I’ve found things funny, but rarely have I encountered a comic that really gave me a jolt.
One of them was Superman: American Alien, which, yeah, I know, that writer, that series, etc., but there’s a page-turn jumpscare where Clark is just sitting there calmly, and then on the next page there’s Batman just crashing violently through a window at him. Don’t know why that was so effective on me, but this generated actual frission.
Another was, in of all things, Doomsday Clock, where at the back of the book you will happen upon a reproduction of a photo that plays an important part in the story (and its presence actually fits thematically). Totally unexpected, totally surprised me.
The latest example is a brief bit from the beginning of this week’s Batman and Robin: Year One #8, in which Robin disarms a thug, grabs the gun, and immediately points it back at his opponent:
This struck me as…wildly wrong, an image that just gets hit with the “REJECT” stamp by my brain. Of course, moments later Batman slaps the weapon out of Robin’s hand and admonishes his sidekick about never using guns. But that panel was a real “oh shit” moment that I physically felt.
I tried to share this observation on the War Rocket Ajax Discord message board, and got a real sense that I was, like, the one person to feel that way. Of course, I don’t participate too much (mostly I’m on there to talk to the show hosts Chris ‘n’ Matt) and the whole ecosystem that’s built up feels like I’m reading someone else’s mail, despite the fact I’ve listened to every episode of that podcast. At any rate, I got no back-up on my particular feeling about this panel, but it’s not the first time I’ve died on a hill occupied by nobody else.
…Especially since I’m on a new medication that’s really throwing me for a loop. Still don’t know if the surgery is happening this week for sure or not, but supposedly my early Monday morning appointment will finally nail down what we’re doing. Probably shouldn’t use the word “nail” in association with eye surgery.
Anyway, you should pick up the new Supergirl #1, coming out this week, and if you haven’t got your copy yet, Blood and Thunder #1, the sci-fi action book from last week, is a good one to check out.
I hope everyone is doing okay out there, and with any luck I’ll be back to proper blogging here soon. Thanks for reading, pals.
The mini continues to be a delight, with Al Ewing scripting it in a psuedo-1960s trying-too-hard-to-be-hip-and-with-it but in a knowing and funny way that is entertaining and not “cheugy,” to use a new slang term I just learned the other day. Steve Lieber’s art tells everything in a thankfully clear and concise manner, something that’s not easy with a book that’s throwing as much wackiness at you on every page.
One note: for someone who’s had his share of eyeball troubles over the last few years, there are repeated examples of eye injury to which I perhaps had a more visceral reaction than most. Not that the fella receiving said injuries didn’t have them coming, natch.
Another note: I knew this Metamorpho series was released in part as synergy with his appearance in the coming Superman movie. However, there is even more synergy than I expected with that film which pops up in this new issue. An unusual mix of characters, and a retconned origin, maybe, for our favorite Fab Freak? It’s a wild ride and well worth reading, with or without its need to cross-promote with a film.
Speaking of an unusual mix of characters, some folks just turn up out of nowhere in the back half of this new issue of Green Lantern, which piques my interest after a handful of perfectly competent but not necessarily outstanding issues. Which isn’t a ding, by the way…I read and enjoyed them just fine, each issue providing exactly One Standard Unit of Green Lantern Comics and that’s what I want when I pick up a Green Lantern comic.
The thing about the Green Lantern franchise is that it’s come a long way from “dude with a magical science ring that fights crime,” usually based on Earth but with the occasional special story in space, with maybe some other Green Lanterns showing up once in a while. Now it’s a premise that’s sort of…about itself, I suppose, stories about the Green Lantern organization and related Corps and dealing with the aftermath of previous internal Corps conflicts from issues, and series, past. Sometimes I just want our GL Hal Jordan beatin’ up the bad guys without having to worry about…the Sad Lantern or whatever’s going on in the book now.
Yes, I know, You Can’t Go Home Again, and my nostalgia for the Green Lantern I read in the early ’80s is coloring my opinion here. And in fairness, a lot of this new series is Hal-centric, and the new Green Lantern Corps title will hopefully pull away a lot of that other stuff and simplify this book.
This makes it sound like I don’t like the other GL stuff, with the entire army of Lanterns and all the space shenanigans and whatnot, but honestly, I do. But I don’t want that to be all GL is. It all gets to be a little navel-gazing-y and too much, sometimes.
Okay, back to what I was saying at the start. Green Lantern, Hal, is apparently going to Hell…I mean, like, literally, entering through a portal and everything. And with him is Zauriel, who is, as you recall, a straight-up angel from Heaven who was in the Justice League for a bit, because Grant Morrison. And also there is the Phantom Stranger, whom I don’t think Hal has met outside any Justice League appearances, I think. Wait, did the Stranger show up during any of those Hal-as-Spectre comics? Anyway, it was weird for these two to suddenly be there, but I’ve gone from “yeah, this comic’s okay” to “you now have my interest,” especially with the person Hal immediately runs into. I’m really anticipating a new issue of Green Lantern for the first time in a while.
