Absolute Batman #7 is the start of the comic’s next story arc. We take a break from the action and dive into a slower paced horror story that’s incredibly creepy right off the rip. Writer Scott Snyder, artist Marcos Martín, colorist Muntsa Vicente, and letterer Clayton Cowles show us a different side of this new Absolute Gotham. We get a better feel for the city, as well as a deeper understanding of the people inside it.
The issue starts with a flashback of a young Victor Fries in the car with his father on a road trip. Victor’s eyes begin to bleed, causing his father to freak out as he continues driving. We cut to Gotham City, in a dark alley where all of Bruce’s friends gather. They hold a small memorial for a friend of theirs named Matches Malone that recently died. Bruce appears, and tells the story of how he was the last one to see Matches alive—how Bruce needed Matches’ help, but Matches was scared. Matches died during that meeting as bloody holes appeared all over his body, and Bruce intends to find out how and why.
WRITING
Snyder is doing his best to set up every single aspect of this new Batman. The first arc was an action story that showed what Bruce is capable of physically as well as his skill in engineering. This arc is taking a horror route that, so far, is showing off Bruce’s cognitive ability and his skills as a detective, and how he’s learning to be a better one. It’s really interesting how, in setting up this new character, Snyder is utilizing a lot of the main story themes that Batman is famous for. He’s done action and now horror, and using each story’s genre to showcase the hero’s different feats. It’s really smart to put this new character in situations familiar to us. It’s the best way for us to see how this new Bruce is when faced with the things that the main one has seen for years now.
Snyder introduces this new Freeze as a scientist, and a well regarded one. He only appears at the beginning and end of the story, but both interactions are already so different than his main universe counterpart. Snyder plays with the character’s motivations, which is incredible when the story of Victor and Nora has felt a little overused and tired in recent years. It’s a great reimagining.
ART
From the very first panel, Martín’s art is haunting. He leaves an uneasy emptiness behind young Victor’s eyes. Even when he’s a kid, you can tell something’s not right with him just through his staring off into the distance. Matches Malone is another newly designed character, and Martín has to basically create this character from scratch, as the main universe counterpart is just an undercover Bruce Wayne. Matches looks weaselly and like he isn’t the most reliable, but in his interaction with Bruce, he’s scared. You get this from the wide eyes that Martín gives him.
Another thing that Martín does is show us this Bruce just swinging through the city, patrolling. In every other issue of the book so far, Bruce has been on a mission. We’ve hardly seen him patrolling in his downtime. He does here, and it adds a lot of personality to him as well as his suit and tools. We see how he uses them to move, and how deep his understanding of every part of his suit is. It’s really detailed.
COLORS
When Bruce’s friends enter the alleyway, there’s a mixed blue and purple sky behind them. They’re silhouettes, entirely dark. As they move closer in, the only thing behind them becomes the blue, presumably the only color reflecting off the walls. When Bruce sneaks up on them and surprises them, his background his purple, signaling that he’s further behind them at the entrance. It’s one of the great ways Vicente really uses perspective to her benefit in the issue.
Vicente also really plays around with the city’s lights in the issue. Gotham feels like it’s vibrant after the attacks on the city. It’s a slight departure into the fantastical element of Batman and the city surrounding him, really giving this version of Gotham an older feel like the original comics had. It’s a nice touch.
LETTERS
You can tell that Cowles really has fun lettering this book. The issue’s title card appearing with clear letters to show the art behind them is an amazing touch. It adds to the unsettling nature of it all. There’s a moment later in the issue where a character undergoes a transformation. Before that transformation, they come off as relatively normal. Their letters are like anyone else’s. After the transformation though, their letters are wobbly, and the bubbles are scratchy and not straight at all. They struggle to mimic normal human speech; it’s an incredible way of changing the character to this new version and showing that everything about them has changed, not just appearance.
CONCLUSION
Absolute Batman #7 strays from the explosions and big fight scenes to show Batman in a creepier, darker Gotham. Snyder, Martín, Vicente, and Cowles take us through this new and unfamiliar Gotham in a way that is totally different from what they’ve given us previously. The art shift for this storyline is amazing, and it would be incredible if they keep adding to this Batman’s rogues gallery in this way moving forward.
