Absolute Batman #10 is an absolute masterclass work. It’s impressive in every aspect; you can tell the team worked really hard to put this together and make it perfect. From the cover to the last page of the book, it just doesn’t let up once. Writer Scott Snyder, artist Nick Dragotta, colorist Frank Martin, and letterer Clayton Cowles bring us this issue that feels like our introduction to the Court of Owls all over again, only much scarier this time around.
The issue begins with a worried Martha Wayne talking to Jim Gordon. They’re talking about the disappearance of Bruce. We then see Bruce waking up on the floor in a white room, completely naked with bandages all over his body. He wakes up and attempts to escape, being caught by the horrors ingrained into the maze every time.
WRITING
Snyder returns to his Batman roots with this one. It really does almost feel like you’re reading The Court of Owls again for the first time. Bruce trapped in a maze, constantly being bested by Bane, while also being disgusted by what he finds in the labyrinth. Snyder dials the body horror to 11 in this one. Faces and body parts are part of the walls and floors outside of Bruce’s room, with Bane ruling over them.
Since the start of this run, Snyder’s motto has been “bigger.” While that works very well literally through the hulking masses that are Bane, Batman, and the Batmobile, Snyder’s really pushing that term figuratively as well. This shares a lot with Court of Owls, but again feels bigger. Not only is Bruce trapped with nowhere to go, constantly ending up in the same place, but the world around him is full of horrors. Other trapped beings and the walls around him come into contact with him, all orchestrated by Bane. It’s a gauntlet for Bruce. He constantly attempts to fight his way out in creative ways, trying a different plan each time as he’s just ending up right back where he’s started, only more damaged. There’s an emotional core to this too, with Brace looking for his friend Waylon. It mixes themes of friendship in with the horror and action, and Snyder navigates that spectacularly.
ART
It’s really hard to point out just one thing that Dragotta does well this issue, because every little thing that he touches is near perfect. It’s easy to stare at each page for minutes on end just admiring every little detail he presents us with. Starting with Bruce’s room, it’s arguably the most simple aspect of the entire issue. It’s all white and gray with some chains hanging from the ceiling and a small lock on the door. One of the first things we see Bruce do is remove a small piece of metal from his teeth, using it to pick that lock. The blood dripping off it and hanging onto it while he pulls it out is just such a nice detail.
Dragotta also draws a very detailed human body. Bruce is naked for most of the issue, and Dragotta works to make sure you can see every muscle on his torso and how it moves and flexes depending on how Bruce is moving. It’s a great understanding of the human body and kind of simplifies it for us. It’s a great contrast to later when you see Bane’s massive, unnatural body standing over a floor of loose flesh with mangled faces and arms coming from the floor. Another thing Dragotta does spectacularly well is show the passage of time. Every time we see Bruce break out from his room, he looks just a little different. He becomes bearded and disheveled slowly, giving context to just how long he’s been in there.
Later on, Bruce is in his room with his empty batsuit hanging from the ceiling. Bruce is going insane. He’s holding himself and staring at the ground hauntingly, as though he hasn’t blinked. There’s this great page where the suit is almost haunting Bruce. He looks over at it and it almost looks back at Bruce, despite being unworn. It’s calling on him to perform his duty, like Bane is taunting him with it. Which then leads into one of the best Batman pages of the entire run so far. You really don’t want to miss how stellar the art in this issue is.
COLORS
Whenever Bruce is in his own room, he’s completely covered in a bright white light from almost every angle. When he leaves his room, Martin has him faced with darkness. It makes you feel like that while Bruce is in his own room being studied, the second he walks out he tries to return to the shadows that care comfortable to him. Bruce has been stripped of everything in his own room, Bane knowing how to already take everything away from him. It’s a really nice contrast on Martin’s part.
Later, when Bruce gets far enough in, he’s faced with these rooms that have blood in the air. A red tint covers everything as Bruce is beaten by Bane. He looks at the floors of people’s bodies, all red and covered with dry blood. Later, when Bruce attempts another escape, doctors enter his room. His room changes from white to red as he beats them mercilessly, mirroring the rage that he feels. When it’s over, the room returns to white.
Going back to the one page of the unworn batsuit discussed earlier, Martin’s work on that page is incredible. The room has shadows now, and they’re practically emanating from the suit. The completely black eyes and mouth call to Bruce. The suit isn’t empty, Bruce just isn’t wearing it yet.
LETTERS
Most of this issue’s narration comes from a doctor watching Bruce. Cowles makes it so every box of text that isn’t dialogue is handwritten, also making it look like it’s a torn passage from a notebook. This makes the entire issue feel like Bruce is being studied. He’s being monitored and every little thing he does is being written down, whether he’s in his own room or not. Something interesting is that we mostly get these boxes when Bruce is in his room, almost like this is when the doctor is able to collect her thoughts. Anywhere else, the text is still there but it doesn’t take up as much of each panel, almost like she’s observing. Cowles does a fantastic job setting the tone for pretty much the entire issue here, and is really consistent with it throughout.
CONCLUSION
Absolute Batman #10 is a dive into Bruce’s mind that showcases him constantly being pushed to his own limits. Snyder, Dragotta, Martin, and Cowles all fabulously tell this story of a trapped Bruce Wayne and this demented world that he’s in. It’s the freakiest issue of the run by far with body horror galore, but it may also just flat out be one of the best. The entire team gives it their all and it shows with every single page. If this is the consistent quality of DC’s Absolute Universe, then it should last forever.
