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How DC is splitting Vertigo and Black Label into two distinct lanes for the future of mature comics
DC executive editor Chris Conroy clarifies the difference between Vertigo and DC Black Label
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After a long absence, Vertigo is back. The DC imprint was known for its mature titles and the way it pushed creative boundaries. There are ten new series planned, starting in February 2026, and things are just getting started.
With the triumphant return of Vertigo, where does that leave DC Black Label? It’s another imprint known for its mature creator-driven stories, which seems to check some of the same boxes as Vertigo. However, Chris Conroy, who edits both imprints, says there is a clear distinction between a Vertigo title and a Black Label title.
“Vertigo was such a core part of our identity for so long and there was that kind of stretch of time several years ago where we were making kind of a really concerted effort to put the DC brand first and foremost on everything we did,” DC Comics executive editor Chris Conroy tells Popverse’s Chris Arrant. “At that time, that was sort of the birth of DC Black Label and all of the recentering around DC to the point where the Vertigo brand as kind of a name faded away. But the spirit I think never really went anywhere. It was always a huge part of what I was doing at Black Label as I was overseeing that line.”
“The focus being on the DC properties for a little while created a lane for Black Label that we realized was wide open to reopen with Vertigo. And so, that’s why we’ve made this kind of clean distinction. DC Black Label is for our sort of adult facing superhero and company owned properties. And DC Vertigo is now the future of original creator-owned properties, in the way it was Vertigo’s DNA from the start with books like Enigma. And then they added Preacher, and 100 Bullets, and Y: The Last Man. That’s the lane we really want Vertigo to sit in going forward.”
For more on the future of DC’s Vertigo line, check out Chris Conroy’s full interview below:
Need more? Here's our picks for the best DC Comics stories of all time.
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