Is This The Worst Batman Comic Ever?

3. What DC's All Star Imprint Was Meant To Be

DC Comics/Jim Lee

When it started out, All Star was meant to be the imprint that would marry DC's most popular characters with their most talented creators, free from the restraints of mainstream continuity. Creators would be free to chart a new course for iconic heroes and villains, and for a while it seemed as though everything was going to plan.

Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely marshalled the Man of Steel in the sensational All Star Superman, and the publisher's other, now cancelled All Star books were hotly anticipated by readers. Among them included an Adam Hughes fronted Wonder Woman comic, a Batgirl series from Geoff Johns and J.G. Jones, and a Green Lantern series helmed by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang.

All-Star Superman
Frank Quitely/DC Comics

For all that those other projects got fans excited, a collaboration between Miller and Lee on Batman was deemed the imprint's hottest prospect. Miller had the chance to reiterate his credentials after Strikes Again, while Lee had just enjoyed a phenomenal stint on Batman opposite Jeph Loeb. Pairing them together was a no-brainer - even for those apathetic to the duo's respective portfolios.

Of course, ten years on, and it's clear that DC's All Star imprint didn't work out. Those comics mentioned earlier became stuck in a permanent limbo, but the publisher has fashioned a spiritual successor over the last year in Black Label. It's been made with the same intent as All Star, and while DC threaten to dilute the overall intent of the imprint by bringing in older comics for... no reason, it's already proven to be a damn-sight more successful than its predecessor.

...Weird Superman/Mermaid sex aside.

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WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well. In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.