Absolute Batman Isn’t Ending — But Things Are About to Get Interesting

If you've seen headlines saying Absolute Batman is going on hiatus after issue #25, don't panic.

And definitely don't read “hiatus” as “canceled.”

The biggest comic in DC's Absolute Universe is taking a short break following Absolute Batman #25, but Scott Snyder has already laid out what happens next: a special in November, a Barbara Gordon-focused Absolute Batman #26 in January, and the return of Snyder and regular series artist Nick Dragotta for Absolute Batman #27 in February 2027. 

So no, Absolute Batman isn't ending.

Actually, what's coming next may tell us quite a bit about where the book is headed.

Absolute Batman #25 Is a Bigger Deal Than Just a Milestone Issue

We already knew Absolute Batman #25 was going to be important.

Now it looks even more important.

The issue arrives October 28, 2026, with Snyder and Dragotta together for the milestone. ICv2 reports the issue at 40 pages and identifies it as the final Snyder/Dragotta issue before their temporary break.

And if you've been reading this series from the beginning, you know Snyder hasn't exactly been treating the big numbers as filler.

This is a book that has spent two years tearing apart our assumptions about Batman's mythology.

Bruce Wayne isn't a billionaire.

His childhood friends became twisted versions of familiar Gotham characters.

Joker is the billionaire.

Bane was rebuilt into something monstrous.

Ark M has become one of the central pieces connecting the villains and experiments surrounding this version of Gotham.

So when Snyder gets to #25 and then deliberately creates some breathing room afterward, we're expecting something significant.

This does not feel like an issue you skip and catch up on later.

Why Is Absolute Batman Taking a Break?

Here's where some of the headlines can be misleading.

This doesn't appear to be a struggling book disappearing from DC's schedule.

Quite the opposite.

According to ICv2's October 1 report, Snyder said Absolute Batman has recently been running at nearly 500,000 copies, meaning the lack of a December issue removes roughly that many comic sales from stores for the month. That figure comes from Snyder's comments rather than an independently audited sales chart, but even with that qualification, we're talking about an extraordinary level for a modern monthly comic. 

Think about that for a second.

Most comic-book “hiatus” stories involve readers wondering whether a title will ever come back.

With Absolute Batman, we're talking about DC voluntarily having one of its biggest books sit out a month.

That's a very different situation.

And frankly, we'd rather see a creative team get enough time to make the comic they want to make than watch a monthly title get rushed just because the calendar says another issue needs to ship.

November: Beyond Ark-M Takes Over

Here's the book that suddenly became much more interesting.

Absolute Batman: Beyond Ark-M #1 arrives in November, written by Scott Snyder and Frank Tieri with artwork by Francesco Francavilla.

And this isn't simply a random side story.

The special dives into the origin of Professor Pyg and expands the concept of Joker's Arks beyond Gotham. The solicitation describes Joker surveying an entire “empire of Arks,” suggesting Ark M may only be one piece of something much larger.

That's potentially a major development.

Ark M has been sitting near the center of Absolute Batman mythology for a long time. DC's own description of Absolute Batman #9 called it a functioning institution that played a major role in the creation of evil, while earlier issues tied Victor Fries and Joker directly to the Ark M experiment.

Then we learned what happened to characters such as Bane and Poison Ivy.

Now we're being told there are more Arks.

Yeah. We're reading this one.

And Francavilla is an excellent choice for it. His shadow-heavy, horror-influenced storytelling should fit Professor Pyg and the Ark material ridiculously well.

Then Comes Barbara Gordon

The other part of Snyder's update that shouldn't get buried beneath the word “hiatus” is what happens in January.

Absolute Batman #26 will focus on Barbara Gordon.

ICv2 reports that Snyder described #26 as a special Barbara-focused issue while he and Dragotta remain on their break. Snyder and Dragotta then reunite for #27 in February.

That's particularly interesting because Barbara has become increasingly important to the current Absolute Batman story.

If #25 blows up the status quo—and everything surrounding the issue suggests we're heading toward a major turning point—giving Barbara the entire next issue could be much more than an intermission.

It could establish where she fits in this universe going forward.

And Then Snyder and Dragotta Come Back

This is the part everyone worried about the “hiatus” should remember.

February 2027: Absolute Batman #27. Snyder. Dragotta.

They're coming back.

In fact, Snyder had already said last year that he and Dragotta were contracted beyond issue #35 and that there were no plans to end the Absolute line. At the time, Snyder explicitly pushed back against speculation that DC's Absolute Universe might follow Marvel's Ultimate Universe toward a planned ending.

So we're not looking at the end.

We're looking at the end of a chapter.

There's a difference.

What Should Absolute Batman Readers Buy Before the Break?

If you're current on the series, #25 is the obvious one.

There are a lot—and we mean a lot—of covers for this issue. Nick Dragotta, J. Scott Campbell, Greg Capullo, Bryan Hitch, Clay Mann and others are represented in the wider variant lineup.

And yes, ATL Comics & Cards has our own horse in this race.

Our Mark Texeira Absolute Batman #25 exclusive is Texeira's first Absolute Batman cover and is available as a Trade Dress and Virgin Foil.

We've talked plenty about how much we like the artwork, so we won't turn this article into another advertisement for it.

But now that we know exactly what comes after #25, the issue itself feels even more consequential.

If you're following the story rather than chasing every cover, our recommendation is simpler:

Read #25. Don't skip Beyond Ark-M. Come back for Barbara in #26.

Then get ready for Snyder and Dragotta in #27.

Because if there's one thing the first 25 issues of Absolute Batman have taught us, it's that Snyder and Dragotta aren't particularly interested in putting everything back exactly where they found it.

We wouldn't expect them to start now.

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Sources & Credits

DC Comics — Publisher of Absolute Batman. DC's official issue pages were used to verify the history and role of Ark M, including its connections to Victor Fries, Bane, Joker and Poison Ivy. DC
DC Comics — Absolute Batman

Milton Griepp / ICv2 — October 1, 2026 reporting on the Absolute Batman hiatus, Snyder's sales comments and the January/February return schedule. 

Scott Snyder — Writer and co-architect of the Absolute Universe. His comments reported by ICv2 are the primary basis for the return schedule and recent sales figure discussed above.

Nick Dragotta — Co-creator and primary artist of Absolute Batman; scheduled to return with Snyder for issue #27 in February 2027. 

Frank Tieri & Francesco Francavilla — Tieri co-writes Absolute Batman: Beyond Ark-M with Snyder; Francavilla provides the interior art and main cover.

Popverse / Graeme McMillan — Previous reporting on Snyder and Dragotta's longer-term commitment to Absolute Batman and Snyder's statement that there were no plans to end the Absolute line.

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