| DC Black Label | |
| Parent: | DC Comics |
| Status: | Active |
| Predecessor: | Vertigo Comics |
| Country: | United States |
| Headquarters: | New York City |
| Publications: | Comic books |
| Genre: | Superhero |
DC Black Label (also referred to simply as Black Label) is an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics consisting of original miniseries and reprints of books previously published under other imprints. The imprint intends to present traditional DC Universe characters for a mature audience with stand-alone Prestige Format series.[1] The first title of the imprint, , was shipped on September 19, 2018.[2]
Single issues of comic books that are issued under the Black Label line will be published in Prestige Format. If a comic book series exceeds a miniseries run length, it will be published in standard format. All series are eventually collected in hardcover format.
Black Label was launched in September 2018. Black Label is designed for writers and artists to create more adult oriented/"edgy" stories, without having to follow the rules of continuity and age ratings.
With the discontinuation of DC's Vertigo imprint, new and current series, as well as reprints of old titles, are being published under the DC Black Label imprint beginning in 2020.[3] Some series reprinted include The Sandman, Fables, , The Sleeper, Sweet Tooth, Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Swamp Thing, Watchmen, IZombie, etc. Continuations of Vertigo series are published under the Black Label line, such as Sweet Tooth: The Return and Fables #151 - 162.
Many series released by DC Black Label focus on characters from the DC Universe, with stories described as darker or more mature, or reinventions of existing characters.
Geoff Johns said that the Black Label stories do not always have to exist outside of the main universe canon. Stories which may not intentionally exist within the main universe upon release can be folded into the main universe dependant on their success or popularity.[4]
Tom King, speaking on the topic of continuity with mainline DC,[5] has said that there are three major categories, based on DC published during the 1980s. Comics in one category have nothing to do with the DC Universe. In the second category are stories which could exist in hypothetical futures of mainstream continuity, such as The Dark Knight Returns, and these stories are set in a hypothetical future in mainstream continuity, which may or may not happen. In the third category are stories which happen with the DCU but aren't taking place with the monthly books that DC publishes, but, like The Killing Joke, might have an impact on it if the writer choose so.
| Comic books | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Issues | Publication date | Writer | Artist | ||
| Released | ||||||
| – | Brian Azzarello | Lee Bermejo | [6] [7] | ||
| Superman: Year One | – | Frank Miller | John Romita Jr. | [8] | ||
| Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child |
| Rafael Grampá | [9] | |||
| Harleen |
| – | Stjepan Šejić | [10] | ||
| Batman: Last Knight on Earth | – | Scott Snyder | Greg Capullo | [11] | ||
| Joker: Killer Smile | – | Jeff Lemire | Andrea Sorrentino | [12] | ||
| Birds of Prey |
| Brian Azzarello | Emanuela Lupacchino | [13] | ||
| The Last God: Sourcebook | Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Riccardo Federici | [14] | |||
| Batman: The Smile Killer | Jeff Lemire | Andrea Sorrentino | [15] | |||
| Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity - Secret Files | Kami Garcia Ed Kurz | David Mack Jason Badower | [16] | |||
| Wonder Woman: Dead Earth |
| – | Daniel Warren Johnson | [17] | ||
| The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage | – | Jeff Lemire | Denys Cowan | |||
| The Last God: Songs of Lost Children |
| Dan Watters | Steve Beach | [18] | ||
| – | Geoff Johns | Jason Fabok | [19] | ||
| The Last God |
| – | Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Riccardo Federici | [20] | |
| Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey |
