Will DC Publish Absolute Batman In The Compact Comics Format Sooner?

Posted in: Comics | Tagged: absolute, Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, Absolute Wonbder Woman, Compact Comics

Will DC Publish Absolute Batman In The Compact Comics Format Sooner?

Will DC Comics publish Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman and Absolute Wonder Woman in the Compact Comics format sooner?

Published Tue, 05 May 2026 13:54:11 -0500
by Rich Johnston
|
Comments

Article Summary

• Absolute Batman is driving major new-reader traffic, and some retailers want DC to fast-track it into Compact Comics.
• The $10 Compact Comics format could help Absolute Batman reach manga and Dog Man readers who want more pages for less.
• Other retailers argue Absolute Batman collections already sell strongly, and cheaper editions could undercut pricier formats.
• A radical pitch: release Absolute Batman Compact Comics right-to-left, manga-style, to target new readers without hurting core sales.

I understand that this is a debate going on amongst DC publishing types and prominent retailer circles of large-ish comic book chain stores right now. And that's whether or not DC Comics should put the Absolute line into the Compact Comics publishing format. Especially Absolute Batman. A chunk of ten to twelve issues, smaller, thinner, newsprint-ish paper, at $10 price points. The argument goes like this:

Absolute Batman is bringing in more comic book readers into comic book stores than anything else, even Pokémon and Dungeon Crawler Carl. And they are buying it, in single issues and collections. New readers are often Dog Man or manga veterans who have been drawn to Absolute Batman and the Absolute line because of these takes on DC's characters, especially Batman, Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter. Nick Dragotta's art on Absolute Batman is especially appealing, including his and Scott Snyder's Frank Miller-influenced storytelling approach. But the sales aren't as strong as they could be, given the appeal of manga and Dog Man. But what else has been a storming sales success, often to some of that readership, is the DC Compact Comics line.

The Compact Comics line, sold on its portability, has become a major impulse purchase in comic book stores, leading many other publishers to copy it (and hope to get stacked alongside it). While $5 for a floppy twenty-page comic can feel like a stretch, $10 for two hundred pages, smaller, on newsprint, is a much more appealing purchase on whim. It can't just be read in five or ten minutes, but neither is it an Omnibus you need staff to carry around on your behalf. And it's the Compact Comics line that has also been selling to newer customers, used to that kind of heft from their original kids' graphic novels, or manga phonebooks. So some retailers would like DC Comics, rather than wait for Absolute Batman to go through the usual hardcover/paperback, deluxe hardcover, Omnibus and eventually Absolute Absolute Batman, before heading to the Compact Comics line, to skip all that, and get the comic, while it is in such demand, into that new reader friendly impulse buy format, and then sell every single copy that DC Comics is able to print.

However, other retailers are very wary of this. Saying the bigger, more expensive, flashier Absolute titles are selling very, very well, thank you very much. The DC Compact Comics line is fine for older stories, but if people are willing to pay $30 for a collection or $150 for an Ombibus, let them. Don't compete with yourself in a race for the lowest price. Those retailers are also not that happy that Supergirl: Woman Of Tomorrow is a Compact Comics title, since the normal collections were selling fine and now they make half as much per sale.

So that's the argument.  But when discussing this with a few retailers, I suggested an idea that seemed no one had thought of. And I said I'd share it on Bleeding Cool for wider discussion. For those retailers who don't want to harm the sales of the bigger, glossier, more colourful versions of the Absolute collections, but do want to sell more copies to the manga crowd, a number of whom already have a taste for the Absolute line, and for whom the Compact Comics line would be perfect, how about this?

Flip the Absolute Books. Paginate them right-to-left, not left-to-right, in the Japanese reading tradition. Basically, put every page in a mirror. Reletter what needs relettering, and let Absolute Batman (and 90% of everyone in Absolute Gotham) be left-handed now. And publish that. The traditional crowd who are turned off by reading right to left won't touch the books. They'll keep buying the big, glossy, more expensive versions, and it won't harm sales on the individual issues. And for the manga crowd used to reading right-to-left, they will eat it up. There might be a few issues along the way. Any shots of countries or the Earth from space will have to be edited. But Gotham is fine, it's a fictional city. This way, you artificially divide the audience between those who would pay more but won't if there's a cheaper alternative, and those who won't pay more. And both of them are buying the comic book collection for a price they are prepared to pay.

Will that make everyone absolutely happy? Absolutely not. Will it solve some of the issues here? I think it just might. What do you reckon?

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!