DC Goes All In: Absolute Batman, a Joker Anime, and Krypto Get Animated

DC Studios dropped three major animation announcements at Annecy this morning, and this episode breaks down all of them. The headliner is an Absolute Batman animated series with the comic's own creative team steering the ship, followed by Joker: Laugh Riot, an original anime that flips the Batman formula on its head, and a Krypto series that brings a much lighter, family-friendly energy to the slate. No manor, no money, all Batman, and that is just the start.

Beyond the three big reveals, this one digs into why these announcements matter for the bigger picture. With projects like Mister Miracle from Tom King already in the works, DC is treating animation as a real priority rather than a side project. The takeaway is simple: animation has become the place where these characters can be told accurately and ambitiously, the same way Invincible and X-Men '97 proved the medium can carry the most compelling superhero stories around.

• 00:00:00 DC Studios' Big Annecy Announcements
• 00:00:04 Absolute Batman Gets an Animated Series
• 00:00:29 Joker: Laugh Riot, DC's First Anime
• 00:00:57 Krypto and the SpongeBob Connection
• 00:01:17 Why Animation Is No Longer a Side Project for DC
• 00:01:32 Listener Question and Sign Off

• Absolute Batman is getting an animated series with Scott Snyder showrunning and artist Nick Dragotta producing, so the comic's creative team stays intact. No release date yet.
• The Absolute Batman comic has sold more than 6 million copies, with the first volume already on its 11th printing. This version is a working-class Bruce Wayne with no fortune, no manor, only one parent lost, and a civil engineer who builds all his own tools.
• Joker: Laugh Riot is an anime from WB Animation, DC Studios, and Japan's SOLA Entertainment, the studio behind The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, with the same director attached.
• The Joker story is original: after Batman is killed, the Joker tears through Gotham's underworld hunting the culprit, because he realizes he does not know who he is without Batman.
• The Krypto series is the furthest out and the most lighthearted, following Superman's dog as he runs with a gang of misfit criminals. C.H. Greenblatt of SpongeBob fame is developing it, so expect that playful energy.
• The bigger story is that DC is putting real weight behind animation now, with Mister Miracle from Tom King and more on the way. Following the lead of Invincible and X-Men '97, animation is where these comic-accurate stories can truly shine.

• "If you're not on the absolute train yet, get on it. It's so good."
• "He works on the city during the day, fights crime at night, and he's beefy as hell."
• "Animation is no longer a side project for these guys. They're actually putting a lot of mustard behind this."

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Are you reading Absolute Batman? What are you most excited to see animated? Drop your questions and hot takes in the comments, and we may read them on a future episode.

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