| – | Amanda Conner Jimmy Palmiotti | Arthur Adams | [21] | |
| Hellblazer: Rise and Fall |
| – | Tom Taylor | Darick Robertson | [22] | |
| Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity |
| – | Kami Garcia | Mike Mayhew Mico Suayan | [23] | |
| Sweet Tooth: The Return |
| – | Jeff Lemire | [24] | ||
| The Other History of the DC Universe |
| – | John Ridley | Giuseppe Camuncoli | [25] | |
| American Vampire 1976 |
| – | Scott Snyder | Rafael Albuquerque | [26] | |
| Rorschach |
| – | Tom King | Jorge Fornés | [27] | |
| Strange Adventures | – | Mitch Gerads Evan "Doc" Shaner | [28] | |||
| Batman: Reptilian |
| – | Garth Ennis | Liam Sharp | [29] | |
| – | Mattson Tomlin | Andrea Sorrentino | [30] | ||
| Peacemaker Disturbing the Peace |
| Garth Ennis | Garry Brown | [31] | ||
| Batman/Catwoman Special | Tom King | John Paul Leon | [32] | |||
| Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham |
| – | Bill Willingham | Brian Level | [33] | |
| Superman vs. Lobo |
| – | Tim Seeley Sarah Beattie | Mirka Andolfo | [34] | |
| Suicide Squad: Get Joker! | – | Brian Azzarello | Alex Maleev | [35] | ||
| Batman/Catwoman |
| – | Tom King | Clay Mann | [36] | |
| Suicide Squad: Blaze |
| – | Simon Spurrier | Aaron Campbell | [37] | |
| Batman: One Dark Knight | – | Jock | [38] | |||
| Tales of the Human Target |
| Tom King | Greg Smallwood | [39] | ||
| Rogues |
| – | Joshua Williamson | Leomacs | [40] | |
| Aquaman: Andromeda |
| – | Ram V | Christian Ward | [41] | |
| Catwoman: Lonely City |
| – | Cliff Chiang | [42] | ||
| The Nice House on the Lake |
| – | James Tynion IV | Álvaro Martínez Bueno | [43] | |
| Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons |
| – | Kelly Sue DeConnick | Phil Jimenez Gene Ha Nicola Scott | ||
| Human Target |
| – | Tom King | Greg Smallwood | [44] | |
| Swamp Thing: Green Hell |
| – | Jeff Lemire | Doug Mahnke | [45] | |
| Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo |
| – | Marc Silvestri | [46] | ||
| – | Paul Dano | Stevan Subic | [47] | ||
| Peacemaker Tries Hard |
| – | Kyle Starks | Steve Pugh | [48] | |
| Danger Street |
| – | Tom King | Jorge Fornés | [49] | |
| Waller vs. WildStorm |
| – | Spencer Ackerman Evan Narcisse | Eric Battle | [50] | |
| Batman: City of Madness |
| - | Christian Ward | [51] | ||
| Fables |
| – | Bill Willingham | Mark Buckingham | ||
| The Bat-Man: First Knight |
| – May 21, 2024 | Dan Jurgens | Mike Perkins | [52] | |
| The Boy Wonder |
| - September 4, 2024 | Juni Ba | [53] | ||
| Zatanna: Bring Down the House |
| - October 23, 2024 | Mariko Tamaki | Javier Rodríguez | [54] | |
| Publishing | ||||||
| Superman: The Last Days of Lex Luthor |
| July 25, 2023 – TBD | Mark Waid | [55] [56] | ||
| Batman: Gargoyle of Gotham |
| – TBD | Rafael Grampá | [57] | ||
| The Nice House By The Sea |
| July 24, 2024 - TBD | James Tynion IV | Álvaro Martínez Bueno | [58] | |
| John Constantine, Hellblazer Dead in America |
| January 16, 2024 - November 20, 2024 | Simon Spurrier | Aaron Campbell | [59] | |
| Jenny Sparks |
| August 21, 2024 - TBD | Tom King | Jeff Spokes | ||
| Plastic Man No More! |
| September 4, 2024 - December 4, 2024 | Christopher Cantwell | Alex Lins | ||
| Batman: Full Moon |
| October 16, 2024 - TBD | Rodney Barnes | Stevan Subic | ||
| Upcoming | ||||||
| Unproduced | ||||||
| Wonder Woman: Diana's Daughter | TBD | [60] | ||||
Several lines occur under the Black Label imprint. Each of these Lines are often shared under the same creative umbrella with some sort of connections between each series, whether that be through creative teams, shared universe or even thematically.
See main article: The Sandman Universe. The line was launched in order to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (1989–1996) and for Vertigo's 25th anniversary. The line began in August 2018 with The Sandman Universe being unveiled by creator Neil Gaiman. This line was initially published under the Vertigo label, but DC closed the Vertigo line in January 2020 as part of a reorganization of age-directed imprints. All Sandman Universe titles are currently published under DC Black Label.
