I have been impatiently waiting for the second volume of Absolute Batman after a rather strong initial introduction to the series a few weeks ago. Occasionally checking in to see if the next volume had been released; and to much surprise, it finally was as of yesterday. I wrote a first impressions post on the first volume a few weeks back and praised the differences it held in its character design, as well as differentiating itself a bit more from the usual story that makes the character often feel a bit stale. I have mentioning quite a few times throughout the years, and more so in recent months, that I'm not particularly a big fan of superhero stuff, but I am open to getting into some of the comics providing they appeal to me a bit more. Often enough, this is a more preference of mine that would like to see these characters taken a bit more seriously, to be told in unique ways and with creative designs, rather than the constant retellings of the same stories. To some degree, Absolute Batman does follow the similarities of its previous entries, it is still Batman with some of the loosely crafted backstory on Bruce Wayne, but with a more brutal nature to it that makes it all seem much more darker. One of the first signs of this was the character design of Batman himself. Significantly younger and without the riches, a construction worker that has the secret of dishing out violence to the city of Gotham at night.
While still loosely following some of the usual storylines that any would expect from Batman: not killing people, having lost a parent, and dishing out vengeance upon those that lurk within the darkness of Gotham while dashing in and out of caves, Absolute Batman has been taking the violence to a slightly higher level. I do think I'd prefer to see the character be more brutal in the sense that he does end up killing, but instead it's replaced with violence in the comic that does hold more blood thirst, from directly stabbing people to allowing them to suffer in various ways. I do like this aspect of the character a bit more, and there is plenty of it in this story. And this definitely gives the comic a bit more seriousness and depth to it when we see Batman acting out as someone that serves a near equal level of violence upon the criminals that roam the city with guns and explosives. Volume two showcases the preparedness of Batman in such scenarios, and how quickly the character adapts. Much of this is told to the reader from the perspective of an observer. Someone that has been watching his moves and learning of them. I quite liked this aspect of the story, giving us this outsider's view of things rather than just following the character of Batman/Bruce directly.
I think the storytelling done in this manner is quite effective, with how that observer mentality allows us to be surprised and impressed by Batman's moves. It allows there to be some mystery behind the character rather than getting his perspective on everything. Instead of knowing where he's going and what he's up to, it gives us that feeling that he might be lurking around ready to take action. And even though Bruce is meant to be in his younger twenties, it shows how he manages to hold his life together by somewhat distancing himself from people, while also managing to hold some aspect of a regular life together that doesn't draw much attention to himself. Particularly in how he works in construction, the idea that he gets to work on and rebuild much of the city that gets destroyed, while also getting to know the ins and outs of it while avoiding police and criminals with the locations he utilises in the night. His caves aren't necessarily caves, but more the sewer system and the derelict buildings of Gotham. The caves being more of a weird metaphor for the darkness more than anything else. There is no Batcave here, and that's something I quite enjoy. Though he oddly does have this huge vehicle that isn't quite explained, we don't really know where it comes from, is stored, or how Batman managed to get ahold of it.
And this doesn't make a whole lot of sense quite yet because Bruce is a young adult that doesn't have access to any significant luxuries in this story. He is no wealthy offspring. Rather, his father was killed in a shooting and Bruce was kept locked away with others inside a room at a zoo, leading to bats attacking him, thus the whole backstory. It's somewhat similar as I mentioned before, but still a little bit fresh. I quite liked that Bruce still has his mother, it gives us that feeling that he as a character still has something to not only fight for, but something to lose. It definitely adds weight to the story; and to add to this, Bruce's identity isn't all that secret, there are still people that manage to figure out his identity with little effort. Though this seems to be from a place of no malicious intent thus far. But I am curious as to where this may head going into future volumes. I also really enjoy that so far there are no major villains, but there is some strange organisation that is dishing out crime and terror into Gotham, masked figures that have strong access to firearms and various explosive devices. I much prefer this than the boring cat-and-mouse of major villains you know Batman is never going to actually catch or do anything to.
For a second volume, this one was great. I really enjoyed it and found it really engaging with the story and the fun art style. The way Batman's character is drawn is really unique, even down to his costume having these spikes that come out when cornered. Puncturing the objects that surround him. It shows the sheer force his character can have, and the violence he's willing to share to those who threaten his life. The scale of his size is also really well portrayed, making him seem genuinely terrifying, especially when compared to the average person. Annoying I have to wait for the third volume to come, but so far I'm definitely happy to be sticking with this.