Writer/producer, Paul Dini uses his own traumatic experience as inspiration for a unique new Batman story.
NewsWhile fans may know Paul Dini from his work writing and producing a broad range of popular animated series from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe to Tiny Toon Adventures, his best-known work on Batman: The Animated Series actually yielded the creation of the Joker’s demented paramour, Harley Quinn. However, the upcoming Dark Night: A True Batman Story, Dini’s impending return to the Batman property by way of graphic novel, will actually be more of an exploration of a broken man: namely himself.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dark Night will be anything but a conventional Batman story, since it will actually draw its inspiration from a devastating crime suffered by Dini back in 1993. Featuring art by Eduardo Risso, the book will be released under DC’s Vertigo label. Consequently, the story will entail darker, deeper, and bleaker themes than the typical tales where Batman thrashes evil elements of Gotham. Rather, it will center on the mental journey of Dini after suffering a horrific attack.
Walking down Peer Drive in Los Angeles, Dini was violently mugged by two men; an attack resulting in extensively shattering injuries to his zygomatic arch (cheek bone) and head that apparently powdered parts of his skull on impact. The recuperation process was obviously trying physically and the mental scars from the crime itself certainly left a longer lasting effect. In coming to terms with the trauma, Dini confesses to having several conversations with his favorite fictional characters with duel manifestations of Batman and the Joker. The mental journey lead him to the conclusion that "you have to be your own hero."
As Dini explains of the experience:
“I’m not saying I talk to cartoon characters all the time, but the characters are very real to me.” Clarifying, “In a very non-insane way.”
Years, later, Dini has creatively tapped into his extremely personal experiences, recounting on the paneled page how his grievously injured state was mentally reconciled with imaginary conversations with a hardened parental figure of Batman who reprimanded Dini for not attempting to escape his attack. Meanwhile, a devilish figure of the Joker was also there, seemingly leading Dini on the primrose path of giving into his fears and becoming a permanent shut-in. It’s a dynamic that Dini compares to Woody Allen’s 1972 film, Play it Again, Sam, in which an imaginary manifestation of Humphrey Bogart helps a depressed recently-divorced film critic.
Despite the 22 years that have passed since Dini’s attack, he does admit that the finished pages of Dark Night that depict the crime were difficult to deal with, causing him to shed some tears and step away from the project for a week. However, he still managed to power through the piece and created what could end up becoming the most unique superhero story yet.
Dark Night: A True Batman Story is set for release in June 2016.
