Absolute Batman #3 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Nick Dragotta, Artist; Frank Martin, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: With the third issue of their bold reinvention of Batman, Snyder and Dragotta continue to deepen the rabbit hole. We’ve seen a corrupt Gotham before, and we’ve seen a Gotham infested with supervillains, but we’ve never seen one with quite so little hope. With Mayor Gordon hospitalized and the Party Animals still running wild, corrupt politician Hamilton Hill makes his move to take over the Mayor’s seat – with the help of Roman Sionis, aka Black Mask. Sionis here isn’t just a supervillain – he’s a master manipulator with ties to some of the great evils out there, and he has a plan for Gotham that goes far beyond a single terror group. And he’s digging his claws deep into Commissioner Bullock – who naturally, lacks the moral fiber of his previous boss. When we discover what Sionis’ plan for Gotham actually is, it’s one of the best uses of real issues I’ve seen in comics in some time.
One thing Snyder has been doing here is slowly establishing all of Batman’s relationships, letting them grow naturally with unique twists. We haven’t seen Selina in the present yet, but in the past it’s clear she was one of the few people he truly trusted – even if she didn’t fully trust him and his world. Likewise, Batman’s connection with Alfred grows very slowly, but by the end of this issue they’re starting to develop a working relationship as Alfred tries to convince Bruce that his brute-force approach may require a bit more nuance. Eddie Nygma here is a brilliant tech expert building rudimentary AI robots, but it’s clear some of his shadier personality traits are still alive and well. And of course, then there’s Martha Wayne, who is both Bruce’s moral grounding and his biggest stressor, as she enters the political scene without regard for putting herself in danger. This is a book that keeps building its world with every issue, and creating something unlike any other Batman book out there.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
