Review by Karl Verhoven

DC’s Absolute titles reconfigure their characters without the ties of continuity, reinventing them on an alternate Earth. Against all the odds, yet another Batman reboot has proved a massive success.

There’s a statement of intent from the start by assigning the art to Nick Dragotta, whose excellent pages move away from the neo-realism adopted on the core Batman titles for so long. It’s looser, and grittier, with Batman in action a perpetually moving blur seen in snapshots. Gotham is presented as a grimy, dirty place, which is expected, but Dragotta has redesigned many familiar names for this new world, the shock of Alfred Pennysworth revealed at the start. Batman, though, is essentially the same with minor costume modifications seemingly inspired by dinosaurs as much as bats, featuring spikes and protective scales. In terms of storytelling the small tidy panels of The Dark Knight Returns are an obvious influence. The style is taken even further in a chapter drawn by Gabriel Hernández Walta.

Scott Snyder introduces a Gotham plagued by a vast gang of masked killers calling themselves the Party Animals, and there’s an immediate certainty about Bruce Wayne being Batman, yet almost everything else is different, but meticulously constructed. It’s possible for someone who’s never previously read a Batman comic to figure out what’s going on, yet also designed to have those who know the character inside and out joining the dots between aspects that differ from tradition. Gym owner Waylon, carrying a crocodile and with a snake around his neck, attempts to have Bruce attend a poker game by saying “Everyone’s in this week. Eddie, Harvey, Oz. I’m even trying to get Selina…” It’s followed by a close-up of a framed photograph featuring six happy children.

Mystery, though, isn’t Snyder’s narrative force. He lays out Bruce Wayne, his skills, his inspirations and his motivations in the opening chapter, providing the single line definition of “you’re a crusader”. While the remainder of the title story flits back and forth to contrast Bruce’s youth with the battle of the present, Snyder also recalibrates Gotham’s infamous and runs a parallel plot about the connection of riches with power and corruption. A key difference established between this Batman and the usual model is that he didn’t grow up wealthy, although hardly seems short of resources now.

Snyder’s given those resources much thought, and The Zoo is littered with explanations of cheaply constructed gadgets, while Dragotta really comes through with the designs of larger accessories. There’s also a raised level of nastiness and a sweary Batman, even if that’s indicated by the assortment of symbols in dialogue rather than words spelled out. This isn’t the jump-on graphic novel for the kid who likes Batman toys, and the title story’s ultimate villain represents a very modern form of arrogant greed where there’s never enough for them so they exploit the same entitlement in others. The world’s not short of comparisons.

This may be too dark to coincide with your vision of Batman, but he remains a beacon and The Zoo is fresh and exciting. Buy into Snyder and Dragotta’s vision before it’s run into the ground as just an another alternate Batman. It continues in Abomination.