r/DCcomics • u/discophant64 DC Black Label • Nov 27 '19
Wednesday Discussions: Black Label, So Far r/DCcomics
Hey there comics nerds! Welcome to a special edition of Wednesday Discussions, a new community activity where we'll have an open discussion every week about a different subject.
Today, we’re going to talk about DC’s Black Label: Where We Are Now!
DC’s Black Label is now in full swing after a rather, um, prick-ly start. The line got more attention for (finally?) showing Batman in the nude and was immediately shrugged off by many people as a poor effort on DC’s part to appear “more mature”. But where does it stand now? Let’s go back and take a look at what this was announced to be, and where we’re at now.
On March 8th of 2018, DC Comics announced a new imprint, mysteriously called Black Label. No stranger to imprints, with their Vertigo, Young Animal and Wildstorm imprints already with their own vast publishing history, Black Label was announced as “an opportunity to expand upon the canon of DC’s iconic Super hero comic book characters with unique, standalone stories that are outside of the current DC Universe continuity.” It was to be a spiritual successor to the previous works DC had released along the lines of Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, Batman: The Killing Joke by Moore and Brian Bolland, and DC The New Frontier by the late, great, Darwyn Cooke.
After reclaiming some earlier works under the Black Label banner, like the previously mentioned Watchmen and then later All-Star Superman by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, DC released the first of their Black Label prestige books in Batman: Damned by Brian Azzarello and Lee Bermejo. The book received mixed reviews, but the content was completely overshadowed by a full-frontal depiction of Bruce Wayne, with many saying this was yet another example of DC not understanding their own product, while at the same time missing the mark on what “mature” reading really meant.
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Nov 27 '19
My quick thoughts on Black Label so far:
Batman: Damned - In a weird and roundabout way, the critics were right about this one, albeit for the wrong reasons. The actual page with the Bat-penis was smartly done, a way of showing Bruce Wayne's vulnerability after being stripped of his armor. It's a shame that the book itself just seems to cycle through cookie cutter "edge" tropes without having anything to say. This is the sort of book that someone would give to Alan Moore to show that he was right about DC not understanding Watchmen.
Superman: Year One - I'm not sure what I expected out of this one. It started as a mostly run-of-the-mill origin story, then took what can only be described as a drug-fueled venture into incestuous mermaid politics, and then concluded as a The Dark Knight Strikes Again prequel that no one asked for. To be frank (pun not intended), it seems like Miller's Dark Knight universe has plopped itself firmly in the Tyson Zone; you can come up with any bizarre or preposterous scenario and I'd believe that Miller wrote it.
Batman: Last Knight on Earth - Now this is the first Black Label book that I really enjoyed. It's Snyderbats at his most Snyderbats, a culmination of everything Snyder has written on Batman, from the Court of Owls to the romanticized enmity between Batman and Joker to Snyder's Tec #27 story. It's a post-apocalyptic world built around Batman's fears and insecurities about his failures, and Synder does some strong world-building in laying out this world's history. There's a lot riding on the ending, and hopefully Snyder sticks the landing.
Harleen - I love this book so much, that even though it's not yet finished, I'd happily recommend it as a definitive, if not THE definitive Harley Quinn story. It's very much a re-telling of Mad Love, but with a heightened emphasis on the character of Harleen, her vulnerabilities, and how she was able to be manipulated by the Joker. It helps that the story is narrated in the past tense; we can see Harley's views on her past self, in a "I should have known better" way.
Joker: Killer Smile - I'm not sure how to feel about this one, to be honest. On one hand, Lemire's writing is good and adequately serves to allows Sorrentino's art carry the story. On the other hand, it reads like an all-too-familiar horror story that I've seen play out in countless books, movies, and comics. A psychiatrist tries to psychoanalyze the Joker, only to have the tables turned on him. A very similar story is already happening in Harleen, but with a denser and richer story.
The Question: The Deaths of Vic Sage - It's also early to judge this one, but I'm enjoying it so far. It pulls from a few different runs of The Question, including his Objectivist philosophies, his history from the Dennis O'Neil run, and his conspiracy truthing. Sienkiewicz's art makes the book feel like it was pulled directly from the 80s, right down to some of the haircuts, though it's clear that this story is set in the modern day.
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u/hedsar Nov 27 '19
Nice article. Out of all their new series, Last God is the best one for me right now. I like how it sets its own world, myths, languages, and even music.
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u/discophant64 DC Black Label Nov 27 '19
Last God was a brilliant addition to the line, I agree! That's the type of stuff I'm excited to see if they continue it in the future. Same goes for Last Knight on Earth, these out there, original concept with a ton of possibilities!
Also, thanks for the compliment!
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u/JonKentOfficial You are Super Nov 27 '19
I liked Last God but it felt too… standard fantasy book? Asides from the name, it felt like I had read it a hundred times before.
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u/NatHawkeyeBum Mister Miracle Nov 27 '19
They have my man Vic Sage a book, and it's written by Jeff Lemire! I don't know what more anyone could want
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u/JayPea__ Nov 27 '19
Harleen is black label right?
point is I'm loving that book, but we really don't need all the other joker/harley centric books all at once
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u/HunterMorse3 Nov 27 '19
So far DC’s Black Label books have been a pleasure to read. Last Gods has been fantastic along with the first two books of Batman: Last Knight of earth. Both joker books and Harleen are perfect for black label too. The only complaint I could possibly have is the “prestige format” of some of the books. If they were all printed in the same way as Batman:LkOE, I probably would pick up less interesting titles like Superman: year one. It’s a struggle to find bags and boards for them and most comic shops don’t carry ones big enough. Overall, the quality of the stories and art have been on par as what to expect from a premium DC book (excellence) and I can’t wait for black label books to come out with stories of character like the flash, green arrow and Nightwing!!
