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You’re probably tired of us harping on about how big a hit Absolute Batman has been for DC Comics, but, if anything, we’re probably understating it. In fact, the entire Absolute line of comics has sold so well that, according to DC Comics President and Publisher Jim Lee, the company has had its best year ever.

“We’re kicking ass in publishing,” Jim Lee rather bluntly said when a fan suggested DC was in a “slump” at the moment during the Jim Lee Spotlight panel at San Diego Comic Con 2026. “We had the single best year in the history of DC Comics.”

If someone would have access to data to confirm that is legit, it would be Jim Lee. While Lee didn’t give any specific data – or even quantify how he was judging that success – to back up that statement, he did mention a couple of things that have driven sales for the company. “Obviously the Absolute line, the quickness of it. The comics line. DC Finest. DC Go. We’re putting stuff out for young readers. Middle readers. Young adult. Middle readers. Libraries. Dollar Tree. We are putting comics everywhere.”

While Lee acknowledged that other media outside the comics have not always been successful, he did mention that, while not every DC project has achieved success, “they put their heart and soul into every production.”

This puts an exclamation point on what we reported earlier this year, when DC's longtime VP of sales & marketing Nancy Spears told retailers that "[2025] was a hell of a year, from a second Hush, to a new Batman, to a certain crossover with a caped crusader and a merc with a mouth, and... well, lets see... some small titles called All In...?"

We know that the Absolute line of comics, with Absolute Batman as its center, is driving sales for DC Comics, so Jim Lee’s assertion that the publisher has seen its best year ever is surprising but not entirely shocking. How long that particular gravy train continues to run remains to be seen.

Need more? Here's our picks for the best DC Comics stories of all time.