See also: Basketful of Heads. Hill House Comics is a pop-up horror line of comics founded and curated by Joe Hill under DC Black Label. The first title, Basketful of Heads #1, written by Joe Hill, was released on October 30, 2019. There is also a backup story, Sea Dogs, written by Joe Hill in every comic series, with each chapter of this story following the order of when each comic issue under Hill House Comics was released.[61] A Sea Dogs trade paperback was published in a trade paperback format as part of a Hill House Box Set that collected all the backup stories and added additional pages.[62] The latest series in this imprint, Refrigerator Full of Heads was a sequel to the first series released and concluded in April 2022.[63] [64]
| Hill House Comics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Issues | Publication date | Writer | Artist | ||
| Released | ||||||
| Basketful of Heads |
| – | Joe Hill | Leomacs | [65] | |
| The Dollhouse Family |
| – | Mike Carey | Peter Gross Vince Locke | ||
| The Low, Low, Woods | – | Carmen Maria Machado | Dani | |||
| Daphne Byrne | – | Laura Marks | Kelley Jones | |||
| Plunge | – | Joe Hill | Stuart Immonen | |||
| Sea Dogs | Backup stories | October 26, 2021 | Joe Hill | Dan McDaid | ||
| Refrigerator Full of Heads |
| – | Rio Youers | Tom Fowler | [66] | |
See main article: Murphyverse. By March 2020, following the success of (2017–2018) and (2019–2020), both comics created by Sean Murphy, DC was reportedly interested in creating a mini-imprint centered around Murphy's works.[67] Referred to as the "Murphyverse", the imprint intends to feature limited series set in the shared universe first established in the White Knight series.[68] The main line titles in this universe have been written and drawn by Murphy himself, with spin-offs being written and drawn by other creators.
Through DC Black Label a number of series have been reprinted under this label. Be that original titles originally published under DC Vertigo, Wildstorm or titles originally published by DC Comics
| Title | Material collected | Writer | Artist | Pages | Publication date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 Bullets Book One (2024 Edition) | 100 Bullets #1-19 and a short story from Vertigo: Winter’s Edge #3. | Brian Azzarello | Eduardo Risso | 453 | April 2, 2024 |
| 100 Bullets: Book Two (2025 Edition) | 100 Bullets #20-36 | 416 | April 22, 2025 | ||
| Animal Man by Grant Morrison and Chaz Truog Compendium |
| Grant Morrison | Chaz Truog | 712 | October 1, 2024 |
| Animal Man Omnibus (2022 Edition) | August 23, 2022 | ||||
| Batman: White Knight | Batman: White Knight #1-8 | Sean Murphy | 232 | October 9, 2018 | |
| Bodies | Bodies #1-8 | Si Spencer | Meghan Hetrick, Dean Ormston, Tula Lotay and Phil Winslade | 208 | October 31, 2023 |
| DC: The New Frontier #1-6 | Darwyn Cooke | 407 | February 19, 2019 | ||
| DMZ: Compendium One | DMZ #1-36 | Brian Wood | Riccardo Burcchielli | 840 | March 31, 2020 |
| DMZ: Compendium Two | DMZ #37-72 | 824 | January 11, 2022 | ||
| Fables Compendium One | Fables #1-41, Fables: The Last Castle, A Wolf in the Fold, Fables: 1,001 Nights of Snowfall | Bill Willingham | Mark Buckingham | 1180 | October 20, 2020 |
| Fables: Compendium Two | Fables #42–82 | 1402 | May 11, 2021 | ||
| Fables: Compendium Three | Fables #83–113; Jack of Fables #33–35, The Literals #1–3, Fables: Werewolves of the Heartland #1, Pinocchio's Army | 1094 | August 24, 2021 | ||
