I love, love, love Paul Dini. The Batman scribe and co-creator of Batman: The Animated Series has an autobiography arriving next year that gives us all a look at his personal life, and the night he was brutally beaten by strangers.
An extremely personal story for Dini – and the first time he’s told it to the world – the book focuses on a night that he was assaulted and brutally beaten by strangers and left on the sidewalk. In this surprising original graphic novel, Batman is seen in a new light – not as the grim avenger of the night, but as a savior who helps a discouraged man recover from a brutal attack that left him unable to face the world. But despite how bleak his circumstances were, or perhaps because of it, Dini always imagined the Batman at his side, urging him along during his darkest moments.
“…there was a time some years ago when I found myself the victim of a violent attack and the last thing that made sense to me was to continue writing stories about a fantasy crime fighter. Struggling to recover, I found myself trapped in a dark place of isolation and abuse, plagued by demons both real and imaginary, with my only choices being to remain a victim or to stand up and fight back. Not so easy as the enemy I was fighting was my own fear,” explained writer Paul Dini.
Dark Night: A True Batman Story is illustrated by Eduardo Risso, who said this book is very different from what he normally draws.
“This novel gave me the opportunity to do something different with the graphic narrative. I didn’t have any idea about what aesthetic to use, but I was sure that I didn’t want to do the same thing I was used to doing. I hope you like it.”
As much as I want to grab this book now, we all have to wait until June 15, 2016 when the book arrives in local comic book stores. If you don’t have a LCS, Dark Night: A True Batman Story, will be available in book stores on June 21st.