In 2024, DC Comics launched the Absolute Universe, which offered interesting new spins on A-listers like Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, and Flash. The entire line just completed its first full year, and the publisher used the opportunity to brag about how good it’s doing. And spoiler: it’s doing really good.
Per the Hollywood Reporter, the entire line has sold 8.2 million copies up, as of November 2025. The big earner is Absolute Batman, Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta’s very viral ongoing that sees a blue collar (and pretty big) Bruce Wayne fight crime and reinvented versions of his classic enemies in Gotham. That book accounts for 35% of the Absolute book’s success—so around 3 million copies overall—and its first issue is now on its 10th printing. Its five-bestselling books of 2025 include the recent Absolute Batman #15, Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee’s Batman #158, Matt Fraction and Jorge Jimenez’s Batman #1, the publisher’s Batman/Deadpool crossover, and Snyder and Javier Fernandez’s DC K.O. #1.
Anne DePies, DC’s general manager, credited the decision to keep the universe in its own continuity as a big win, ditto its “fresh look that inverted the fundamentals of our characters, and it’s an update that surprised our fans. It’s not so overwhelming that we are changing everything at once. That made a big difference. We knew it was going to do well, but we didn’t know it would do this well.”
Even beyond Batman, the majority of Absolute books are reportedly doing better than 2011’s New 52 and 2016’s Rebirth relaunches. Those five specific books weren’t listed by THR, which is the only outlet to see those retail numbers, but it did note that Absolute Martian Manunter from Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez has gotten orders in the six figures, something remarkable considering Manhunter’s not high-tier like his fellow headliners.
That book will be ending soon, but the Absolute books will continue for apparently as long as its various creative teams want, so if a particular book’s caught your eye, go ahead and jump in.
Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
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