Absolute Batman #8 review

With Black Mask out of the way, last issue introduced the next threat looming over the horizon: the Ark M facility and whatever it is that’s going on inside. Supposedly, this issue “concludes” that two-parter before an impossibly even larger Bane shows up next month. I use scare quotes there because this issue is less of a conclusion than advertised, but I’m getting ahead of myself. When last we left our daring hero, he was infiltrating Ark M to uncover what had happened to his friend Matches Malone. It’s there that he encountered Freeze and his horrific experiments trapping people in ice.

When the comic leans into that horror is when it’s at its best. Scott Snyder has his roots in writing the macabre and excels when he can inject that into his superheroes. What makes it work here is the visceral descriptions of the ways the ice affects the victims’ bodies. The Devil is in the details, and what a Devil these details make Freeze out to be. When he tells of how they are unable to sleep the entire time they’re frozen, only longing for death, I’m reminded of Harlan Ellison’s short story I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream. The reader is left to simply imagine the torture of their existence as it creeps ever closer to engulfing Batman.

None of this would be quite as effective without Marcos Martín’s art. While he may be acting as “fill in” while series regular Nick Dragotta has time to catch up, his style gives the entire story an eerie atmosphere that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. It’s a small thing to focus on, but the way he details the characters’ eyes and faces is so unsettling. They appear sickly, as if the inhumanity is infectious. It’s not overly detailed, but still incredibly effective.

Interspersed throughout Batman’s fight with Freeze, the story cuts to a flashback where he’s being confronted by his friends for his recklessness. This forms what is probably meant to be the central theme of the story. Batman has set himself on a path of self destruction, blaming himself for what happened to his father, and needs to be convinced that there’s a better way. This is paralleled by the story of Matches Malone who apparently also blamed himself for what happened to Bruce’s dad, being the last child that he went back to save. There’s also a cruelly ironic contrast with the ice zombies who did want to live forever, but all it caused them was pain and now they too wish for death.

This makes sense as a theme for a Batman story, and it certainly wouldn’t be the first time, but more could have been done by the narrative to support it. I wish that we got more of Matches before he died instead of simply being told about him by other characters. That would have gone a long way in creating a compelling parallel between the two up to and including Matches’ death in the last issue. Even flashbacks would be preferable because it would still let us see how his self-destructive tendencies manifested and compared to Bruce’s. I guess part of this is just a consequence of it being only two issues long.

Regardless, the story becomes one about the triumph of the human spirit. The horde of frozen victims desperately wishing for death coalesces with what his friends said to force Batman to realize that he doesn’t want to die. He has to push forward. This gives him the strength to battle his way out of the facility so that he can truly live. The fight scene is very brief, but still well illustrated by Martín, showing that he can handle action as well as horror.

However, anyone hoping for a resolution to this story will be sorely disappointed. Bruce simply escapes with Freeze still in control and plenty of questions left outstanding. It would seem that this two-parter is actually just the prologue to the next chapter in the larger Absolute Batman story.

Recommended If

• You enjoyed the horror elements from last issue
• The new mystery of Ark M interests you
• Marcos Martín’s art provides a new perspective on the series

Overall

Absolute Batman #8 is at its best when it leans into the horror of Mr. Freeze and the experiments he performs inside the Ark M facility. Snyder’s history with the genre and Martín’s pencils do a great job creating a disturbing atmosphere. However, that storyline isn’t resolved here, rather simply acting as a lead-in to the larger Ark M plot. Instead, the issue focuses on Bruce’s self-destructive tendencies from blaming himself for his father’s death. While perhaps not given enough time to be fully fleshed out, it serves as a moment of triumph and growth.

Score: 8/10

DISCLAIMER: DC Comics provided Batman News with a copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.