This week: The new Absolute Joker design has been making waves on the comics internet for a while now, and now the full story behind it is revealed in Absolute Batman #15. Plus, we’ll be highlighting three adventure comics for teens coming out this week.
Note: The following review may contain spoilers. If you want a quick, spoiler-free buy/pass recommendation for the comic in question, check out the final verdict at the bottom of the article.
Absolute Batman #15
Screenplay: Scott Snyder
Artist: Jock
Colorist: Frank Martin
Author: Clayton Cowles
Publisher: DC Comics
A while back, someone released a new design for the Absolute Universe version of Joker (see the cover above), and it went semi-viral, at least within the comics internet circles I frequent. People shared it widely, and in some cases even created original art depicting other giant, muscular characters in the style of Absolute Batman. I think all of this speaks to the continued popularity of Absolute Batman and other Absolute titles, and how Absolute Batman taps into the essence of the zeitgeist, giving us a working-class Batman with fantastic muscle and a cast of villains so cartoonishly over-the-top that they feel like (barely) exaggerated reflections of 2025.
But until “Absolute Batman” #15 hit this week, there wasn’t really a story behind the lizardman-dinosaur muscled Joker. And I think there are two things to keep in mind when discussing this new take on (some would say) Batman’s greatest enemy. First, Absolute Batman screenwriter Scott Snyder sees the Joker as the embodiment of the worst Batman can imagine, frequently stating that he is essentially the hero’s walking nightmare.
Consider this from a conversation Scott and I had in 2020:
“For me, he’s literally the Joker card to Batman, taking on any kind of value he can give to Batman’s deeper fears. He builds himself to be able to beat or fight Batman, always making him as strong as possible.”
It’s as if he has made it his duty to challenge Batman in his soul’s greatest nightmare, and through that trial by fire either Batman gets better or Batman gets killed. ”
The second thing to consider is that one of the things that made Absolute Batman such a blockbuster comic was that the book steadily grew more outrageous. Its origins date back to the original Absolute Batman design, which made Bruce Wayne incredibly muscular. And it hasn’t really slowed down yet.
Each new arc and every new design in Absolute Batman continues to escalate this outrageousness, exaggerating the core of the famous character in ways never seen before. And it’s these two parts, Scott’s deep and consistent feelings that the Joker is the embodiment of Batman’s worst fears and an established tone that condones every excess of brutality, that gives us this week’s one-shot, drawn by Jock, a frequent collaborator with Snyder on Batman stories, including the popular Black Mirror.
And this is where we get into spoiler territory. Absolute Batman #15 introduces a new version of the Joker that isn’t what it seems. He is an old, rich socialite known to the general public similar to Bruce Wayne in the main DC Universe. This is in direct contrast to Absolute Batman, the son of an anonymous working-class teacher. And, as revealed over the course of this issue, this Joker is also a seemingly immortal humanoid beast who owns a number of remote islands with the purpose of literally eating those hostile to him, and sometimes children (I think).
Now, your mileage may vary depending on whether you feel that’s too much. Without thinking about it, I think it seems like an even more extreme escalation of previous interpretations of the Joker. But in the context of Absolute Batman, it works much differently and is in line with the rest of the books so far. On top of that, this film will be even more successful with how the creators tell the story, much like the Bane arc before it, which had moments that felt like they were too scattered throughout, before landing with an absurd and fun finale.
And so far so good in terms of storytelling. I thought Absolute Batman #15 was a very well-done horror comic on its own merits, even (or especially) if you took away all the Batman parts. Jock — colored here by the great regular series colorist Frank Martin — fits his viral character design into this existing world. And he also does a great job of keeping the story clear while jumping through time and presumed reality in a series of murderous double-page spreads. Of course, some of the credit for that clarity also goes to reporter Clayton Cowles. He has to guide the reader through the back and forth between Batman and Pennyworth on a double-page spread without us ever seeing the speaker. It’s not an easy task, but Cowles nailed it.
The script also has the pace to make the comic work well. Pennyworth carefully tries to explain the Joker (whom he has a personal crush on) to Bruce Wayne. Bruce can tell she’s holding back because it’s all so hard to believe, but she keeps trying to convince him to say what he really thinks. This felt like a clever way to establish both the outward perception of this new Joker and its underlying fear. If this book had started with the Joker devouring a child in media res or something, the entire character concept might have collapsed under its own weight, taking away the story and the book’s momentum.
One thing I think is against this issue is that it takes place right after the Bane arc. There, Batman battles Bane, a cartoon-style kaiju who looks like a combination of a monster and a giant muscle, and also involves lizard and dinosaur-like Killer Croc (more than usual). Perhaps it’s because of main series artist Nick Dragotta’s schedule – he returns next month with Absolute Batman #16, a team-up arc with Absolute Wonder Woman – but it feels like the series between Absolute Bane and Absolute Joker could have used a breather, even if this issue was functionally just a prologue one-shot.
Another thing I noticed after these new Bane and Joker is that there is a subsection of Batman fans who aren’t really interested in this book. But perhaps it always will be. Batman fans have always been somewhat divided into groups, with some preferring a darker Batman, others preferring the character’s whimsy, and still others wanting the adventures of Batman and Robin. In general, I think the current DC line does a really great job of offering all these versions of characters (none of which feel perfunctory) while keeping each of them pretty much isolated. It helps that we have this exciting new continuity, but either way, it’s been a while since we’ve had this much variety in Batman titles.
For readers like me who don’t have a strong personal connection to Batman or their preferred version of the character, Absolute Batman remains a fascinating effort at creating a best-selling mainstream comic book, featuring a treasured corporate character and a vessel for utter outrageousness. This is a bit reminiscent of Marvel’s post-bankruptcy era in the late 90’s and early 00’s. Ideas were off-limits back then (and we got Marvel Knights, Punisher Max, and the early Ultimate Universe, the spiritual predecessor of these Absolutes).
I know Snyder has also said that he and Dragotta planned out more parts of this book, but I can’t help but wonder if there’s a ceiling to how much things can be overstated here. Either way, it’ll be fun to find out.
Verdict: Buy
dc roundup
I don’t have much to cover in this section this week, but I also wanted to mention that DC is producing the most teen adventure comics in a while (and doing them well). This week’s Supergirl #8 is another big issue of this run. Now used by writer Sophie Campbell, artist Heinin, colorist Alex Guimarães, and letterer Becca Carey. Like the rest of this run, there’s some fun embellishment on top of a truly moving emotional core. I love it. I also enjoy CORT: Children of the Round Table by writer Tom Taylor, artist Daniele Di Nicuolo, colorist Rain Beredo, and letterer Wes Abbott. I guess you can google if these are known characters being updated, but I also don’t think it really matters. This story works very well on its own, and the script in this issue finds some very interesting moments. This is always great for interesting books. Finally, the new Action Comics installment from writer Mark Waid, artist Skyler Patridge, colorist Ivan Plasencia, and letterer Steve Wands continues to revisit Clark Kent’s Superboy days in Smallville, offering a fun teenage story — often driven by superhero lessons — that depicts how Clark Kent became the (super)man we know today. This book is great and fun to follow each month. I hope it will be published in more issues.
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