Skip to content

DC Black Label Comics, The Complete Reading List

The World of DC always finds a way to expand and craft new and/or stand-alone stories – mostly outside the current DC Continuity, in the specific case of DC Black Label. Presented at first as an imprint for adults featuring alternate versions of familiar DC Comics characters, DC Black Label was founded in 2018, with Batman: Damned, the first title of the imprint. The limited series made more of a splash for a scene with full frontal nudity than for the story.

Before the official end of Vertigo Comics, DC Black Label had clearly been developed to take the place of the famous imprint under which classic titles like Hellblazer, Fables, Preacher, The Sandman, and more have been published. However, Vertigo declined in the 2010s and was officially discontinued in 2020. New and old titles published under the now-defunct imprint were now published as part of DC Black Label.

No surprise here, you’ll find under the Black Label imprint many Batman stories, as well as several stories with Harley Quinn and the Joker, but also some new takes on Superman, Wonder Woman, Catwoman, and more…

All DC Black Label Comics

Batman Related Title Comics

Harley Quinn/The Joker Related Titles

  • Harleen
    Collects Harleen #1–3. Written and illustrated by Stjepan Šejić
  • Joker: Killer Smile
    Collects Joker: Killer Smile #1–3 and Batman: The Smile Killer #1.Written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino
  • Batman: Three Jokers
    Collects Batman: Three Jokers #1–3. Written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Jason Fabok and Brad Anderson
  • Birds of Prey (One-Shot)
    Written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Emanuela Lupacchino and Ray McCarthy
  • Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey: The Hunt for Harley
    Collects Harley Quinn & the Birds of Prey #1–4 and a story from Harley Quinn Black + White + Red #12. Written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti and illustrated by Arthur Adams
  • Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity
    Collects Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #1–8 and Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity Secret Files #1. Written by Kami Garcia and illustrated by Mike Mayhew and Mico Suayan

Suicide Squad (logo)

Suicide Squad

  • Suicide Squad: Get Joker!
    Collects Suicide Squad: Get Joker! #1–3. Written by Brian Azzarello and illustrated by Alex Maleev
  • Suicide Squad: Blaze
    Collects Suicide Squad: Blaze #1–3. Written by Simon Spurrier and illustrated by Aaron Campbell

Other Parts Of the DC Universe

  • The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage
    Collects The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage #1–4. Written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Denys Cowan
  • The Other History of the DC Universe
    Collects The Other History of the DC Universe #1–5. Written by John Ridley and illustrated by Giuseppe Camuncoli
  • Strange Adventures
    Collects Strange Adventures #1–12. Written by Tom King and illustrated by Mitch Gerads Evan Shaner
  • Peacemaker: Disturbing the Peace
    One-Shot written by Garth Ennis and illustrated by Garry Brown
  • Rogues
    Collects Rogues #1–4. Written by Joshua Williamson and illustrated by Leomacs
  • Catwoman: Lonely City
    Collects Catwoman: Lonely City #1-4. Written and illustrated by Cliff Chiang
  • Swamp Thing: Green Hell
    Collects Swamp Thing: Green Hell #1-3. Written by Jeff Lemire and illustrated by Doug Mahnke
  • Aquaman: Andromeda
    Collects Aquaman: Andromeda. Written by Ram V and illustrated by Christian Ward
  • Waller Vs. Wildstorm
    Collects Waller Vs. Wildstorm #1-4. Written by Spencer Ackerman and Evan Narcisse and illustrated by Eric Battle

Superman

  • Superman: Year One
    Collects Superman: Year One #1–3. Written by Frank Miller and illustrated by John Romita Jr.
  • Superman vs. Lobo
    Collects Superman vs. Lobo #1-3. Written by Tim Seeley and Sarah Beattie and illustrated by Mirka Andolfo

Wonder Woman Reading Order

Wonder Woman

  • Wonder Woman: Dead Earth
     Collects Wonder Woman: Dead Earth #1–4. Written and illustrated by Daniel Warren Johnson
  • Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons
    Collects Wonder Woman Historia: The Amazons #1-3. Written by Kelly Sue DeConnick and illustrated by Phil Jimenez, Gene Ha, and Nicola Scott

Human Target

  • Human Target Vol. 1
    Collects Human Target #1–6. Written by Tom King and illustrated by Greg Smallwood
  • Human Target Vol. 2
    Collects Human Target #7–12. Written by Tom King and illustrated by Greg Smallwood
  • Tales of the Human Target
    One-Shot. Written by Tom King and illustrated by Greg Smallwood, Rafael Albuquerque, Kevin Maguire, Mikel Janín

Outside the DC Universe

Following the end of DC’s Vertigo imprint, new and ongoing series parts of the label are now released under the DC Black Label imprint. We are not going to list the reprints here but indicate the continuations of those series. There are also several lines with the Black Label imprint, linked by creative teams, a common universe, or even themes.

The Sandman Universe

The Sandman Universe is a line launched to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and for Vertigo’s 25th anniversary. First published under the Vertigo line, it continues under the Black Label imprint. Some Hellblazer titles are part of this line. To know more about it:

Sweet Tooth Reading Order

Other Follow-ups to Vertigo

Hill House Comics

Launched in 2021, Hill House Comics is a Horror line founded and curated by Joe Hill, one of the men behind the excellent comic series Locke & Key.

  • Basketful of Heads
    Collects Basketful of Heads #1–7. Written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Leomacs and Dave Stewart
  • The Low, Low, Woods
    Collects The Low, Low Woods #1–6. Written by JCarmen Maria Machado and illustrated by Dani
  • The Dollhouse Family
    Collects The Dollhouse Family #1–6. Written by Mike Carey and illustrated by Peter Gross and Vince Locke
  • Daphne Byrne
    Collects Daphne Byrne #1–6. Written by Laura Marks and illustrated by Kelley Jones
  • Plunge
    Collects Plunge #1–6. Written by Joe Hill and illustrated by Jeremy Wilson
  • Refrigerator Full of Heads
    The follow-up to Basketful of Heads. Collects Refrigerator Full of Heads #1–6. Written by Rio Youers and illustrated by Tom Fowler

Murphyverse

Batman: White Knight was the first limited series published in what we called the Murphyverse, before the launch of the Black Label imprint. Its success motivated DC Comics to start an imprint centered around Murphy’s work, and the universe expanded under the Black Label imprint. To dive more into this universe, check out:

Watchmen Button

Other Black Label titles

Tags:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *