REVIEW: ‘Absolute Batman’ Issue 4

Absolute Batman Issue 4 is published by DC Comics. Plot by Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta, script by Snyder, art by Gabriel Hernández Walta, colors by Frank Martin, and letters by Clayton Cowles.

A flashback sees the relationship between Bruce and his father, as well as the birth of Batman.

This is the first issue of the series to take place entirely in the past. The structure revolves around multiple points in time that lead to more expansion of the main character. One is the end of a court case featuring a victim and a culprit that is oh-so-familiar to Batman fans. In the other scene, Bruce shows his school engineering project to his father. This is staggered through Absolute Batman Issue 4, with many different iterations that get more extravagant as the chapter progresses.

The first arc has crucial parts that educate us on the characters and the wider world’s histories. Alongside these quieter moments are the formative years of Bruce turning himself into Batman. Absolute Batman #4 has a calm pace that explains what led to the more chaotic, hardcore nature of present-day storytelling. Each action sequence brings something new to the book as the younger Bruce experiments with his adventures in vigilantism.

The tone in Absolute Batman #4 is loving and dark as the book approaches its conclusion. There are surprises within that ending; while the answers to the questions are directly seen, the reader can make the connotation themselves through the clever weaving of Snyder’s writing.

The characters are also beautifully written. Bruce speaks more on this issue than in the previous three combined. There is narration and dialogue that reveals his personality. Bruce goes on a journey within Absolute Batman #4. The young kid is initially desperate to make his father proud. He is full of curiosity and genuine love. But as the issue gets darker, that hope is dispelled, and a sadder tone sets in.

In the narration of Absolute Batman #4, Batman is trialing out his inventions and gadgets. That is written in a colder, more informative style that implies that they are found in a notebook. He is often solitary in this issue, but the lack of other characters is crucial to focus solely on Bruce and his father. His father has a different occupation in this universe, although many references are made to how he could have become a doctor.

The guest artist in Absolute Batman #4 shakes up the book. Walta makes the world look separate from the modern take that Dragotta has created. The parts of the book set in the Wayne home and the courtroom are perfectly normal and domestic. Walta’s storytelling is fantastic. Every time Bruce shows his father a new invention, he is left with a frustrated look. Part of the journey he goes on is seeing if he ends up with a smile. But that face has been broken in the courtroom, and all happiness has evaporated.

There are also prototypes of the Batman suit. Walta’s art style in Absolute Batman #4 is superb because these costumes and mechanics look scruffy. They are early versions of what it will eventually become. These starting adventures are slightly comical and always fascinating. At the start, they are snarling and monstrous, tapping into the barbarism that can be seen in the first issues of the book. Later, the engineering elements step up. We see the interior of the suit. The spikes and movable cape are explained thoroughly, adding a skeleton to the batsuit.

In the spirit of progress, crucial to Absolute Batman Issue 4, it isn’t just the technology that improves. Bruce transforms from a scared little boy into the hulking behemoth he becomes in the main stories through intense work and visibly changes throughout the panels.

The colors stay dark and muted until necessary. The shades are calm and beige at home or out in Gotham. That is, until a fire starts, or someone shoots a gun, and the book is filled with intense flames. The fight scenes fill the page with red, captivating and accelerating the issue’s pace. The lettering is mainly easy to read, except for the font used for the note-taking. The fancy, cursive words indicate that the narration is handwritten journal entries, but it can be challenging to understand.

Instead, with structure trickery, we understand the relationship between him and Bruce and then work out what happened ourselves. It leads to feeling more involved in the book. However, because we are working due to assumptions created by the other universe, there can always be something new around the corner.

Absolute Batman Issue 4 is this universe’s Year One. It is a fantastic origin story that answers many of the questions that had arisen from three issues of mystery and intrigue. From characters to technology, many stories begin here. Snyder’s script rarely holds readers by the hand. It would have been extremely easy to kill off Thomas Wayne at the start of the issue and show the aftermath.

Absolute Batman Issue 4 is available now wherever comics are sold.