| Fables: Compendium Four | Fables #114–150 | 909 | December 21, 2021 | ||
| Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters Saga Omnibus Volume 1 | Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters #1-3, Green Arrow #1-50, and a story from Secret Origins #38 | Mike Grell | 1536 | September 1, 2020 | |
| Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters Saga Omnibus Volume 2 | Green Arrow #51-80, Green Arrow: The Wonder Year #1-4, Shado: Song of the Dragon #1-4, The Brave and the Bold #1-6, Green Arrow Annual #4, 6, | 1480 | December 28, 2021 | ||
| iZombie Omnibus (2023 Edition) | iZombie #1-28 | Chris Roberson | Micheal Allred | 656 | October 24, 2023 |
| Joker: 10th Anniversary Edition | Joker 2008 | Brian Azzarello | Lee Bermejo | 144 | July 3rd 2019 |
| Luthor 10th Anniversary Edition | Lex Luthor: Man of Steel #1-5 | 144 | July 9th, 2019 | ||
| Saga of the Swamp Thing Box Set | Saga of the Swamp Thing Volume #1-6 | Alan Moore | Stephen Bissette, John Totleben, Rick Veitch and Alfredo Alcalá | 1238 | December 27, 2021 |
| Scalped Omnibus Volume 1 | Scalped #1-29 | Jason Aaron | R.M. Guera | 752 | November 12th, 2024 |
| Scalped Omnibus Volume 2 | Scalped #30-60 | 768 | February 4th, 2025 | ||
| Sweet Tooth Compendium | Sweet Tooth #1-40 | Jeff Lemire | 920 | June 8th, 2021 | |
| The Sleeper Omnibus (2022 Edition) | POINT BLANK #1-5, SLEEPER #1-24, COUP D'ETAT: SLEEPER #1 and COUP D'ETAT: AFTERWARD #1 | Ed Brubaker | Sean Phillips | 736 | December 27th, 2022 |
| V for Vendetta | V for Vendetta #1-10 | Alan Moore | David Loyd | 296 | November 17, 2021 |
| Watchmen | Watchmen #1-12 | Dave Gibbons | 414 | May 20th, 2019 | |
| Compendium One | Y: The Last Man #1-31 | Brian K. Vaughan | Pia Guerra | 728 | November 10, 2020 |
| Y: The Last Man Compendium Two | Y: The Last Man #32-60 | 704 | March 8, 2022 | ||
| Collected editions | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | Material collected | Format | Writer | Artist | Pages | Publication date | ISBN | |
| Batman: Damned #1–3 | HC | Brian Azzarello | Lee Bermejo | 160 | ||||
| Superman: Year One | Superman: Year One #1–3 | HC | Frank Miller | John Romita Jr. | 160 | |||
| Harleen | Harleen #1–3 | HC | Stjepan Šejić | 160 | ||||
| Batman: Last Knight on Earth | Batman: Last Knight on Earth #1–3 | HC | Scott Snyder | Greg Capullo | 184 | |||
| Basketful of Heads | Basketful of Heads #1–7 | HC | Joe Hill | Leomacs Dave Stewart | 184 | |||
| Joker: Killer Smile | Joker: Killer Smile #1–3 and Batman: The Smile Killer #1 | HC | Jeff Lemire | Andrea Sorrentino | 160 | |||
| Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child – The Deluxe Edition | Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child | HC | Frank Miller | Rafael Grampa | 80 | |||
| John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 1: Marks of Woe | The Sandman Universe Presents: Hellblazer #1, John Constantine, Hellblazer #1–6, and The Books of Magic #14 | HC | Simon Spurrier | Aaron Campbell | 216 | |||
| The Low, Low Woods | The Low, Low Woods #1–6 | HC | Carmen Maria Machado | Dani | 160 | |||
| The Dollhouse Family | The Dollhouse Family #1–6 | HC | Mike Carey | Peter Gross Vince Locke | 160 | |||
| Daphne Byrne | Daphne Byrne #1–6 | HC | Laura Marks | Kelley Jones | 160 | |||
| Batman: Three Jokers #1–3 | HC | Geoff Johns | Jason Fabok | 160 | ||||
| Plunge | Plunge #1–6 | HC | Joe Hill | Jeremy Wilson | 168 | |||
| The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage | The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage #1–4 | HC | Jeff Lemire | Denys Cowan | 200 | |||
