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. Although it currently does not have an official name, the line is commonly referred to as the "Murphyverse".
In revealing vision for the Murphyverse, Murphy laid out six rules that all writers and illustrators must follow when creating stories for it: 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.
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. Murphy considered his comic book line as DC's equivalent of Marvel Comics' Ultimate imprint.
Publications Featured titles Title Issues Publication date Writer(s) Artist(s) Letterer(s) Colorist(s) Released Batman: White Knight #1–8 – Sean Murphy Todd Klein Matt Hollingsworth Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8 – Sean Murphy AndWorld Design Matt Hollingsworth Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1 Sean Murphy Klaus Janson AndWorld Design Matt Hollingsworth Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #1–6 – Katana CollinsSean Murphy Matteo Scalera AndWorld Design Dave Stewart Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–8 – Sean Murphy AndWorld Design Dave Stewart Batman: White Knight Presents: Red Hood #1–2 – Sean MurphyClay McCormack Simone Di MeoGeorge Kambadais AndWorld Design Dave Stewart Batman: White Knight Presents: Generation Joker #1–6 – Katana CollinsClay McCormackSean Murphy Mirka Andolfo D. C. Hopkins Alejandro Sánchez In development Untitled Batman: Beyond the White Knight sequel TBA TBA Sean Murphy TBA TBA TBA Untitled Catwoman series TBA TBA Clay McCormack TBA TBA TBA Untitled Superman series TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA World's Finest: White Knight TBA TBA Sean Murphy Sean Murphy TBA TBA Unproduced Untitled Batgirl series N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 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 Batman: White Knight Batman: White Knight #1–8 232 Complete Batman: White Knight – The Hardcover Edition Batman: White Knight #1–8 232 Hardcover Batman: White Knight – The Deluxe Edition Batman: White Knight #1–8 232 Deluxe Batman: Curse of the White Knight Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1 272 Complete Batman: Curse of the White Knight 2020 Batman Day Special Edition Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1 33 Special N/A Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn Batman: White Knight Presents: Harley Quinn #1–6 and a story from Harley Quinn Black + White + Red #6 168 Complete Batman: Beyond the White Knight Showcase Edition Batman: Beyond the White Knight #1–2 48 Prestige N/A Batman: Curse of the White Knight – The Deluxe Edition Batman: Curse of the White Knight #1–8 and Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze #1 280 Deluxe 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 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 N/A Batman: White Knight: Absolute Edition May 12, 2026 Batman: White Knight #1–8 400 Absolute 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 N/A
See also The Sandman Universe
References