Absolute Batman #17 – Scott Snyder, Writer; Eric Canete, Artist; Frank Martin, Colorist
Ray – 10/10
Ray: Every time we get a new villain in this title, Scott Snyder goes above and beyond to debut the most disturbing version of the character we’ve ever seen. Now it’s Poison Ivy’s turn to shine – and the larger scale and no-holds-barred tone of the book definitely works in her favor. The character is usually played more as either a femme fatale or an antihero, but here the creative team leans much more heavily into body horror – which makes sense, given that Eric Canete is known for his surreal visuals. Canete, an acclaimed artist with an indie flair, is a great choice for a guest artist. And when we meet Ivy, she’s actually far more benevolent than she normally is – in flashbacks, we see a kind, curious girl who wants nothing more than to save her mother from a degenerative disease, and believes hybrid genetics may be the key. And when she can’t get approval, she takes things into her own hands.
Coming off a big victory, Batman finds himself in a lower place than ever before. His friends, all transformed against their will, are isolating themselves from him. The city loves Batman, but Bruce Wayne is more alone than ever – and he’s not exactly happy about his mother potentially finding love again with the former Mayor Gordon. That leaves him to slip more and more into his alter ego, and when a strange ecosystem with a massive tree emerges in the middle of the city, he heads inside armed with specialized weapons and Alfred in his ear. The last half of this issue features some of the best visuals of the series, which is a high bar, as Bruce discovers what happened to the advance team that first confronted Ivy, and what Pamela Isley has truly become in the aftermath of her transformation. And if that’s not enough, there’s a true gut-punch of a last-page twist that introduces what could be the series’ next big threat.
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