/8.webp "Absolute Batman #8")
Batman is in the fight for his life against this icy new threat. But in the end, what terrifying truth will be unearthed about Ark M and…Joker?
Utterly bone chilling. An utterly wild ride with exciting reveals and crucial/consequential character moments. The most important Matches Mallone ever, I love this.
Batman vs Fries is tantamount to an exhilarating old school manga battle. The character Waylon is set to become is utterly (and absolutely) insane. The wait until the next issue is going to be hell. Comfortably my favourite Absolute comic is Absolute Batman. I relish being this into comics again. Thank you Scott Snyder. This has been the shot in the arm Batman has needed since Synders last run.
King was not great, James Tynion was terrible, Joshua Williams wasn't good and the return of Jeph Loeb hasn't been brilliant. But...maybe the writers weren't the issue? Maybe our rigid expectations of mainline Batman are impossible to appease. Maybe a reboot was the answer all along. It's not something I'd really pondered until now. I love the non Batman works of all those writers. So much blame was flung at all these writers, perhaps the parameters were more challenging than we knew. Snyder had a clean slate and now Batman is the most vital he's been in comics in years.
© 2025
I think Scott Snyder's writing for Batman stands out a lot because he has more creative freedom. I believed he left DC because he ran out of stories to tell that had to fit in continuity, and Absolute Batman is like an original "indie" comic that just happens to have Batman. But the best thing is that he has more creative freedom to do whatever he wants.
And as someone who does enjoy Tynion IV and Joshua Williamson's Batman run (while also detesting Tom King's run on Batman) which writer do you consider to be the best batman writer of all time? Also, I would like to hear your thoughts on why you did not enjoy King, Williamson and Tynion IV's run, considering you often give out positive reviews.
Finally, I know it's unfair to compare. But do you personally think Absolute Batman will be seen as a classic in the future like New 52 Batman run if Scott Snyder keeps this consistent? Sorry for the barrage of comments
I believe we are absolutely in the midst of a classic with Absolute Batman. Given its impact on the industry, I feel its status as a classic in the annals of history is already assured.
I do also believe that of Absolute Wonder Woman and Absolute Superman. I feel we are in the midst of a comic book renaissance - that's been brought in with alternative universe stories - Marvel with Ultimate, DC with Absolute.
I want to be clear, I love the various works of Tynion, King and Williamson - I came off more negative than I intended. I think you'd agree, King gets in his own way with the verbosity in which he writes with. I do think he has some good stories in isolation. I just don't think long form story telling is his bag.
Tynion's choice of rogues wasn't particularly compelling. I felt his run de-mystified the Joker quite brutally. It just didn't ignite my imagination in the way Morrison and Snyder do. I think they are unquestionably my favourite Batman writers.
Apologies for the lack of details in my response, I should have taken a bit more time to think before responding. Currently being cooked by public transport!
I love your reviews by the way. Please keep them up. My commentary is normally quite brief on here but I do feel compelled to expand it as a result of my enthusiasm for the Absolute universe.
Hello Motorik, I love hearing your thoughts and critiques on how Tom King and James Tynion Iv's Batman runs did not work with you, and I completely agree with you. I do think James Tynion IV's Detective Comics run was stronger. And I agree with you personally on how Grant Morrison, Scott Snyder are my favorite writers (Dennis O Neil is part of that holy trinity of best batman writers).
I thought James worked well as a foil to Snyder. For that reason, it is clear why they selected him. However, I don't think it panned how how anyone had hoped. Again, bits of it were good but the core of it prevented it from greatness. I also enjoyed his Detective run more also. I love his What's Killing the Children immensely.