Murphy had to tone down some of the content in the mini-series in order to adhere to DC Comics’ standards regarding Batman books. He would like to see the “R-rated” version to be available when the series is released as a trade in the future.
Batman: White Knight, created by Murphy, has been a commercial and critical success so far by offering a new perspective on the Dark Knight and his most infamous villain the Joker. As such, Murphy created a storyline that is very mature in tone and yet he had to hold back in order to keep the comic within PG-13 range.
On his Twitter page, Murphy had shared with fans some of the more provocative material he had to cut from the final draft of the book (which included a nude scene between Harley Quinn and Joker). Murphy was asked by fans as to whether or not he would properly release these images and content in a published format to which he said:
I would LOVE if I could get DC to publish the trade of White Knight with an R rating. So I can put the swears and nudity back in. But would you readers be OK with that?”
Now the reason he asked fans “would you readers be OK with that?” is because Murphy was afraid of readers being robbed for purchasing the current issues of the miniseries and then having to shell out money again for a trade with the complete story. Despite Murphy’s reservations, fans responded in kind with full support for the idea of an R-rated version to which he replied:
“I heard you all, and I’m on it.”
As Murphy begins his work trying to convince DC to release the R-Rated version, the final issue of Batman: White Knight will be released next month on February 7th. If you haven’t had a chance to read the book, we here at DCN would strongly recommend you get a copy soon because the first editions are already sold out and who knows how long the other editions will last. If you want a better idea as to what you should expect from the book, I suggest you check out our very own Cameron Tevis’ review of the first issue of the mini-series by clicking here.
Batman: White Knight #7 will be available February 7th.
Image courtesy of dccomics.com