One of the biggest surprises of Absolute Batman has been the consistency of its art. In a less coordinated series, guest artists may appear every two or three issues in the same arc, but here, they’re always in charge of special flashbacks or side stories. The result is a cohesive and thematically sound reading experience. It’s what made me love these issues the most. They almost feel like one shots, with a character-focused core and self-contained emotional payoff. This time, Clay Mann takes the helm to explore Absolute Bane’s origin story and how he came to be.
DC
Framed from the fearful thoughts of Alfred, we take a journey through Bane’s life in the occupied island of Santa Prisca, right from the moment of his birth. There are similarities to his typical origin, growing up in Pena Duro prison, and eating rats in harsh conditions. Except for a major difference.
Scott Snyder goes out of his way to make Bane more of a symbol. His mask, previously attributed to a simple luchador design, is now the flag of revolution. To juxtapose Absolute Batman, this version of Bane is also an underdog, a rebel from another country. He is Bruce’s dark mirror, whose path diverges somewhere along the way after being faced with a choice. One that delineates hero from villain.
Previously excelling on variant cover duty, Clay Mann shines in his first interior artwork since Batman/Catwoman. And the evolution in style is apparent. There is an invigorating dynamism here that wasn’t as present in Mann’s past comics. As usual in a Snyder-penned script, the panels are aplenty, and Mann utilizes them well to create a tragic montage of Bane’s biography.
Ivan Plascencia tailors his colors to fit with Mann’s current sensibilities. It’s a far cry from the more highly rendered works during Mann’s time with Tom King. There are high contrast reds and glowing greens here, things that help the multiple panels pop. They also help Nick Dragotta’s Bane design transfer to Mann’s semi-realistic art style.
Though not as experimental and visually striking as Mann’s covers, the colors do their job to tell the intended story, especially in a splash page. That’s when the artistry works best. Other times, in smaller, less noticeable panels, they don’t seem to get equal attention, with the colors ending up too rough or flat. Thankfully, these are few and far between.
Plot-wise, Scott Snyder manages to make the definitive Bane single issue that rivals Vengeance of Bane’s repute. Beyond an origin story, what this comic has over the character’s first appearance is a shockingly brutal action sequence. It takes the premise of breaking Batman’s back but goes ten steps further.
The only thing that I could consider a negative is a plot beat that’s backpedalled at the end. It’s a choice that might not land for everyone. All things considered, Snyder has yet to miss, and I would love to see Mann do more interior art between the covers. Makes me excited for his long-overdue Batman: Nightfire.
Absolute Batman #11 pulls back the curtain on how Bane is born. Both Scott Snyder and Clay Mann go all out, no holds barred. It’s brutal. It’s exciting. And by the end, I’ll guarantee you’ll take away two things: feeling bad for Batman and clamoring for more comics from Clay Mann.
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