The comic is full of edgy, and sometimes gross humor, and it’s trying really hard to be irreverent and in the style of the TV show. It only sort of half-succeeds, even with whatever nominal involvement James Gunn his own self has with this comic. It’s entertaining enough and has its moments, such as the dialogue exchange of “You killed him!”/”He started it!” which did get a good chuckle out of me. However, it suffers in comparison to the previous Peacemaker series scripted by Kyle Starks, if only because we all suffer in comparison to Kyle Starks, whose witty and quirky dialogue and unique ideas left huge shoes to fill.
All that said, I do like this new series, and it’s probably not fair to be all “but it’s not like what it was in the past!” which is also the problem I was having with Green Lantern above…and yet, with a slight shift in perspective, is a virtue for the Metamorpho comic. At least I’m not the World’s Biggest Peacemaker Fan, dating back from the Charlton Comics days, penning angry letters to DC every week to protest how they’ve made his favorite hero a complete goofball.
Now, several times over the years I’ve held the original 80-page Boris Karloff Thriller #1 from 1962, and I don’t know why I never kept a copy for myself. Wotta cover that thing had.
This new reprint, on the shelves of your better stores or even mine this week is not a complete “facsimile edition” as is popular with all the kids these days. It’s a 36-page sampler of stories from the original two issue run of this title, cleanly printed on nice white paper. The stories are…well, typical of horror/mystery stories of the period, with nice art and not-too-scary plots. No credits for the stories, unfortunately…they weren’t in the original, but there was enough editorial space in this new reprint to have added them in. Art by Mike Sekowsky and George Evans in here!
• • •
Comics writer Mike W. Barr has had some serious health issues and equally serious medical bills, and can use some help. Please contribute to his GoFundMe if you can.
So I have to admit, of the many post-Capital Comics/First Comics attempts at reviving the Badger, this one feels most like the classic version of the character, with funny, off-kilter dialogue and a quickly-paced plot and oddball character moments. I have to admit I was taken aback a bit in the first issue by the occasional stereotyped accent used by the Badger’s Vietnamese wife Mavis, but said accent is brought up by other characters in this second issue, and she appears to be deliberately doing it to mess with a specific person. Whether we get an actual reason for it eventually, who’s to say…this is a Badger comic, after all. (Plus, I can’t remember if that was a thing in the original Badger books.)
Cute and fun, though it feels weird describing a comic with Darkseid and Desaad as bad guys as “cute” but there you go. My knowledge of the Sonic universe ends with the initial three or four original games for the Sega Genesis, and a few episodes of the live action/CGI Knuckles TV show which I inexplicably started watched not long ago. I don’t jibe with this “Eggman” stuff, for example…”Dr. Robotnik” or get out.
But the charm in this series is in the interactions between the Sonic characters and the Justice League, which is wisely the version of the team most kids will know from the animated series. And it is definitely a comic for all ages, despite the reference to a nearly 30-year-old Flash story from the Mark Millar/Grant Morrison that’s in there for aged folks like myself.
The comic also gives us this one cool panel:
Even with Wonder Woman’s foot stickin’ down from the panel above, it’s stil quite the image.
In which Elektra fights a deceased enemy of Daredevil’s that has some back and taken possession of a willing thrall in the land of the living. The main Daredevil book is also dealing with similar menaces, in that devils representing the Seven Sins are possessing friends and enemies of his. The supernatural element does feel weird to me just a little, despite 1) this is taking place in the Marvel Universe, and 2) there’s been plenty of that sort of thing in the Daredevil comics before.
It’s still an enjoyable story, don’t get me wrong. I do wish the “Red Band” polybag gimmick wasn’t A Thing, in place to supposedly protect the squeamish from the violent content within. There’s maybe like one or two panels in this issue where the blood and violence is maybe a bit much, but just as easily been handled differently and appeared in a regular ol’ non-polybagged edition.
Anyway, how long before we get, like, ghosts and demons and stuff in the TV series? We’ve already had “mystical amulets.”
I know there had been delays on the second issue, but looking it up for a customer I was shocked to be reminded it had been since the middle of 2023 since #1 came out. Regardless, this is still one solid piece of Superman comicking, building itself around, more or less, the “classic” Silver/Bronze-age-y version of the character.
The story is in regards to Superman’s search for a cure for Luthor’s incurable condition, with flashbacks to their shared childhood and CLark’s possible influence on Lex’s life. Said search reminds me a little of a story I read waaaaay back in the early ’80s, in Superman #362 and #363, in which Lois and Lana are accidentally exposed to a deadly plague…the same one that killed Superman’s adoptive parents (long story).
