After a highly successful run of the Absolute Universe so far, DC Comics recently announced their upcoming April 2027 event in the form of “Absolute Justice:” A five-issue miniseries uniting the universe’s major heroes, written by Jason Aaron and Juan Ferreyra. But who will be featured in the issue and what sort of storyline can we expect?
Hello and welcome back to The Pull List, a biweekly column focused on all things DC Comics. This week, we’ll be diving into the upcoming “Absolute Justice” event as well as some new comic releases as we approach Halloween.
“Absolute Justice” was announced at New York Comic Con on Oct. 9, according to The Beat, a comics news and culture site. As reported, the event will center around Absolute Martian Manhunter as the primary hook for the series’ event. Based on the #1 cover displayed at the panel, the series looks to feature all six mainline Absolute heroes with Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, Absolute Wonder Woman, Absolute Flash and Absolute Green Lantern.
It’s absolutely no surprise why this series was greenlit. As expected, the Absolute line has been a runaway success for DC, and I imagine the company will keep announcing new titles.
Aside from the cover, the creators and the characters, DC has been tight-lipped about the series since its reveal. Still, we can take a look at who these creators are and what kind of approach we can expect.
Writer Jason Aaron is currently acting as the writer of “Absolute Superman,” but he’s been around the comic block for quite some time. Aaron was also behind the 2018 relaunch of “Avengers” but is best known for his multi-year tenure as a Thor writer, with his work acting as a jumping off point for the 2022 movie “Thor: Love and Thunder.”
It seems pretty safe to say that Aaron’s writing often favors the “big guy,” with Superman and Thor being notably similar character archetypes. Still, that doesn’t mean we can expect Aaron to struggle with writing the larger Absolute cast. After all, every hero packs a punch.
Artist Juan Ferrerya has also been gearing up for “Absolute Justice,” and has experience in both Marvel and DC. This has included work on Marvel’s “Ghost Rider: Final Vengeance” series, and he’s been featured across a variety of DC Comics. Notably, this also included a guest appearance on Aaron’s “Absolute Superman” with issue #15.
Outside of just “Absolute Superman,” Aaron and Ferrerya have teamed up before in the form of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” from IDW Publishing. Aaron started the run with issue #1 before Ferreyra joined in #6 as an ongoing artist, and the pair worked together on the series up until issue #13, when Gene Luen Yang, Freddie E. Williams II and Andrew Dalhouse took over. If you’re hoping to see an example of Aaron and Ferrerya’s work together, this would be the place to look!
In terms of the pair’s upcoming miniseries, the cover for “Absolute Justice #1” already looks amazing, and I think Ferrerya did a great job presenting each of the different characters. I’m looking forward to seeing Aaron and Ferrerya’s take on the team, and I hope it lives up to the standard of the overall Absolute Universe.
And now, we turn to some upcoming releases!
Today, we’ll be seeing “Teen Titans #2,” “The Doom Patrol #2” and “Legion of Super-Heroes #2” — for anyone interested in starting a new series, all three are in the early stages and will be easy to pick up at a local store or online. I’m particularly interested in seeing a continuation of Jason Todd’s portrayal in “Teen Titans” now that he’s back in regular publication.
The “Bad Seeds” event also continues with “Batman: Bad Seeds – Streets of Gotham #1” and “Batman: Bad Seeds – Gotham Central #2” this week before coming back with “Batwoman #8” and “Catwoman #92” next week. All four issues are tie-ins so if you’re hoping to stick to the mainline story, you can rest easy until Oct. 21 when “Detective Comics #1114” releases.
If you’ve been enjoying HBO’s “Lanterns” show, this week also brings “Green Lanterns Corps #21” with a focus on Jo Mullein and Corps leader Jess, according to the comic’s summary on League of Comic Geeks. However, if you’d rather start at the beginning, the first five issues are collected in “Green Lantern Corps Vol. 1: New World Rising” for $17.99.
This week also continues one of my favorite Batman stories right now with “Batman and Robin: Year One – Dynamic Duos #3.” The storyline current focuses on a young Dick Grayson as Robin attempting to infiltrate a child gang, featuring Selina Kyle’s Catwoman. The last issue ended on a significant cliffhanger, so #3 should be exciting. If you’re interested in starting the story from the beginning, the story’s #1 issue is receiving a second printing this week, so keep an eye out!