Absolute Batman #23 Gets Dark Knight Returns Variant

Gabriele Dell'otto's variant cover for Absolute Batman #23 is doing the heavy lifting here: a direct homage to Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, one of the most consequential Batman stories ever published. The cover recreates a signature moment from that graphic novel, which is hitting its 40th anniversary.

Scott Snyder shared the variant image on social media, and if you've been following Absolute Batman, this is the kind of layered callback that lands. Dell'otto's work is precise enough to read as reverence without feeling like a straight photocopy—there's craft in how these tributes work when they're done right.

Absolute Batman #23 drops August 12, 2026. If you want to lock in a pre-order, the deadline is July 20, 2026.

Source: CBR

So cool to have one of the ABSOLUTE BATMAN #23 variant covers be a tribute to Dark Knight Returns and the legend Frank Miller (whose book Push the Wall is out this week!)

Pre-order your copies of issue #23 before Final Order Cut-Off on MONDAY! pic.twitter.com/aoSvZ17Cte

— Scott Snyder (@Ssnyder1835) July 16, 2026

Absolute Batman #23 variants by Bjorn Barends & Martin Simmonds! pic.twitter.com/iyQHyQToiu

— REUS | رويس (@iREUS_SA) July 9, 2026