As you can see in those panels, Superman went researching for cures on other plants, to no avail.
He thinks about putting them into the Phantom Zone:
…but the Phantom Zone villains use their combined psychic powers to sabotage the device, because they’re dicks.
And, speaking of Luthor, even he’s like “nope, can’t help you, wouldn’t help you even if I could.”
And like in Last Days #2, Superman travels into the future to find a cure, but given the ol’ “can’t change history” excuse:
Plus, though I didn’t pull any panels for use here, I believe a similar search goes on in The Death of Captain Marvel to no avail. It was just interesting to me that these stories take on similar elements, but of course a “searching for a cure” plot on a superheroic level is going to involve, like, going to other planets and other times. And Last Days does it in a compelling way, tying the past to the present, and giving us a Superman/Luthor relationship that’s fascinating to read.
This is a Black Label book, and as such is outside regular DC continuity, allowing for a twist or turn that would break regular Superman canon. That said, I think it’s notable that the story is called “The Last Days of Lex Luthor,” and not “The Death of Lex Luthor,” so I’ll be interested to see how it all wraps up next issue.
Yes, I know it’s the second post in a row this week leading off with a big ol’ pic of the Red Hulk, but given this is the first Red Hulk comic on the stands since, I think, Red She-Hulk ended back in 2013, I think I’m justified. It’s a tie-in to the “One World Under Doom” crossover, which is one of the few Marvel events I’m actually reading and not just kinda inferring what’s happening in the larger Marvelverse when these things creep into series I follow (like when “Blood Hunt” poked into my series).
Of course the reason this series exists is that said crimson behemoth is currently appearing on a slowly diminishing number of movie screens near you in Captain America: Brave New World. I’m very curious how the comic is going to do, given I haven’t had a whole lot of advance demand in this at the store, and I don’t know if the film is generating enough interest amongst the Wednesday regulars to get them to grab it off the shelf.
I’ve red…er, read the comic, it’s fine, it’s very obviously Part One of the story, with not as much Red Hulk action as I’d have expected. But it sets up the character’s involvement in Doctor Doom’s plans, and we get a few surprising cameos, and I’m happy to stick around and see where it’s going. The Doom event has attracted some good sales on the released tie-ins so on, so that may be what gets people trying out the title more than the Hulk his own self.
Side note: when the Red Hulk was originally introduced, the big mystery was “just who is the Red Hulk?” and my somewhat bonkers guess was that it was Bruce Banner’s paramour Betty Ross. Who it turned out actually to be was mildly disappointing, but I suppose it was no surprise. Still haven’t seen the film, but it’s pretty clear that nobody’s going in wondering who becomes Red Hulk. …Still think my idea was better.
Continues to be a complete delight, as Al Ewing channels his inner Bob Haney and makes this the most groovily-script comic on the stands. I had a good grin on my face through the entire issue, and even released a Sensible Chuckle on more than one occasion. Artist Steve Lieber ain’t no slouch either. This issue is a good focus on the relationship between Metamorpho and his boss Simon Stagg’s unfrozen caveman assistant Java, between whom no love is usually lost but find themselves just kinda stuck with each other anyway. Anyway, the book’s a blast, you should read it.
Another “One World Under Doom” event book, in which we get a look at life under Doom’s thumb, and it is very, very hard not to read the descriptions of that life, the discussions between characters about it, and so on, as an allegory for Trump, which can only be intentional. Politics, in my comics? Why, yes, as they’ve pretty much always have been since the beginning of time, but if you’re worried that it’s heavy-handed, nah, take it easy. No explicit references, but if you read this, you won’t be able to help but connect the dots.
But anyway, what I’m enjoying a lot about Ryan North’s run of scripting these books is the various grouping of characters that he does with the relatively small-ish main cast. This issue we get the Thing, Dr. Sue Storm (and I do love that North is very big of reminding us of that “Dr.”), and former member She-Hulk in a very satisfying done-in-one story that doesn’t let the crossover get in the way.
As always, whichever of the Absolute books I’ve read most recently becomes my favorite of the imprint, as the initial storyline of this title comes to its conclusion. While the main plot seems relatively simplistic (Wonder Woman helphs Man’s World fight off a giant monster), there’s a lot of solid backstory and characterization and just plain pretty art and entertaining dialogue that you get your buck’s worth with each issue. In fact, every issue of these Absolute series is dense on art and story and giving you good value. I hope this continues on in the new Absolute titles coming in the next few months.
