It’s rare for a comic book to maintain the same level of burning momentum in its second year as it did in its first, but Absolute Batman has defied the industry standard since day one. With pre-orders for this issue reportedly hitting nearly 300,000 copies, the Absolute experiment has officially graduated from a gamble to a juggernaut.
This week, the hype hits a fever pitch and not just because the Joker is finally stepping out of the shadows, but because of who is holding the pencil. Scott Snyder is reuniting with Jock, his legendary collaborator from The Black Mirror and The Batman Who Laughs. Bringing in Jock for this specific issue feels like a major statement of intent. If series regular Nick Dragotta defined the brutalist engineering of this new Absolute Gotham, Jock is here to sketch out its nightmares.
Legacy of Chaos
The story opens with Alfred finally dropping the truth on Bruce about the man he’s been chasing. He spins a yarn about the Joker’s grandfather, Joseph “Jack” Grimm I. Right from the jump, Snyder knocks this origin out of the park. Giving the Joker a lineage and the name “Jack” is a great touch, but it gets better. Jack started with a killer street act (people literally loved his performance) and parlayed that fame into a theater called “Just Kidding” (or “JK”). Which is such a great name for a clown theater. Jack was seen as a philanthropist in Gotham, giving to children’s charities because, well, kids usually love clowns. But, like everything in Gotham, the red flags were there if you looked close enough.
Turns out Jack Grimm I’s act wasn’t so pure. He used nitrous oxide (laughing gas) to make the audience susceptible so he could rob them blind. But it goes deeper than theft. With his immense wealth, Grimm Sr. was funding everyone: Nazis, right-wing fanatics, left-wing radicals. Enemies and allies alike. Why? Because when you live like a clown, “everyone else is a fool.” It’s such a genius take on the character by Snyder and team, literally making him this agent of chaos, driving the narrative from the shadows while hiding in plain sight.
The book takes a hard left turn into horror in the final third. We learn about the current generation, Jack Grimm V. Or is it a lineage at all? We’re talking human hunting, bio-weapons experiments, and missing children. Snyder leaves us with a lingering question: Is the Joker a man, a demon, an apparition, or just evil incarnate? We don’t know yet, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hooked.
Visual Nightmares
Let’s talk about the art, because Jock absolutely went off in this issue. The two double-splash pages detailing Jack’s origin are masterful. He uses this gritty noir style that perfectly sells 1880s Gotham. The image of Kid Jack juggling a skull in clown makeup is appropriately scary and mysterious; those yellow eyes make him look otherworldly, and not in a good way. But when the actual Joker is revealed? That thing is the stuff nightmares have nightmares about.
It’s grotesque, twisting, bloody, and terrifying. Jock handles the reveal expertly as the panels jag and fall. The teeth get bigger and gnarlier, the eyes shift to blood red with green pupils. Letterer Clayton Cowles deserves a shoutout for the KRAKAKK sound effect running along the creature’s back, really selling that spine-twisting transformation.
Colorist Frank Martin also deserves massive praise. He shifts effortlessly from the noir-brownish tones of the flashbacks to the neon greens of the jungle, culminating in the reveal of a Joker with pasty, chalk-white skin, green horns, and a smile only a mother would love.
The Verdict
Reading Absolute Batman #15 felt like listening to a horror story before bed. It’s the kind of tale you probably shouldn’t be hearing right before you sleep, but you’re so enthralled you can’t turn away.
Alfred acts as the narrator, and honestly, he’s such a tease. He refuses to tell an A-to-B story, constantly circling back to add juicy details about Nazi influence and generational evil. It keeps you on your toes. Also, fans of Snyder and Jock’s previous work might notice a callback to the “Grim Knight” here, and the fact that this Joker looks oddly like a “Prime Bruce” is a weird, wild creative choice that demands attention.
Snyder and Jock teed this up and knocked it out of the park. What a thrilling read and a terrifying origin for the Absolute Joker.
Review: ‘Absolute Batman’ #15 The Joker Arrives & It’s Pure Nightmare Fuel
Reading Absolute Batman #15 felt like listening to a horror story before bed. It’s the kind of tale you probably shouldn’t be hearing right before you sleep, but you’re so enthralled you can’t turn away.
