Comic book review:"The Zoo"--by Snyder/Dragotta
Absolute Batman, volume 1
I’ve been reading this series since issue 1 dropped back in October of ‘24. Other than issue 4, it’s been excellent. We’ll get into that.
Absolute Batman is part of a new run of comics from DC where they take established characters and amp up the brutality while also changing their backstories just a little. Ya Boi Zack said this is to beat the expiring copyright in a few years—I dunno if that’s true, but he knows more about comics than I do, so let’s assume so. If DC can get this newer, modern, more-grounded series of hero comics to take hold with readers, they’ll have a strong grip on their audience for another several decades.
So far, they’ve released Absolute versions of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman, with announcements for other Justice League members coming down the line. What did they change for the Absolute version of Batman? Let’s look.
The Premise
Though still a resident of Gotham City, Bruce Wayne isn’t the heir to a billion-dollar fortune. His dad is a schoolteacher. Instead of seeing his parents gunned down in an alley, Bruce is trapped in the bat exhibit of the Gotham Zoo when a public shooting goes down, and Thomas Wayne dies as a result. This sets a young, genius-intellect Bruce down the path of the vigilante, though he has to be more resourceful without his traditional fortune.
Using his talents as an engineer, he puts together his suit and gadgetry on a shoestring budget, moving around Gotham’s underground due to his knowledge and access gained from his job as a public utilities worker. When a new crime gang sets up shop in Gotham, Batman basically goes public and wages open warfare against them on the street.
While he still has his no-kill rule, Absolute Batman doesn’t shy away from mayhem and dismemberment. This is a Batman who’s just as intense as ever, and not afraid to draw blood or chop off a hand, he just keeps his body count at zero as he figures out how to save his city.
The Good Guys
The story is told through the eyes of Alfred Pennyworth, who is a mercenary for hire, not a butler. He crosses paths with Bruce and they have to decide whether to trust each other and why. In this version of the story, Martha Wayne is still alive, Jim Gordon is the mayor (as opposed to the police commissioner), and Barbara Gordon is a cop.
As for his classic rogues’ gallery, it turns out he’s friends with the likes of Edward Nigma, Waylon Jones, Harvey Dent, Selina Kyle, and Oswald Cobblepot—better known as The Riddler, Killer Croc, Two-Face, Catwoman, and the Penguin. How far they go down the path of villainy remains to be seen…
The Villains
The true villains are the “Party Animals,” a name I never fully got behind, but I gathered that they’re an Absolute derivation of the villain Black Mask, who premiered in the comics about 40 years ago. He’s never been adapted to any of the film versions. In the comics he was also from a socialite family like Bruce Wayne, though his parents weren’t as nurturing and that resulted in his villainy arc.
Here, the Party Animals are a vicious and violent crime gang wreaking havoc on Gotham, until the day Batman rolls up and beats the everloving piss out of several of them while news cameras are rolling. This kicks off a war between Batman and the Mask’s henchmen, with Alfred watching from the wings, curious to see how it plays out.
We’re also teased with a new version of the Joker at the end of issue 1, but he doesn’t even get a mention for the rest of this volume—just know that he’s there, I guess, and we’ll see what role he plays in future volumes.
Other Elements
Is there a Batcave? Sort of. Bruce doesn’t have the cave, so again he relies on his knowledge as a public servant and stashes things all over the city, hiding them on the map in a very on-brand pattern.
What about a Batmobile? This has been one of the trickier elements of the story for me, only because he clearly built his ride out of a haul truck, which one man alone can’t modify, because it’s the size of an everloving house. It does, however, transform into something a little more sleek and sporty, and I’ve come around on this idea.
My Only Complaint
Nick Dragotta is a fantastic artist, but for reasons I haven’t yet discerned, he didn’t draw issue 4. The guy they hired was…well, I can draw better than he can, let’s just say that. You can argue that they changed the style because it was a mostly a flashback issue, but the style remained even when we weren’t looking at flashbacks.
The story had very little to do with anything else going on, either. Honestly you could skip issue 4 and miss nothing, at least for now.
How to Catch Up
If your local comic book shop doesn’t have all five (or four) issues, just wait a few months and get the trade paperback in August. It’ll be worth it. You can use my affiliate link and I’ll get a small commission.
Anyway, without spoiling the end of this arc, I’ll just say that the conflict ramps up until the Party Animals offer to pay Bruce off, giving him the kind of money he might need in order to become the Batman we actually know and love. Whether he takes it, well…you’ll have to read for yourself.
Conclusion
Much like the Ultimates version of the Marvel universe, Absolute is a more brutal, slightly less optimistic rendering of the marquis characters at DC, without being outright nihilistic. As long as they keep working toward something uplifting, I’ll keep reading this line. I had a great time with this volume.
