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Could you talk us through your thought process on making the Absolute Batman such an absolute beast?
It just felt like I should give a shot to go with my gut.
Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin’s cover for Absolute Batman #1.
It was always Greg Capullo who is like “the first idea is the best idea.”
Bruce Wayne is just a guy on the street.
He had to have that ferocity and brute strength.
Nick Dragotta and Frank Martin’s cover for Absolute Batman #1.
That’s a real design challenge.
I’m so beholden to the history that I did not want to mess with the silhouette.
And how did you come up with the new logo?
Jim Lee’s cover for Absolute Batman #1.
Snyder:All credit to Nick in terms of the logo itself.
I just adore what Nick came up with.
I’d be very surprised if that shirt doesn’t sell out at NYCC.
Interior art from Absolute Batman #1 by Nick Dragotta.
We knew it was right because that’s our character, that’s this Bruce.
It also is a utility, it is a tool.
We did our job because people are talking, and I can’t wait to get to the shirt.
Wes Craig’s variant cover for Absolute Batman #1.
Scott, this is the second time you’ve built a Batman from scratch after Batman: Zero Year.
How is Absolute Bruce different from that Batman?
He’s an outlaw, but he’s also the system.
A selection of Nick Dragotta’s interior pages from Absolute Batman #1.(Image credit: DC)
With this, it wasn’t just a matter of Batman being poor and his villains being rich.
It’s a complete inversion and reconstruction of the mythology.
In that way, it gives you this whole fresh outlook.
(Image credit: DC)
If Bruce is the fly in the ointment, what does that mean for who his allies are?
What does that mean for how he fights, his costume, his Batmobile.
What is a Batcave if you don’t have the resources?
(Image credit: DC)
Everything outside of that is window dressing.
Outside of that, they’re wildly different characters.
I don’t know if they’d get along at all.
(Image credit: DC)
That’s the fun part of it.
They’d eventually get along but they’d probably fight for a bit first.
And how has it been writing for him?
(Image credit: DC)
Snyder:This Batman is so effortless to write, this Bruce is so easy.
He is the young, idealistic beast that’s like “We can do something about this.”
Dragotta:He’s a hulking Bat that has the agility of an acrobat.
Ian Bertram’s cover for Absolute Batman #1.
There is a juxtaposition there, but I think that’s what really makes him work.
When you see him move, I want to get across that speed and some ambiguity in it too.
I want to leave a lot to the readers' imagination.
Interior art from Absolute Batman #1 by Nick Dragotta.
We’ll just start talking and ideas lead to new ideas.
We’ll see a drawing, Scott will say something, and that leads to something else.
We get these gestures of what he could do and I lay down these sketches.
Mitch Gerad’s cover art for Absolute Batman #1.
You just want to capture that and leave the rest to the readers' imagination.
Scott, you’ve done punk rock Gotham and post-apocalyptic Gotham.
Nick, you’re fresh off drawing Metropolis, which is the shining opposite of Gotham.
Batman stares down his foes in some interior art from Absolute Batman #1.
How did you want to build this Gotham for the Absolute Universe?
Dragotta:Visually, for me, I’m going blocky like our Bruce.
Our Gotham probably more resembles Chicago, but I’m going geometric, graphic, and bold.
It’s blocky, built on solid perspective, and it’s lit.
You just speckle it with light.
Snyder:For me, the Absolute Universe itself is trying to challenge the heroes and make them underdogs.
Every hero is started in a way that applies more adversity to them.
Superman, similarly, doesn’t grow up in Smallville, as Jason Aaron has revealed.
He has a more difficult childhood than Clark in the main universe.
Gotham has to be a city of extremes.
It’s a colder and prettier city.
The gargoyles are overshadowed.
It’s like New York.
It’s a city that feels hollowed-out.
That’s the Gotham that Nick captures so beautifully.
He does it so subtly too.
Something’s wrong with you, Gotham.
I haven’t been here for a long time but there’s something different.
There’s something cold and vapid about it."
It’s meaner than the Gotham I wrote before.
Batman has the best rogues' gallery of villains.
How did you want to build the Absolute universe rogues' gallery to challenge this version of Batman?
It is about how does one man change something that feels unchangeable.
It isn’t about going up against the Riddler, Penguin, or Killer Croc in traditional ways.
It’s recasting them so that they play a different role for him.
You’ll quickly get a sense of what we’re going for.
There are so many resources behind the people that he’s up against that he’s like an insect.
It’s been a really fun creative engine, flipping this all on its head.
Everything feels fresh and new, everything feels renewed and vibrant.
How has it been working together to build this corner of the Absolute Universe?
Dragotta:It’s been awesome!
There’s an emotional core to this story that I really want to capture.
I’ll do a drawing that’ll lead to whole new storyline ideas.
You talk about the villains and the villains might become the stars of the book.
It’s rad and it’s been very collaborative.
Snyder:We’ve become really good friends.
Nick was the first person that I thought of for this.
I was thinking I’d do a Detective Chimp or Darkseid book, I didn’t know.
It was James Tynion who called me up and he was like “You know what to do.
You’ve got to write it.”
I was like “I can’t do Batman again.”
You should do it."
I’m really thinking about Nick."
How does it feel returning to Batman all this time later?
I was brand-new, so I was always trying to cling to what was going on and survive it.
I’ve never been more confident going into a superhero book.
It’s a really bold book.
It takes some really big risks and I’m very proud of that and being a part of that.
To be able to go in feeling like I love it unequivocally is a great feeling.
Of course, you care what people think and, if people hated it, it would hurt.
I feel so relaxed and confident about it that I can’t wait for people to see it.
How do you want this Batman to reflect your fears about the world today?
It really feels new to me and I feel refreshed and excited.
Dragotta:Let’s give a shoutout to Frank Martin, Jr., our colorist.
To Clayton Cowles, our letterer, and Katie Kubert, our editor.
It’s pretty bold and really exciting to be a part of it.
The fact that fans seem so excited about so many different titles means the world to us.
It’s done as a thank-you to all fans and retailers for being so awesome to us.
Absolute Batman #1 is published by DC on October 9.
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