The Absolute Batman animated series has a look, and it is 2D. At the Jim Lee & Friends panel at New York Comic Con on Saturday, Peter Girardi, Executive Vice President, Warner Bros. Animation, said the show is “deep into development now,” and revealed that after exploring a 3D approach, the series will be 2D, Bleeding Cool reports. The panel closed with an early test clip of Bruce taking on Black Mask’s gang.
The series is a Warner Bros. Animation and DC Studios adaptation of the DC Comics hit from writer Scott Snyder and artist Nick Dragotta. No premiere date or streaming home was announced at the panel.
Early art and a size chart for “BIG BOY” Bruce
Girardi opened with an early visual development piece showing Absolute Batman in a pose that echoes the cover of the comic’s first issue, according to Bleeding Cool. More visual development followed, including a size chart Dragotta drew for the “BIG BOY” Bruce.
ComicsBeat, which was also in the room, described the rough designs and animation as very much in keeping with the comic’s art. It reports that Dragotta is a producer on the show and appears to be leading the design work. Room security did not allow photos or video of the designs, ComicsBeat adds, so the art has not circulated beyond the panel.
“The novelization of Absolute Batman”
Snyder said the adaptation is meant to stay close to the comic while using the extra room animation gives. “The goal is to be faithful to the material… But you have so much more room to build out characters and relationships,” he said, per Bleeding Cool, adding that it gives the team “a lot more room to develop the connective fiber between the characters.” That means more time with Bruce’s ensemble cast.
Dragotta framed it another way. If the comic is the poem, he said, the animated series is “the novelization of Absolute Batman.”
The test clip that closed the segment was made early in development to see how the comic’s style would translate to animation, Bleeding Cool reports. It showed Absolute Batman fighting Black Mask’s gang.
Absolute Batman has been one of DC’s biggest sellers this year. Snyder wrote seven of 2026’s top 10 comics so far, and five of them are Absolute Batman issues.
Elsewhere on the same panel, Rafael Grampá stopped by to promote an original soundtrack for his Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham deluxe edition from DC’s Black Label, ComicsBeat reports.
