If you thought Absolute Batman couldn’t get any better, you were wrong. The latest issue is another outstanding entry, and perhaps the best yet.
Absolute Batman has hit another high point, folks. This is going to be a short review; we won’t be spoiling much, but we’ll do an ending explained post chock-full of spoilers to make up for it.
In issue #19, Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta introduce Scarecrow, who I would argue is the most terrifying depiction from Batman’s rogues gallery to date. Drawn by Nick Dragotta, Scarecrow looks more terrifying than ever before, uniquely designed, most notably by the buttons for eyes and strings of blood across his mouth. It’s not just appearance either; Snyder presents a darkly stoic and cut-throat depiction of the villain. Every page he appears in is a killer page, literally, and it culminates in one hell of an introduction.
At the beginning of #19, Batman is very much on top. He prances around as the proud defender of Gotham in his super cool Bat-Gyro. But lurking in plain sight, Jack Grimm in pulling the strings as the ever-present business mogul. In just one issue, Snyder masterfully portrays Batman at his high, breaking down the character and pitting him in his most vulnerable state to date. Wayne is still growing in his mid-twenties, and now he’s facing things that will stick with him, and inherently change him, as he moves further into adulthood.
This issue comes at you from all angles, delivering shocks and devastating blows, and by the end, when it throws its final twist — the long-awaited arrival of the Robins, helmed by Deathstroke himself, Slade Wilson — it leaves you breathless.
Verdict
Absolute Batman #19 is arguably the best issue of the series yet — and I don’t think that’s my recency bias talking. It has a bit of everything: killer new arrivals, big twists, and kicks off a new arc in high-octane fashion. This is what the Absolute line is all about.
Pick up your copy of ABSOLUTE BATMAN #19 here.
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