Line of comic books under the Black Label imprint owned by DC Comics
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.
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 and the Justice League .[ 5] [ 6] Murphy said that his comic book line is DC's equivalent of Marvel Comics ' Ultimate imprint: "I feel like I've got all the freedom in the world and my own universe, Batman. I mean, like, everyone wants that. So I don't know how I ended up here. But it's like Marvel's Ultimate Line but with Gotham City ."[ 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
See also
References
^ Perry, Spencer (March 2, 2020). "Batman: DC Comics Wants Full Murphyverse Line from White Knight Writer/Artist" . ComicBook.com . Retrieved March 10, 2022 .
^ Garófalo, Nicolaos (March 2, 2020). "DC encomenda linha de HQs de autor Batman: Cavaleiro Branco" . Omelete (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 14, 2022 .
^ Johnston, Rich (March 3, 2020). "Sean Gordon Murphy's The White Knight Returns… With New Creative Teams for the Murphyverse" . Bleeding Cool . Retrieved March 12, 2022 .
^ Gomes, Fábio de Souza (April 16, 2018). "Batman: White Knight - Sean Murphy define regras para universo baseado na HQ" . Omelete (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 12, 2022 .
^ a b McMillan, Graeme (July 23, 2019). "How 'Curse of the White Knight' Explores Batman's Hidden Past" . The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 23, 2022 .
^ Mably, Timothy (February 28, 2022). "Justice League of 'Batman: White Knight' Planned for Future DC Stories" . Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Williams, Nickolas (August 9, 2022). "DC Writer Officially Confirms Their Version of Marvel's Ultimate Universe" . Screen Rant . Retrieved August 12, 2022 .
^ "BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT #1" . DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ McGuire, Liam (January 22, 2020). "Batman: White Knight Makes SHOCKING Change To Bruce Wayne's History" . Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Dyce, Andrew (August 16, 2019). "Exclusive Preview: Batman White Knight Presents VON FREEZE" . Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Aguilar, Matthew (July 16, 2020). "Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn Spinoff Series Announced" . ComicBook.com . Retrieved March 6, 2022 .
^ Terror, Jude (December 15, 2021). "Batman: Beyond the White Knight by Sean Murphy Launches in March" . Bleeding Cool . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Corley, Shaun (February 26, 2022). "Red Hood's Jason Todd Will Lead His Own 'White Knight' Miniseries" . Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Gribbin, Sean (February 14, 2023). "DC's White Knight Universe Expands With New Superman, Joker Series" . Comic Book Resources . Retrieved February 14, 2023 .
^ Kurten, Guillermo (January 26, 2022). "Batman: 9 New DC Comic Book Series To Look Forward To In 2022" . Screen Rant . Retrieved January 26, 2022 .
^ Johnston, Rich (February 14, 2023). "Generation Joker & World's Finest For White Knight Murphyverse" . Bleeding Cool . Retrieved February 14, 2023 .
^ Matadeen, Renaldo (March 2, 2020). "Sean Murphy to Oversee White Knight Imprint With Nightwing, Batgirl & More" . Comic Book Resources . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Leane, Rob (September 26, 2018). "Batman: White Knight graphic novel review – the Joker goes sane!" . Den of Geek . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Bull, Clark (May 14, 2019). "Mister Miracle and Batman: The White Knight Now Available in New, Exclusive Hardcover Editions" . DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved March 6, 2022 .
^ "BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT-THE DELUXE EDITION" . DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ Murphy, Sean [@seangordonmurphy] (September 12, 2020). "The collected Batman: Curse of the White Knight is coming out September 15th. This is the French edition--a lot of collectors prefer these because of the higher print quality and (possibly) larger size. Plus they also have an uncolored edition that sells REALLY well in France. I know there are bonus sketches and stuff in the back of these--not sure how much" . Retrieved March 5, 2022 – via Instagram .
^ "BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT 2020 BATMAN DAY SPECIAL EDITION #1" . DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved August 23, 2022 .
^ "BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT PRESENTS: HARLEY QUINN" . DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved March 5, 2022 .
^ "Batman: Beyond the White Knight Showcase Edition" . DC Comics.com . DC Comics . April 28, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022 .
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