Holy Sales Numbers, Batman!
I’ve been reading monthly comics for nearly 15 years now. In that time, I haven’t seen a book hit the market and the zeitgeist in the way that Absolute Batman has. Absolute Batman, written by Scott Snyder with art by Nick Dragotta, colors by Frank Martin, and letters by Clayton Cowles (primarily, there have been a handful of fill-in artists for different issues), has become a cultural moment of incredible levels. Not only did it make a major impact upon its debut, but it has also sustained and even increased its momentum. It’s like a snowball rolling down a mountain, but the mountain just keeps getting taller, and there’s no end in sight.
As of this writing, Absolute Batman #1 is on its 11th printing. 11th!! Some indie titles have had more printings for single issues, but this is especially impressive considering how large the print runs for a Batman title generally are. DC knows that Batman books are going to sell, so they print a ton of copies. Yet Absolute Batman just keeps selling out. And to the point of sustainability, its new releases are routinely topping the sales charts – nearly 20 issues into its run! Granted, it’s a Batman book, and if there’s one character to bet on, it’s him, but the sheer volume this book is moving is simply amazing.
While the numbers regarding sales for the title are important and impressive, one of the other massive points in this book’s favor is the buzz. There is so much genuine excitement around this title. It trends every time a new cover is revealed. Let me repeat that, it gets trending for a comic cover reveal! The excitement is unreal. People are consistently talking about this book, hyping up how good it is, speculating on where it will go next, and losing their minds about cover reveals. This is a book that has all the momentum in the world, and it keeps delivering.
Why This Book?
Why is this the case? Why has this book, at this moment, hit the zeitgeist in the way that it has? There are a few reasons, I think. First and foremost – it’s a genuinely fantastic book. Snyder, Dragotta, Martin, and Cowles are some of the best creators in the industry and they’re working at an elite level. This is a legitimately generational run. Snyder has absolutely mastered story pacing in this series.
The first arc was big, but not necessarily massive. It introduced the world, the characters, and the tone of the title. It had some swings and, at its end, promised that things would only escalate from there. And oh boy did things escalate. It’s become a meme that Batman in this book is essentially fighting one eldritch horror after another, and it’s honestly not far from the truth. This series is reminiscent of the Joker’s theme from The Dark Knight, which takes its cue from a Shepard tone. A Shepard’s tone is an auditory illusion in which a note seemingly continues to rise in pitch indefinitely. The tension, scale, and stakes in this title just keep rising.
This makes every issue feel like a must-read, can’t-miss event. You thought Black Mask was cool? Here’s a new take on Mr. Freeze. You thought that was wild? Here’s arguably the best incarnation of Bane ever, and also, he’s bigger than a tank. You thought that was intense? Here’s a version of the Joker that seems to be a literal demon. And that’s not even mentioning Catwoman or Harley Quinn and now Poison Ivy and Scarecrow. Or the way the Penguin, Riddler, and Two-Face have been introduced.
And the art. My goodness, the art is simply sublime. There have been plenty of memes and talk about how hulking this version of Batman is, and it’s true; he’s a beast. But this plays into the narrative and overall stylistic direction of the book perfectly. This Batman operates in a completely different manner than the mainline Batman does. He uses his tools differently, he uses his body differently, and he uses his mind differently. The art here conveys all of those things and presents a graphically brilliant world around these pillars.
It’s Accessible
I’ve been skirting a bit around one of the main reasons, arguably the main reason, that this book has been so successful. Its accessibility and meme-ability are unmatched. In the landscape today, nothing can market like a viral moment, and Absolute Batman keeps creating them. Batman being an absolute unit is an ongoing meme that Snyder and co. have intelligently leaned into. It’s funny, it gets people talking, and most importantly, it gets people interested in the book. There are plenty of meme worthy moments from the litany of issues that are out, and the creative team knows it.
This willingness to lean into absurdity has done wonders for the series. Beyond that, this is one of the most accessible Batman titles (and comics in general) in a long time. There is a complicated conversation to be had about whether or not superhero comics are friendly to new readers. Regardless of your stance on this, there does exist the sentiment that it is difficult for new readers to approach books because of the baggage of continuity. Absolute Batman doesn’t have that problem.
Absolute Batman is a new book, in a new universe, with no prior reading required. Even more important is the fact that it’s built on the foundations of one of the most well-known characters in all of fiction. Pretty much everyone knows who Batman is and what his basic story is. This book presents readers with the opportunity to get in on the ground floor of a brand new version of this character. Not only that, it looks and is awesome for all of the previously mentioned reasons.
There is a lot that can be said about the truly interesting creative decisions that have gone into making this version of Batman new and exciting, but at its core it’s still a story about Batman. There’s enough familiarity there to get people to accept the buy-in. There’s enough new here to get people intrigued by what makes it different. And there’s more than enough quality storytelling to keep people coming back for more.
Absolute Batman is doing everything right. Readers can’t get enough of it, and everyone in the industry should be taking notes.
