Absolute Batman will take a Direct Market pause after issue #25, according to ICv2 (October 1, 2026), reporting comments from writer Scott Snyder on the Casually Comics podcast. Timeline: Absolute Batman #24 released in September; #25 (40 pages) streets October 28; November brings the already-announced Absolute Batman: Beyond Ark-M special; December has no mainline Absolute Batman issue; a Barbara Gordon-focused #26 arrives January 2027 while Snyder and Nick Dragotta continue their break; Snyder and Dragotta return for #27 in February 2027.
ICv2 notes Snyder’s podcast remark that the December absence takes nearly 500,000 copies out of comic-store sales for the month based on where the book has been running — treat that as the writer’s cited run-rate, not an ICv2 audited chart line.
For US Absolute Universe readers, the practical pull-list note is simple: October 28 is the last Snyder/Dragotta mainline before the winter gap, November still has the Ark-M special, and the numbered series resumes with a special #26 then #27. RCG already covered the November special here: Absolute Batman Beyond Ark-M Special Hits Nov. 18.
This hiatus beat is separate from DC Shop’s Absolute Batman Artist Collection merch wave filed earlier this week — do not conflate apparel launches with the print schedule pause.
Retailers should also separate the hiatus from Absolute Batman merch and specials: the Artist Collection and Beyond Ark-M one-shot do not replace monthly #26/#27 continuity. Snyder’s podcast framing is the clearest public schedule map until DC’s next solicit wave reprints the January/February numbers in full FOC language.
What we are not saying: we are not inventing a cancellation, claiming Dragotta left the book permanently, or treating the 500k figure as a final ICv2 sales chart. Report the #25 → Ark-M → Dec gap → #26 Jan → #27 Feb path as ICv2 summarized it.