Speaking of which, I’m hoping DC doesn’t go into overkill with the additional spin-offs for this imprint, chasing those strong and continuing sales the first three series have experienced. The fear of course is The New Thing replacing The Old Thing, and I recall one writer of a Marvel book wondering why he’s doing a regular Marvel Universe title when the “Ultimate” version was being published concurrently. The original Ultimate titles I’m speaking of, by the way, not the current iteration. Now we know what happened with the original Ultimate books, so I don’t think there’s any real danger of one supplanting the other. That said, I still don’t want too many and have them biting into each other’s sales, or into the sales of the main line.
Hi pals! Thanks for all your responses to the recent “Question Time” posts…I will get back to those with some responses and reactions in the near-ish future. Unfortunately, I’m short on blogging time this evening so it’ll have to wait ’til next week, maybe.
In the meantime, let me tell you that I’ve read Absolute Wonder Woman #1, and it’s an enjoyable new take on the character. Yes, it’s a darker, edgier version of our favorite Amazon, as per the entire Absolute Universe milieu, but it’s well-told and has me looking forward to more.
Also, despite the fact that I’m still catching up on actual physical copies of things I have here in my home, I’m also trying to justify my subscription to the DC Universe Infinite digital comics service by reading stuff there too. Or, in this case, re-reading, as I’ve been revisiting the 1990s John Ostrander/Tom Mandrake Spectre series, which just keeps me burning through issue after issue. The art is amazing, dark and moody and filling just every square inch on the page. The writing, exploring the nature of justice vs. evil and the Spectre’s role in doling out vengeance.
It’s very much of its time — does Bill Clinton show up? You bet he does. Is there an O.J. Simpson stand-in (“B.J. Harrison”) who is caught trying to escape the scene of his murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend in his white Bronco, and the Spectre takes care of him good? Yup again.
But it addresses some tough issues, despite giving some easy passes here and there (like Superman not going after the Spectre for literally wiping out an entire country). It remains a good read overall, and I’ll likely reread this creative team’s Martain Manhunter series afterwards.
Okay, gotta wrap it up here. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week.
Well, after getting only the slightest taste of what’s to come with DC’s new Absolute Comics imprint in last week’s DC All-In, we are getting the first official title this week with Absolute Batman.
Which is smart, of course, since of The Big Three at DC (Batman, Superman, and Swamp Thing Wonder Woman), Batman is the easiest sell. Much like the Black Label imprint, kicked off by a Batman mini (goosed a bit by some small controversy) grab the fans with the Caped Crusader, then once you have their eyeballs, try to sell ’em on, like, Absolute Elongated Man or whatever.
Demand is sky-high for Absolute Batman #1, so much so that even the exorbitant number I ordered has me thinking “wellll, should have ordered more, maybe.” I haven’t had quite as many queries into the following Superman and Wonder Woman launches, though I did have my fair share of “add all Absolute titles to my pull list, please” so I guess that counts.
As to the book itself, without getting into spoilers I’ll say the comic is fine, a drastically different Batman with many of the key aspects of the character altered or gone entirely. Advanced publicity was heavy on this Batman having no money, no butler, no Batcave, etc., but there is at least one other change to the core concept I wasn’t expecting, and I’m hoping it’s not just a set-up for…how can I say thins, pushing that core concept back into place in an issue or two. Ugh, I know, that makes no sense to you right now, assuming you’re reading this before getting your filthy mitts on the comic, but you should get what I mean once you cast your peepers upon it.
Much internet hay has been made about Batman’s…physique (much like that first Black Label book, har har) and in context it looks perfectly fine. It’s an exaggerated superhero body, just like how Mom used to make, and it gives a little bit of a goofy vibe to a comic that potentially could be too dark given the general tone and setting.
(Speaking of which, it was noted by writer Scott Snyder that this version of Earth was centered around “Darkseid energy” versus the “Superman energy” of Earth…One, or Prime, or whatever the mainline DC Universe is set. This seems like one of the very few explicit references to the conceit set up in Doomsday Clock #12, where the DC Universe centers itself, and rebuilds itself as required, around Superman.)
And despite the “no butler” thing, Alfred is in the book, setting up what I think will be quite a different professional relationship between him and Bruce Wayne. There’s also this other thing, where…well, I was kind of hoping they’d not introduce that already, letting the series settle a bit before bringing this in. I guess that was too much to hope given everything. Not that I don’t think it’ll be interesting.
It’s a very dense book, lots of pages full of panels and text, which still flows smoothly and never feels cramped. This 48 page first issue is going to give way to the standard 32 page format with #2, with no attendant drop in priceHopefully the storytelling will continue at this level and keeping giving folks their money’s worth.
It’s a compelling start, I’ll give it that. And yes, it’s “dark,” though oppressively so. The tone may work for Batman, and we’ll just have to see how well this new dark Absolute Universe fits with the upcoming Superman and Wonder Woman titles.
Anyway, this publisher can’t be thrilled about the new line.
