Readers waiting to return to Arkham in DC’s Absolute line will have to hold on a little longer. Absolute Batman: Beyond Ark-M #1 has moved from November to Wednesday, Dec. 2, according to DC’s latest scheduling changes reported by Bleeding Cool.
The one-shot is written by Scott Snyder and Frank Tieri with art and the main cover by Francesco Francavilla, and it carries a $4.99 cover price. It digs further into the Absolute universe’s take on Arkham, called Ark-M, which has become one of the more talked-about corners of Snyder’s reinvention of Batman. Retailer listings now show the Dec. 2 release with a Nov. 9 final order cutoff.
It is not the only DC book on the move. Bleeding Cool lists five more schedule changes:
Dark Knights of Steel II #5 moves from Nov. 18 to Dec. 2. 100 Bullets: The U.S. of Anger #5 moves from Nov. 4 to Nov. 18. Supergirl: Survive #5 moves from Nov. 11 to Nov. 18. Batman: The Black Casebook Deluxe Edition hardcover moves from Nov. 10 to Dec. 8. Gotham by Gaslight Absolute Edition hardcover moves from Oct. 6 to Dec. 8.
For retailers, that means a busier first week of December, with Beyond Ark-M and Dark Knights of Steel II landing on the same day. For collectors, the Gotham by Gaslight Absolute Edition, the oversized collection of the classic Victorian-era Elseworlds tale, has now slipped about two months from its original October date.
DC has not given a reason for the delays, but shifts like these are common in the run-up to the holidays as printers and creative teams juggle year-end schedules. Demand for the Absolute line remains huge. Absolute Batman #25 reportedly topped 775,000 orders, and any spin-off tied to Snyder’s series tends to draw big preorder numbers.
If you have Beyond Ark-M on a pull list, your shop should move it automatically, but it is worth checking with your retailer before the Nov. 9 final order cutoff to make sure you get the cover you want.
