Batman: DC Comics Wants Full Murphyverse Line from White Knight Writer/Artist

No stranger to alternate Earths and Elseworlds stories, DC Comics is about to bet big on one of its most popular new universes. Batman: White Knight creator Sean Gordon Murphy has revealed that his line of comics, set in an alternate universe where the Joker has recovered from his insanity and puts himself on a collision course with a Batman that takes his villain beat downs a step too far, is being expanded into its own “mini imprint.” Murphy made the announcement on Twitter after a fan asked how many more stories in the world he had ideas for, with the writer/artist revealing what characters will get their own comics.

“So BIG NEWS actually,” Murphy tweeted. “DC wants a mini imprint of White Knight. I’ll write the bones for new minis, and they’ll set up the writer/artist team. It’ll be done between new volumes of Batman White Knight. It’ll be the Murphyverse. Stay tuned for books on Harley, Nightwing and Batgirl.”

Two volumes of the “White Knight” universe have been published so far with Batman: White Knight becoming a frequent best seller since it debuted in 2017 and Batman: Curse of the White Knight #7 concluding the second arc just last week. There’s also a one shot titled Batman: White Knight Presents Von Freeze, a one-shot about the universe’s version of Mr. Freeze, that was published between the two volumes.

“We know Joker’s a genius, we know he’s relentless, and we know he can play the crowd, so why not make him a politician?” Murphy said about this alternate universe when the series launched. “Why not strip away the psychosis (the thing that’s holding him back) and let him challenge Batman unimpeded? And to make it even scarier, what if he did it legally and without breaking any rules, so that Batman couldn’t stop him?”

The White Knight universe features drastic departures from the regular DC Universe beyond just The Joker and Batman as it has previously revealed surprising twists like making Mr. Freeze’s father a Nazi (though also a double agent working for the US), Harley Quinn actually being two different people (and the Joker not noticing), plus the death of a number of high profile characters at the hands of its version of Azrael. All of this will no doubt make the alternate universe ripe for exploration, and as sales have shown the readership will no doubt have an interest.

A third volume of the White Knight series, Beyond the White Knight, was previously announced by Murphy. Though the plot of this volume is not currently known, the use of “Beyond” could see Murphy’s take on the Terry McGinnis, especially since Curse of the White Knight saw so many characters end up in the morgue.