It’s only been a year and a half, but DC Comics’ Absolute Universe has left a sizable imprint on the entire comic book industry. When DC first announced the new line of books, I don’t think anyone could have expected the tremendous success that series like Absolute Batman and Absolute Wonder Woman would find. But here we are, months and months later, and the Absolute Universe is still selling like hotcakes. And it’s a good thing too, because the more Absolute books we get, the more amazing cover art we get.
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With six titles, the Absolute Universe has about a hundred covers for its books, not counting variant or exclusive covers, of course. But the standard covers do a fantastic job of selling these individual stories. I know Absolute Martian Manhunter can always be counted on for a trippy, creative piece of art (thank you, Javier Rodríguez!). And I still really love Giuseppe Camuncoli’s cover for the Absolute Evil #1 one-shot. For this list, we’re just going to be looking at the standard covers, but read on to discover 7 of the best Absolute Universe cover artworks.
7. Absolute Flash #13
Most of the covers for Absolute Flash show the titular speedster zooming around, but Nick Robles standard cover for the series’s 13th issue opts for a different vibe. Wally West has slowed down and kicked off his shoes in a moment of reflection as he takes a call. This piece expertly reflects where Wally is in his journey. He’s just lost his dad and is running on fumes at this point. While I love the high-energy covers this book usually has, I really do appreciate a cover that tells us more about what the main character is thinking or feeling.
6. Absolute Green Lantern #7
I think we all knew the Emotional Spectrum was going to be a part of Absolute Green Lantern, and this cover was our first real look at the Absolute Universe’s other levels of light. For the comic’s 7th issue, Jahnoy Lindsay has Jo Mullein, radiating with green light, overseeing the Red Lantern Tomar Re and the Yellow Lantern John Stewart against a cosmic backdrop. It’s weird, it’s cosmic, it has elements we know combined with elements we don’t fully understand. It’s emblematic of everything fun the book has going for it.
5. Absolute Superman #15
I really do love how the Absolute Universe books acknowledge the start of a new storyline. But even if that bit of text wasn’t on the cover of Absolute Superman #15, the rest of Rafa Sandoval’s cover really lets you know this is a fresh start for the titular hero. While previous covers had Superman with a more downbeat expression in a darker-colored costume, this one has Clark soaring through the skies on a sunny day in Metropolis. This cover really lets us know that Absolute Superman is on his way to becoming the hero he was born to be.
4. Absolute Martian Manhunter #10
I cannot express how much I love Absolute Martian Manhunter. Javier Rodríguez does an incredible job every issue on the interiors, but Absolute Martian Manhunter #10’s cover is something special. Agent John Jones and the Martian are in trouble, wrapped up in a melting star-spangled banner that’s being gripped by an unknown entity. It’s a great way of touching on the series’s current villains, a supernatural entity that takes care of problems in the name of national security. Maybe it’s just me, but seeing these heroes take on a weaponized version of nationalism really feels disturbingly relevant right now.
3. Absolute Evil #1
Before we had Wonder Woman team up with Batman, the Absolute Universe brought the bad guys together first. Giuseppe Camuncoli had the honor of giving fans the first little tease of Absolute Evil with this cover. Photographs of the Absolute heroes are torn and on the ground, while six hands, all belonging to villains, are atop one another in a symbol of unity. This one-shot marked the one-year anniversary of the Absolute Universe, and this cover was a great way of showing how the villains are prepared to take things to the next level to protect the status quo.
2. Absolute Wonder Woman #18
It really was hard to pick just one of Absolute Wonder Woman’s covers, because Hayden Sherman knocks them all out of the park. But I really liked this one that was featured on the 19th issue. Absolute Wonder Woman is facing off against Zatanna while Veronica Cale looks on. This cover is just damn beautiful. The clashing blue and green colors, the design of their magic, the composition, everything about it just plain works. It’s rare to see a cover so accurately depict that magic inside a comic, but this piece of art really does the job.
1. Absolute Batman #1
I’m sorry, maybe this is the obvious choice, but I can’t think of an Absolute Universe cover that’s been popularized as much as this. Nick Dragotta’s cover for Absolute Batman #1 debuted in October 2024, and it’s already become as famous as the cover of Batman: The Dark Knight Returns #1 or Batman: The Killing Joke. It’s a simple cover with Batman just posing menacingly. But that aura-farming has become one of the most iconic images in the entire Absolute Universe. Hell, if you don’t think it’s popular, just look up how many comics have parodied it.
What’s your favorite Absolute Universe cover? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts on the ComicBook Forum!
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