Absolute Batman #14 is a full speed rollercoaster. From the first panel of the book to the last, it just doesn’t let up. Writer Scott Snyder, artist Nick Dragotta, colorist Frank Martin, and letterer Clayton Cowles come together again to give us yet another advance forward from the Caped Crusader. This issue is one of the best of the series so far, and an incredible conclusion to Batman’s long war against Bane.
The issue begins with Bruce and company readying themselves for a fight against Bane. They use the venom Bane injected into Bruce to make a plan to fight against him. The mayor of Gotham holds a press conference saying that Batman’s declaration of war from the previous issues was false, and that no fight will take place. He knows there will be one, but he’s in Bane’s pocket. The two sides prepare for battle. Batman’s allies root for him, while Bane’s help him get ready elsewhere. Bane enters a large stadium for their final fight, and from there it’s all-out war.
*MILD SPOILERS AHEAD*
WRITING
Snyder is having the time of his life with this book, and it’s incredible to see. He meant it when he said everything would be bigger in this universe—not just Batman and Bane, but the story as well. Every issue written by him makes it feel like the fate of Gotham hangs in the balance of each character’s actions, and this one is no different. The stakes are at a constant high, and in this issue we finally get a satisfying conclusion and payoff from that through Batman’s brutal fight against Bane.
Even this Batman’s plans are bigger. Where any sane hero would develop a plan to incapacitate Bane, our Batman takes a slightly different approach by dropping a building on Bane’s head. Which he then follows up with driving a car into him and tethering to him to the ground with hooks from it. All the while, Bane is healing a growing in size. It’s a never-ending fight, and Snyder shows us that constantly. The story keeps pushing forward until that very last panel, new exciting things to keep us invested at every turn. It’s an amazing conclusion to the “Abomination” arc, but has just as much setup for the future of the series. It’s one of the best crafted issues of the whole thing.
ART
Every time you think Dragotta has pushed himself to his limits as an artist, he surprises you again. This issue features some of his best work on the series so far. He goes all out with the body horror in this, with Bane constantly growing and regrowing different body parts as Batman gracefully slashes them off of him. He’s a horrifying mountain of a man, but Dragotta does something pretty smart in this where, at times when Batman has the one-up on Bane, he puts Bane in panels with wider shots that make him look small compared to the scale of what Batman’s putting him through.
Dragotta creates some incredible action here. There’s this one page specifically where Bane is holding off Killer Croc, and while he does that, Batman drops from above him with his axe. This panel is in the top middle of the page, but there are smaller skinny panels on either side of it both showing the same thing: venom dripping into the red of Bane’s blood. It’s a beautiful, symmetrical page showing his Bruce is always there for his friends in the face of disaster. Dragotta nails it.
COLORS
The set up for this issue’s big fight was tough one. It’s in a large stadium with lights shining from the stands, illuminating Bane and Bruce like it’s a cage match. Martin really delivers on making it feel like one. There’s this great section of the issue where Killer Croc jumps out to fight Bane, and when doing that, the lights shine on Croc while Bane is completely covered in shadow, because the focus of the spotlight on the other end of the stadium. It looks awesome.
In that symmetrical page mentioned earlier, Martin really adds the finishing touches on it to make it perfect. The background is red with Bane holding open Croc’s mouth, and Batman descends onto him. It’s an interesting image because while Batman’s black and gray suit cuts through the red to hit Bane, the panels of venom on either side start as completely red with a green shot of venom rising to combat it. It’s interesting because it could be taken two ways. It’s either Bane’s weaker venom rising up to combat Batman, or it’s Batman’s descent mimicking the extra shots of venom being pumped into Bane’s blood that he’ll need after the attack, overwhelming him. There’s so many sections like this, with Martin doing work so well that whatever interpretation you form from it works.
LETTERS
Cowles does some really impressive work with this issue. He’s got a lot to juggle. He does Alfred’s incredible journal entry boxes, and places them beautifully around the lettered sounds of Bruce’s attack on Bane. Not only that, but he also excels when showing how tired Bruce is near the end of the fight, making his bubbles sort of wobbly as he struggles to get words out. Earlier in the issue as well, Bruce screams for his friend with these sharp red letters that really cut through Bane, showing us the urgency.
In the back half of the issue, Bane is so consumed by venom that his words in his bubbles shift from these normal letters and words to these large, green, blocky sentences that get shorter and shorter. Not only is Bane losing himself, but he’s completely overwhelmed by the venom in his system, taking him over, and Cowles shows how that affects his speech.
CONCLUSION
Absolute Batman #14 is one of DC’s best issues this year. It maintains high stakes throughout, and it’s thrilling right until the very end. Snyder, Dragotta, Martin, and Cowles should be proud of the work they’ve done on this book, every page somehow surpassing the last. The issue’s core theme of friendship and comradery is strong throughout, and this team tells us that no matter the size of the problem we face, we can get each other through it. Every issue is a long advance forward, for us and for them.
