ABSOLUTE BATMAN #23: Seeing Double.

Absolute Batman #23 brings Bruce to his breaking point as Scarecrow continues to play mind games with him. As Batman begins to push away his friends and family the stakes have become even higher as he’s been framed for the murder of Jim Gordon. Is it truly Batman or are Gotham’s citizens seeing double?

Creative Team: Scott Snyder, Nick Dragotta, Frank Martin, and Tom Napolitano.

The Story:

Clayface has arrived and he is an absolute unit! (No pun intended) I love the way Scott has been playing mind games with Bruce and pushing his character to his breaking point. This is a level to which we have never seen from Bruce or Batman. It’s adding a whole new level of depth and layers to a complex character as we see him pushing away his friends. I’m used to Batman creating his own villains to a degree however, Scott is doing it in a very smart and clever manner with this run. Two-Face, Penguin, Riddler, and Croc have come to Bruce’s aid despite not wanting to do so. And it’s the way Bruce is blaming them and almost forcing them to be against him that is creating buy in to when these characters inevitably turn full heel.

The character development for Alfred as well is an aspect that is slowly building and working. He’s becoming the aid to Bruce and the two are a lot similar as to how they push others way. When it comes to Scarecrow less is more and he’s become this background menace in such a terrifying manner as he pushes Bruce to heights never seen before. This issue has boiled over and it’s going to be interesting to see how Batman comes back from these events.

The Art:

I want to start by highlighting Clayface’s design which we see on the cover of this issue. I love the details the team put into the cover such as the hands coming up from the mud and pulling Batman down and not making it clear as to who is Batman and who is Clayface. There is a particular scene in this issue that made my jaw smash through the floor. It was so shocking and out of left field and the art team let it sit with you on its own splash page. The use of a dark red background and utilizing the sizing with the two characters on the page hit tremendously. Following it up was an incredible use of the colors by Frank as well. Aside from that the teams designs in the fight between Clayface and Batman gets incredibly creative blending the two at times. The art is perfection and to top it off the amount of emotion and anguish Tom lends in his lettering with Bruce puts the exclamation point on it all.

Final Thoughts:

Absolute Batman #23 will leave you stunned and sitting in silence by the time you finish reading it. Batman has become unhinged in a way we’ve perhaps never seen before. The art team beautifully and meticulously crafts the panels and pages to emphasize emotional moments, making this issue a haunting boiling point for Batman.

Overall Grade: 10/10

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