The Absolute Universe Gave DC a Nice Comics 12 months

In 2024, DC Comics launched the Absolute Universe, which provided fascinating new spins on A-listers like Batman, Surprise Girl, Superman, and Flash. All the line simply accomplished its first full 12 months, and the writer used the chance to brag about how good it’s doing. And spoiler: it’s doing actually good.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, all the line has bought 8.2 million copies up, as of November 2025. The massive earner is Absolute Batman, Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s very viral ongoing that sees a blue collar (and fairly huge) Bruce Wayne fight crime and reinvented variations of his classic enemies in Gotham. That guide accounts for 35% of the Absolute guide’s success—so round 3 million copies total—and its first subject is now on its tenth printing. Its five-bestselling books of 2025 embrace the current Absolute Batman #15, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Batman #158, Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s Batman #1, the writer’s Batman/Deadpool crossover, and Snyder and Javier Fernandez’s DC K.O. #1.

Anne DePies, DC’s normal supervisor, credited the choice to maintain the universe in its personal continuity as an enormous win, ditto its “recent look that inverted the basics of our characters, and it’s an replace that shocked our followers. It’s not so overwhelming that we’re altering all the things directly. That made an enormous distinction. We knew it was going to do nicely, however we didn’t know it might do that nicely.”

Even past Batman, nearly all of Absolute books are reportedly doing higher than 2011’s New 52 and 2016’s Rebirth relaunches. These 5 particular books weren’t listed by THR, which is the one outlet to see these retail numbers, however it did notice that Absolute Martian Manunter from Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez has gotten orders within the six figures, one thing exceptional contemplating Manhunter’s not high-tier like his fellow headliners.

That guide can be ending quickly, however the Absolute books will proceed for apparently so long as its varied artistic groups need, so if a specific guide’s caught your eye, go forward and soar in.

Need extra io9 information? Try when to anticipate the newest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and all the things it’s essential to find out about the way forward for Doctor Who.