Murphyverse

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"Murphyverse" thematic stories
Publication information
Publisher DC Comics (Black Label)
ScheduleVaried
Title(s)
List of publications
FormatsVaried
Original language English
Genre
Publication date 2017
Creative team
Writer(s)Varied
Artist(s)Varied
Letterer(s)Varied
Colorist(s)Varied

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.

Contents

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 series 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] In August 2022, 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

TitleIssuesPublication dateWriter(s)Artist(s)Letterer(s)Colorist(s)Ref.
Released
Batman: White Knight #1–8October 4, 2017 – May 9, 2018 Sean Murphy Todd Klein Matt Hollingsworth [8]
Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8July 24, 2019 – March 25, 2020Sean MurphyAndWorld DesignMatt Hollingsworth [9]
Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1November 20, 2019Sean Murphy Klaus Janson AndWorld DesignMatt Hollingsworth [10]
Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #1–6October 20, 2020 – March 23, 2021Katana Collins
Sean Murphy		Matteo ScaleraAndWorld Design Dave Stewart [11]
Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–8March 29, 2022 – February 14, 2023Sean MurphyAndWorld DesignDave Stewart [12]
Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood #1–2August 2, 2022 – August 23, 2022Sean Murphy
Clay McCormack		Simone Di Meo
George Kambadais		AndWorld DesignDave Stewart [13]
Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker#1–6May 9, 2023 – October 17, 2023Katana Collins
Clay McCormack
Sean Murphy		 Mirka Andolfo D. C. HopkinsAlejandro Sánchez [14]
In development
Untitled Batman: Beyond the White Knight sequel TBATBASean MurphyTBATBATBA [15]
Untitled Catwoman seriesTBATBAClay McCormackTBATBATBA
Untitled Superman seriesTBATBATBATBATBATBA [5]
World's Finest: White KnightTBATBASean MurphySean MurphyTBATBA [16]
Unproduced
Untitled Batgirl seriesN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A [17]
Untitled Nightwing seriesN/AN/AN/AN/AN/AN/A

Collected editions

TitlePublication dateCollected materialPagesFormat ISBN Ref.
Batman: White KnightOctober 9, 2018Batman: White Knight #1–8232 Complete 978-1401279592 [18]
Batman: White Knight – The Hardcover EditionMay 15, 2019Batman: White Knight #1–8232 Hardcover 978-1401298821 [19]
Batman: White Knight – The Deluxe EditionMarch 4, 2020Batman: White Knight #1–8232 Deluxe 978-1779500649 [20]
Batman: Curse of the White KnightSeptember 15, 2020Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1272 Complete 978-1779504487 [21]
Batman: Curse of the White Knight 2020 Batman Day Special EditionSeptember 19, 2020Batman: Curse of the White Knight #133 Special N/A [22]
Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley QuinnJune 29, 2021Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #1–6 and a story from Harley Quinn Black + White + Red #6168 Complete 978-1779514912 [23]
Batman: Beyond the White Knight Showcase EditionMay 31, 2022Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–248 Prestige N/A [24]
Batman: Curse of the White Knight – The Deluxe EditionSeptember 27, 2022Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1280 Deluxe 978-1779516817 N/A
Batman: Beyond the White KnightJune 2023Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Red Hood #1–2280 Complete N/AN/A
Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation JokerApril 16, 2024Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker #1–6156 Complete 978-1779524904 N/A

See also

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Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood is an American comic book published by DC Comics under its Black Label imprint. The two-issue limited series - co-written by Sean Murphy and Clay McCormack, illustrated by Simone Di Meo and George Kambadais, lettered by AndWorld Design and colored by Dave Stewart - began publication on August 2, 2022 and ended on the 23rd of the same month. It is both a spin-off and a prequel to Murphy's Batman: Beyond the White Knight (2022), and is also the sixth installment in his self-titled Murphyverse comic book line.

References

  1. ↑ Perry, Spencer (March 2, 2020). "Batman: DC Comics Wants Full Murphyverse Line from White Knight Writer/Artist". ComicBook.com . Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  2. ↑ Garófalo, Nicolaos (March 2, 2020). "DC encomenda linha de HQs de autor Batman: Cavaleiro Branco". Omelete (in Portuguese). Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  3. ↑ 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.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 McMillan, Graeme (July 23, 2019). "How 'Curse of the White Knight' Explores Batman's Hidden Past". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  6. ↑ Mably, Timothy (February 28, 2022). "Justice League of 'Batman: White Knight' Planned for Future DC Stories". Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  7. ↑ Williams, Nickolas (August 9, 2022). "DC Writer Officially Confirms Their Version of Marvel's Ultimate Universe". Screen Rant . Retrieved August 12, 2022.
  8. ↑ "BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT #1". DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  9. ↑ McGuire, Liam (January 22, 2020). "Batman: White Knight Makes SHOCKING Change To Bruce Wayne's History". Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  10. ↑ Dyce, Andrew (August 16, 2019). "Exclusive Preview: Batman White Knight Presents VON FREEZE". Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  11. ↑ Aguilar, Matthew (July 16, 2020). "Batman: White Knight Presents Harley Quinn Spinoff Series Announced". ComicBook.com . Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  12. ↑ Terror, Jude (December 15, 2021). "Batman: Beyond the White Knight by Sean Murphy Launches in March". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  13. ↑ Corley, Shaun (February 26, 2022). "Red Hood's Jason Todd Will Lead His Own 'White Knight' Miniseries". Screen Rant . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  14. ↑ Gribbin, Sean (February 14, 2023). "DC's White Knight Universe Expands With New Superman, Joker Series". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  15. ↑ Kurten, Guillermo (January 26, 2022). "Batman: 9 New DC Comic Book Series To Look Forward To In 2022". Screen Rant . Retrieved January 26, 2022.
  16. ↑ Johnston, Rich (February 14, 2023). "Generation Joker & World's Finest For White Knight Murphyverse". Bleeding Cool . Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  17. ↑ Matadeen, Renaldo (March 2, 2020). "Sean Murphy to Oversee White Knight Imprint With Nightwing, Batgirl & More". Comic Book Resources . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  18. ↑ Leane, Rob (September 26, 2018). "Batman: White Knight graphic novel review – the Joker goes sane!". Den of Geek . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  19. ↑ 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.
  20. ↑ "BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT-THE DELUXE EDITION". DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  21. ↑ 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.
  22. ↑ "BATMAN: CURSE OF THE WHITE KNIGHT 2020 BATMAN DAY SPECIAL EDITION #1". DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  23. ↑ "BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT PRESENTS: HARLEY QUINN". DC Comics.com . DC Comics . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Batman: Beyond the White Knight Showcase Edition". DC Comics.com . DC Comics. April 28, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
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