Murphyverse
Line of comic books under the Black Label imprint owned by DC Comics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Murphyverse is the unofficial name given to a line of American comic books created by writer/artist Sean Murphy, and published by DC Comics under its Black Label imprint.
| "Murphyverse" thematic stories | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Publication information | |||
| Publisher | DC Comics (Black Label) | ||
| Schedule | Varied | ||
| |||
| Formats | Varied | ||
| Original language | English | ||
| Genre | |||
| Publication date | 2017–2023 | ||
| Creative team | |||
| Writer(s) | Varied | ||
| Artist(s) | Varied | ||
| Letterer(s) | Varied | ||
| Colorist(s) | Varied | ||
Development
Following the critical and commercial success of Batman: White Knight (2017–18) and its sequels Batman: Curse of the White Knight (2019–20) and Batman: Beyond the White Knight (2022–23) — three limited series created by Sean Murphy — DC Comics was reportedly interested in creating a comic book line centered around Murphy's works, with him overseeing the making of each comic as they are developed by different creative teams and then published by DC under its Black Label imprint.[1] Although it currently does not have an official name, the line is commonly referred to as the "Murphyverse".[2]
In revealing vision for the Murphyverse, Murphy laid out six rules that all writers and illustrators must follow when creating stories for it:[3] First, any character that dies cannot be subsequently resurrected; second, there can be no internal monologues; third, no series can be rushed; fourth, the authors of the books must have as their primary focus the goal of pleasing their readers; fifth, there must be at least one vehicle, such as the Batmobile, in each comic; and sixth, no series may crossover with another, despite taking place in the same shared universe.[4]
While the Murphyverse has so far focused on the superhero Batman and his overall cast of supporting characters, Murphy has indicated that he plans to expand the line with the release of comics based on other DC characters and teams, such as Superman, Wonder Woman and the Justice League.[5][6] Murphy considered his comic book line as DC's equivalent of Marvel Comics' Ultimate imprint.[7]
Publications
Featured titles
| Title | Issues | Publication date | Writer(s) | Artist(s) | Letterer(s) | Colorist(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Released | |||||||
| Batman: White Knight | #1–8 | October 4, 2017 – May 9, 2018 | Sean Murphy | Todd Klein | Matt Hollingsworth | [8] | |
| Batman: Curse of the White Knight | #1–8 | July 24, 2019 – March 25, 2020 | Sean Murphy | AndWorld Design | Matt Hollingsworth | [9] | |
| Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze | #1 | November 20, 2019 | Sean Murphy | Klaus Janson | AndWorld Design | Matt Hollingsworth | [10] |
| Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn | #1–6 | October 20, 2020 – March 23, 2021 | Katana Collins Sean Murphy |
Matteo Scalera | AndWorld Design | Dave Stewart | [11] |
| Batman: Beyond the White Knight | #1–8 | March 29, 2022 – February 14, 2023 | Sean Murphy | AndWorld Design | Dave Stewart | [12] | |
| Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood | #1–2 | August 2, 2022 – August 23, 2022 | Sean Murphy Clay McCormack |
Simone Di Meo George Kambadais |
AndWorld Design | Dave Stewart | [13] |
| Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker | #1–6 | May 9, 2023 – October 17, 2023 | Katana Collins Clay McCormack Sean Murphy |
Mirka Andolfo | D. C. Hopkins | Alejandro Sánchez | [14] |
| In development | |||||||
| Untitled Batman: Beyond the White Knight sequel | TBA | TBA | Sean Murphy | TBA | TBA | TBA | [15] |
| Untitled Catwoman series | TBA | TBA | Clay McCormack | TBA | TBA | TBA | |
| Untitled Superman series | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | TBA | [5] |
| World's Finest: White Knight | TBA | TBA | Sean Murphy | Sean Murphy | TBA | TBA | [16] |
| Unproduced | |||||||
| Untitled Batgirl series | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | [17] |
| Untitled Nightwing series | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | |
Collected editions
| Title | Publication date | Collected material | Pages | Format | ISBN | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batman: White Knight | October 9, 2018 | Batman: White Knight #1–8 | 232 | Complete | 978-1401279592 | [18] |
| Batman: White Knight – The Hardcover Edition | May 15, 2019 | Batman: White Knight #1–8 | 232 | Hardcover | 978-1401298821 | [19] |
| Batman: White Knight – The Deluxe Edition | March 4, 2020 | Batman: White Knight #1–8 | 232 | Deluxe | 978-1779500649 | [20] |
| Batman: Curse of the White Knight | September 15, 2020 | Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1 | 272 | Complete | 978-1779504487 | [21] |
| Batman: Curse of the White Knight 2020 Batman Day Special Edition | September 19, 2020 | Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1 | 33 | Special | N/A | [22] |
| Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn | June 29, 2021 | Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #1–6 and a story from Harley Quinn Black + White + Red #6 | 168 | Complete | 978-1779514912 | [23] |
| Batman: Beyond the White Knight Showcase Edition | May 31, 2022 | Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–2 | 48 | Prestige | N/A | [24] |
| Batman: Curse of the White Knight – The Deluxe Edition | September 27, 2022 | Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1 | 280 | Deluxe | 978-1779516817 | N/A |
| Batman: Beyond the White Knight | June 2023 | Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Red Hood #1–2 | 280 | Complete | N/A | N/A |
| Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker | April 16, 2024 | Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker #1–6 | 156 | Complete | 978-1779524904 | N/A |
| Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn and Generation Joker: The Deluxe Edition | September 2, 2025 | Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #1–6 and Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker #1–6 | 368 | Deluxe | 978-1799502708 | N/A |
| Batman: White Knight: Absolute Edition | May 12, 2026 | Batman: White Knight #1–8 | 400 | Absolute | 978-1799507987 | N/A |
| Batman: Beyond the White Knight: The Deluxe Edition | December 8, 2026 | Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Red Hood #1–2 | 272 | Deluxe | 978-1799500810 | N/A |