Posted in: Comics | Tagged: absolute, Absolute Batman, eric canete, jock, nick dragotta, scott snyder

Absolute Batman Is Selling Over 300,000 Copies Every Month Now

Absolute Batman from DC Comics is selling over 300,000 copies every month now, according to writer Scott Snyder

Bleeding Cool had previously reported that Absolute Batman #14 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta from DC Comics had orders approaching 200,000 from comic book retailers through the direct market of comic shops. But that Absolute Batman #15, drawn by Jock, and featuring the origin and monstrous form of the Absolute Joker had nearly 300,000 pre-orders, all without the use of a blind bag. I thought that might be a one-off, given the multiple covers, a major issue for the Absolute Joker, as well as a popular guest artist. It seems not as Absolute Batman #18 by Scott Snyder and Eric Canete is doing even better, with over 300,000 orders according to Scott Snyder.

Appearing at La Mole Comic Con in Mexico, Scott Snyder posted to his Substack, of Absolute Batman #19, also with Eric Canete, "It's the beginning of our Scarecrow arc. It also deals with the concept of Robin. It's got Deathstroke in it. It's got new vehicles. It's got big upsets. And that's pretty much like, all in the first issue. But it continues to get bigger and wilder as we go. It's also a deeply, deeply emotional arc for Bruce and his friends. So I really hope you'll check it out. The Final Order Cut-Off got bumped a week, so it's a week from today. So you still have time to order, but the orders are pretty nuts. I guess they reached the maximum amount of retailer variants they can do for a book like this, just for the system to be able to handle it at DC. So we expect some pretty big sellout numbers. We're really thrilled. The last issue was over 300,000, which again is just, I mean, beyond mind-boggling to me and Nick that that's the level at which you're buying this book up. It means the world to both of us. And the only thing we can say is that our thank you to you is to just devote every bit of energy we have to making it the best we can. And we are really having a blast. I mean, Nick said it best that it's like, "good morning, Nick!" "Good night, Scott." Like, we're on the phone all the time working on this thing and we just love it. I mean, it's such a fun gig. So I can't thank you enough. That's it."

It is rare for a book to put on sales like this, and it means that Absolute Batman #18 is selling more than Absolute Batman #1 initially did. There is a belief that the series is inheriting the success that Dog Man, the kids' graphic novel series by Dav Pilkey built since it was first published in 2016, building on the sales of kids' graphic novels by the likes of Raina Telegemeir. As well as the art by series co-creator Nick Dragotta is aimed at an audience that also grew up reading manga or watching anime. As well as the "dark, gritty" superhero schtick and an approach to make the characters more ripped-from-the-headlines than usual. It is DC Comics' biggest monster success for decades.

Bleeding Cool first broke the news regarding what would be the Absolute Universe in 2023, naming it in 2024 as something equivalent to Marvel's Ultimate Universe, with familiar titles reinvented from scratch, showrun by Scott Snyder, and part of a new relaunch at DC Comics called DC All-In. We named Kelly Thompson, Jason Aaron and Al Ewing as contributors before getting the news that it would launch at San Diego Comic Con last year. and getting the full creative line-up for Absolute Batman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Absolute Superman, Absolute Flash, Absolute Green Lantern and Absolute Martian Manhunter. Since then, the titles still top the charts, and Absolute Batman is the granddaddy of them all…

And for Absolute Batman #19, we have the Absolute Joker with a R for Robin badge, underlining the idea that in Absolute Batman #20, he will have a cadre of Absolute Robins under his control. We have Absolute Deathstroke looking larger and more robotic than usual. We have an Absolute Scarecrow that looks like something out of a shrunken-head version of Coraline. Absolute Batman seems to have a shadow… is that Absolute Clayface? Is that the teased Absolute Man-Bat flying in the back? Is that a Jokerplane in the sky? There is the Absolute Court of Owls, possibly Absolute Dick Grayson on a motorcycle in the background, a chest wound, or something that has ripped through his costume from the front, and Mayor Jim Gordon up front. Given the tragic loss promised in Absolute Batman #20… does this mean the death of Absolute Jim Gordon in #19? Absolute Batman #19 by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta will now be published on the 15th of April 2026.

• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #19
  (W) Scott Snyder (A/CA) Nick Dragotta
  ABSOLUTE SCARECROW EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS OF ARK M AS A NEW STORY ARC BEGINS… Poison Ivy proved to be just one of the many horrors within the bowels of the ARK M facility, and as Joker sets his sights on Absolute Batman, he decides to enlist the help of one of the center's most terrifying doctors, Dr. Jonathan Crane. While Bruce Wayne tries to align himself with Barbara Gordon, there's more than one alliance formed in this issue. New debuts, new villains, new arc starts here. $5.99 4/15/2026
• ABSOLUTE BATMAN #20
  (W) Scott Snyder (A/CA) Nick Dragotta
  A TRAGIC LOSS ROCKS GOTHAM CITY! As the dust settles in the city of Gotham after the loss of [redacted], Robins enter the scene ready to hunt and more than one secret will be revealed in this seminal issue. $4.99 5/13/2026

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