Have I not yet made it clear here that I’m aggressively uninterested AB, and that I’m alternately baffled and depressed that so many people seem to love it? Like, it’s all just so… cheap. Low-hanging fruit. Body horror monster versions of rogues like out of Resident Evil, huge muscles, tons of firepower that makes Frank Miller’s Batmobile tank look quaint, 80’s anime mecha BatFam… and so many people love it. I still think about recently meeting a rare comic fan in the wild, and he was SHOCKED that I, a self-professed Batman fan, didn’t like Absolute Batman! Mind you, he made it clear that he was more of a Marvel fan anyway, not someone who really keeps up with Batman.
I dunno, I just feel that it’s, like… Batman marketed for people who don’t generally follow Batman comics. Y’know, like Hush was, along with Morrison’s run (just like how their X-Men run brought in tons of readers who didn’t really read X-Men, who ditched the book once Morrison was gone). It’s Batman repackaged into popular cool things they recognize.
I’m reminded of when a (former) close friend told me he LOVED the New 52 origin of Wonder Woman, with the Zeus backstory that just made her Hercules. He was like, “I never really *got* Wonder Woman before, but I get this!” Because it was familiar. It didn’t have the challenging hurdle of being unique, much less centered around women. Never mind that he never read the Pérez run, nor showed any interest in checking it out, because he still didn’t care about the character. He just thought the new story was cool. But not enough to actually start reading WW and appreciating her as a character.
By contrast, I think that Absolute Wonder Woman actually COULD potentially work to get people into mainline WW stories like the Pérez run. It’s consistent with Diana’s personality, it generally doesn’t downplay the mythological aspects, and it’s still woman-focused. Absolute WW appeals to both seasoned WW fans and new readers, who might be able to read older stories with new appreciation for Diana.
But I don’t think the same can be said for Absolute Batman. Just like Morrison’s Batman readers largely ditched Batman once Morrison was out, I don’t think Absolute Batman readers will end up with a newfound interest in Batman comics outside stuff like The Dark Knight Returns and all the darker, edgier stories that followed in Miller’s wake. One way or another, it’s Batman for readers who are very much not us, and it’s honestly bummed me out to realize how few people actually want to read the kind of Batman I’d want to see.
TL;DR, THIS AIN’T YER DADDY’S BATMAN, FANBOY!
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