Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s Absolute Batman has so far been an unprecedented success at DC Comics, but just how well has it performed? In this article, we breakdown its insanely impressive sales records.
To call Absolute Batman a titan of modern comics would be an understatement. Created by Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta, the ongoing, re-imagined Batman series keeps going from strength to strength. It reworks the Batman mythos from the ground up. Set in a world where Bruce Wayne is not the inheritor of a billion-dollar business empire, but a civil engineer, it chronicles how his life could’ve played out differently. It’s a much different vision of traditional Batman, but it keeps the essence of the character and the DNA somewhat in tact. It feels both authentic and novel at the same time.
Absolute Batman is selling exceptionally well
At this point, achieving 300,000 sales has become a new monthly floor for the series. What’s more, issue #1, which is now among the most sought-after titles among collectors, is now on its eleventh reprint (typically successful comics get two or three reprints). It seems that with each passing month, it collects new accolades and jewels in its crown.
“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,” Snyder said in March 2026.” 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.”
As issues passed, orders continued to grow. According to a previous report from Bleeding Cool, the landmark issue #15 (which introduced The Joker) reached upwards of 300,000 orders, without the need for blind bags. For reference, issue #14 hit 200,000 orders. The growth and level of audience retention is off-the-scale good.
‘Absolute Batman’ is a consistent winner in month-on-month sales rankings
When it debuted in October 2024, Absolute Batman #1 was the bestselling comic book issue of the year, selling just under 400,000 copies in its first six weeks of release. As months passed, Absolute Batman has dominated monthly sales charts, taking the #1 spot more than any other series. The first 14 issues of Absolute Batman sold more than 3 million copies. In addition, according to numbers shared by The Hollywood Reporter, the Absolute Universe line of monthly comics sold over 8.2 million units in total throughout 2025 (not including December 2025).
Absolute Batman was a Top 10 best-selling comic throughout every month of 2025, taking the number one spot for six months of the year. So far in 2026, both the Absolute Batman Ark-M Special #1 (One-Shot) and Absolute Batman #16 were the two best-selling comics of January. In February, Absolute Batman #17 took the #1 spot and in March it dropped to #3 (Superman / Spider-Man #1 & Daredevil #1 made up the Top 2).
The success of the Absolute Line helps DC extend market share over Marvel
DC has been killing it from all angles, but the Absolute Line in general has undoubtedly been the central avenue of success. This has been reflected in market share, with DC now dominating the market with a –34.7% market share in Q1 2026 — a growth of just over 2% from Q1 2025. For reference, Marvel currently boasts a 29.4% market share. These figures come from ICv2.
Absolute Batman is showing zero signs of slowing down. In fact, artist Nick Dragotta is prepared to draw over 100 issues of the series. Whether it reaches that landmark remains to be seen, but if one thing is for sure, Absolute Batman hype isn’t ending anytime soon.
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