| Wonder Woman: Dead Earth | Wonder Woman: Dead Earth #1–4 | HC | Daniel Warren Johnson | 200 | ||||
| Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey: The Hunt for Harley | Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey #1–4 and a story from Harley Quinn Black + White + Red #12 | HC | Jimmy Palmiotti | Amanda Conner | 160 | |||
| John Constantine, Hellblazer Vol. 2: The Best Version of You | John Constantine, Hellblazer #7–12 | HC | Simon Spurrier | Aaron Campbell | 163 | |||
| The Last God: Book I of the Fellspyre Chronicles | The Last God #1–12, The Last God: Tales from the Book of Ages #1 and The Last God: Songs of Lost Children #1 | HC | Phillip Kennedy Johnson | Riccardo Federici | 448 | |||
| Sweet Tooth: The Return | Sweet Tooth: The Return #1–6 | TP | Jeff Lemire | 152 | ||||
| Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity | Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #1–8 and Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity Secret Files #1 | HC | Kami Garcia | Mico Suayan | 304 | |||
| American Vampire 1976 | American Vampire 1976 #1–10 | HC | Scott Snyder | Rafael Albuquerque | 264 | |||
| The Other History of the DC Universe | The Other History of the DC Universe #1–5 | HC | John Ridley | Giuseppe Camuncoli | 224 | |||
| Rorschach | Rorschach #1–12 | HC | Tom King | Jorge Fornés | 312 | |||
| Strange Adventures | Strange Adventures #1–12 | HC | Mitch Gerads Evan Shaner | 376 | ||||
| Batman: The Imposter #1–3 | HC | Mattson Tomlin | Andrea Sorrentino | 168 | ||||
| The Nice House on the Lake Vol. 1 | The Nice House on the Lake #1–6 | TP | James Tynion IV | Alvaro Martinez | 200 | |||
| Batman vs. Bigby! A Wolf in Gotham | Batman vs. Bigby | A Wolf in Gotham #1–6 | TP | Bill Willingham | Brian Level | 160 | ||
| Batman: Reptilian | Batman: Reptilian #1–6 | HC | Garth Ennis | Liam Sharp | 160 | |||
| Suicide Squad: Get Joker! | Suicide Squad: Get Joker | #1–3 | HC | Brian Azzarello | Alex Maleev | 160 | ||
| Human Target Vol. 1 | Human Target #1–6 | HC | Tom King | Greg Smallwood | 192 | |||
| Batman: One Dark Knight | Batman: One Dark Knight #1–3 | HC | Jock | 168 | ||||
| Rogues | Rogues #1–4 | HC | Joshua Williamson | Leomacs | 208 | |||
| Refrigerator Full of Heads | Refrigerator Full of Heads #1–6 | HC | Rio Youers | Tom Fowler | 160 | |||
| Catwoman: Lonely City | Catwoman: Lonely City #1-4 | HC | Cliff Chiang | 208 | ||||
| Batman/Catwoman | Batman/Catwoman #1–12 and Batman/Catwoman Special #1 | HC | Tom King | Clay Mann | 272 | |||
| Suicide Squad: Blaze | Suicide Squad: Blaze #1–3 | HC | Simon Spurrier | Aaron Campbell | 168 | |||
| Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons | Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons #1-3 | HC | Kelly Sue DeConnick | Phil Jimenez Gene Ha Nicola Scott | 232 | June 6, 2023 | 978-1779521354 | |
| Swamp Thing: Green Hell | Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1-3 | HC | Jeff Lemire | Doug Mahnke | 152 | August 1, 2023 | 978-1779517234 | |
| Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo | Batman & The Joker: The Deadly Duo #1-7 | HC | Marc Silvestri | 208 | September 12, 2023 | 978-1779523105 | ||
| Aquaman: Andromeda | Aquaman: Andromeda #1-3 | HC | Ram V | Christian Ward | 176 | November 21, 2023 | 978-1779517333 | |
| Waller Vs. Wildstorm | Waller Vs. Wildstorm #1-4 | HC | Spencer Ackerman Evan Narcisse | Eric Battle | 144 | 978-1779517517 | ||