Absolute Batman #7 is written by Scott Snyder and published by DC. Artwork is by Marcos Martin, colours by Muntsa Vincente and letters by Clayton Cowles. Main cover art (left) is by Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin.
Absolute Batman #7 is available now, in print and on digital platforms where all good comic books are sold. Grab your digital copy from Amazon Comixology UK right here.
Synopsis
It’s about to get icy cold in Gotham City… as we reveal the connections between a young, up-and-coming scientist named Victor Fries, his history with the Ark M experiment, and what it all has to do with the mysterious Joker. A bombastic two-parter with a guest artist, the one and only super-star Marcos Martín, starts here!
Review
After a blockbuster end to the first arc of Absolute Batman, today the series begins a two-part story with guest artist Marcos Martín. After the huge finale to a high stakes story Scott Snyder is looking to tell a more personal tale which flirts with Batman’s detective side as well as veering towards body horror as another classic villain makes their series debut.
Last month’s finale to “The Zoo” left us on somewhat of a cliffhanger. Another teaser for the Absolute Joker which I foolishly believed might inform exactly where the story was going next. So when we pick up in issue #6 in a vividly coloured prologue in Tanzania I quickly learned that Snyder has other plans. Instead we’re introduced to a young Victor Fries and his father. With little context we’re shown that Victor is unwell and so begins “Absolute Zero”.
Absolute Batman #6 isn’t the most linear book so prepare to engage your brain. We begin in prologue, move to the present day, jump back a week and then forwards again. But it’s all in the service of an alluring and personal story. It stands in stark contrast to “The Zoo”. Honing in on Victor and Bruce ratchets up the personal stakes whilst beautifully showing the diversity of storytelling both writer and concept are capable of.
Snyder expands more on Bruce’s childhood friends putting a spotlight on their tight bond as a unit. In doing so he also puts a new spin on a classic part of the Batman mythos, Matches Malone. Even six months in to the Absolute initiative we’re still learning more about what this world holds in store. Even though this story may only last two issues it has already further enriched Bruce’s world. It’s certainly an area of the story I would like to see explored even further in the future.
The originality with which Snyder approaches introducing Mr. Freeze is impressive. It has been made very clear from the outset that Absolute Batman wouldn’t pull any punches. But whilst Black Mask was grotesque in his own way and posed a real threat to Gotham. He wasn’t so gross as to take the book in to horror territory. Top marks to Marcos Martín for designing such an impressive and unique take on another of Batman’s A-list villains.
It’s cool to see Snyder writing something different here. It’s clear he’s working to Martín’s strengths. those lie in the more fantastical imagery in the book. His interpretation of Nick Dragotta’s Batman design remains true to what Absolute Batman has portrayed thus far. Never straying too far so as to appear like a reinvention. Far from it in fact. Instead Martín finds his own way to put his stamp on this world.
Verdict
As a fan of body horror (and horror in general) it has to be five stars for Absolute Batman #6. Furthering the story of Ark M, Bruce and several other key elements, Scott Snyder is showing us more of this world through versatile and dynamic storytelling. Throw in guest artist Marcos Martín’s take on Mr. Freeze and this is another home run for Absolute Batman.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