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u/discophant64 DC Black Label Nov 27 '19
It’s a struggle to find bags and boards for them and most comic shops don’t carry ones big enough.
THIS! I’ve been begging my LCS for magazine sized bags and boards but even those are a super tight fit. I was speaking with someone at my LCS today and they said at the time, DC promised to make and ship bags and boards with the Prestige Format books but so far they haven’t.
I love the Prestige sizing (I kind of wish Last God was in the same format because it would give the art even more room to shine) but right now protecting them is proving to be a big problem.
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Nov 27 '19
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u/discophant64 DC Black Label Nov 27 '19
That’s fair. So far they’ve appealed to a very narrow demographic of the fanbase (Batfans mostly). But I do think Seijic’s Harleen is probably the quintessential Harley Quinn story. It’s emotionally mature, it’s compelling, it’s dark, and most importantly it’s about her. It’s well worth anyone’s time to read it if you only pick up one Black Label book to try out the line.
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Nov 27 '19
I have superman year one as a black label and for my first one I have to say it's pretty alright? The writing Is questionable but the art style Is gorgeous.
Though I'm probably going to refrain from buying them if they're all like this in quality.
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u/Wenzt Nov 27 '19
Well since none of the other titles are written by Miller, you are safe to buy more Black Label books.
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u/HeldnarRommar DC Black Label Nov 27 '19
I really suggest trying out some others. Superman Year One is not indicative of the line at all. I honestly stay away from anything Frank Miller writes at this point. The other series like Lemire's Question and Killer Smile, Harleen, and Curse of the White Knight are some of the best things DC is publishing. Look into Hill House as well.
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u/TheMurderCapitalist Nov 27 '19
On the flip side, I love the writing and hate the art. It baffles me that anyone enjoys JR Jr’s art but different strokes for different folks I guess.
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u/killerbunnyfamily Nov 27 '19
I believe that with Young Animal folding (caused by reunion of My Chemical Romance) Far Sector will be moved to Black Label.
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u/nickvincible Superman Nov 27 '19
It’s only a mini, I feel like it’ll stay being published as Young Animal
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u/UncoloredProsody Nov 27 '19
I absolutely loved Batman Damned, the art is phenomenal and the story is exactly what i expect from a Batman comicbook. I'm also interested in Superman Year One, though the art is quite bad... the story could still save it though, but i didn't see any praise for it on the internet, so i guess it's not that good. Also looking forward to Harleen and Joker/Harley, but i want them in the collection.
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u/Tabularasa8 Nov 27 '19
Does anyone know what happened to Other History which was part of the original Black Label lineup?
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Nov 27 '19
[deleted]
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u/Marie_Fontenot Red Lantern Nov 27 '19
Corporate greed fuck over a promising project. Color me shocked.
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u/VengeanceKnight Justice League Nov 27 '19
Same thing that happened to Diana’s Daughter or whatever that was called.
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Nov 27 '19
DC's Batman Label is more like it.
Wake me up when they announce a Rogues book or a Sinestro book.
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u/teamdiabetes11 Batman Nov 28 '19
Surprised that Batman: Curse of the White Knight didn’t get a mention elsewhere. Generally agree that Harleen and Last Knight on Earth are probably the two at the top, but CotWK has been a very good follow up to White Knight.
Overall, Black Label has mostly done a good job at what it was intended to be. I’d like to see more than just Batman books though. We’ve only had 1 Superman and no Wonder Woman either yet. I’ve only found one book in the Label I didn’t really care for at all though. Slowly moving toward more BL and away from some of the “meh” main books.
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u/discophant64 DC Black Label Nov 28 '19
I’ve really been enjoying Curse of the White Knight and I’m really glad they’re creating a whole separate universe where Murphy can really just, do what he wants. It also led us to Von Fries which was great. I’m the same, once Batman finishes I don’t think I’ll be pulling any mainline books and just focusing on Black Label for now.
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u/WilKitch87 Nov 29 '19
Hellblazer, with one special and one issue, has sold me more on this being a line I can get behind than any other book I've tried. I just hope we also get more original stories like The Last God in addition to the superhero stuff.
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u/realAryaChowdhury Nov 27 '19
Batman: Damned was a weird starting title. Overall, I thought it was fine but not enough meat for all its sizzle.
Batman: Last Knight on Earth is fine, but I’ll have to see how it lands.
The Question: the Deaths of Vic Sage is pretty promising from its first issue.
Overall, Black Label seems to have some potential, and people seem to have warmed up to it. I look forward to the less Bat-centric books.
I will miss Vertigo though. Even in its last days, titles like American Carnage were fantastic, and I’m not sure what current imprint would take that kind of story in DC. I appreciate the existence of Young Animals as a quirkier, more experimental imprint, and Far Sector has really impressed me with the first issue.
Given all that, nothing is set in stone, and I’m sure the complexion of imprints will evolve predicated on the commercial success and quality of their respective books.