Batman fans across generations know his name, his work, and his overall contribution to the lore of the Caped Crusader. Paul Dini is an Emmy-award winner for his work as one of the lead writers on Batman: The Animated Series, and has continued writing for years on everything from Superman: The Animated Series to Justice League Unlimited. The upcoming Suicide Squad film will bring to life one of DC Comics’ most famous characters that Dini himself created: Harley Quinn. Recently, Dini sat down with LA Weekly to chat. He said, “Harley Quinn was sort of a lucky accident.”
Dini has something else to promote, however, as today marks the release of his autobiographical novel, Dark Night: A True Batman Story. The book tells the story of how Dini, at a high point in his career in 1993, was beaten to a pulp and robbed by two men in the dark while walking home. Dini suffered serious injuries as well as intense emotional trauma from the event, but found a way to deal with his pain the only way he knew how, “Even within hours of the incident happening, 23 years ago, I thought, I’ve got to write this down.”
A little over 20 years later, Dini continues to write, as well as struggle with the turmoil of the event. The attackers were never caught, and may or may not even know who they attacked that night. The official description of the book reads:
A gripping graphic memoir of one writer’s traumatic experience and his deep connection with his creative material, DARK NIGHT: A TRUE BATMAN STORY is an original graphic novel that will resonate profoundly with fans. Art by the incredible and talented Eduardo Risso (100 BULLETS, TRANSMETROPOLITAN).
Dark Night: A True Batman Story lands on bookshelves today, and will be available for order everywhere on June 21, 2016. Pick it up today in bookstores, or you can pre-order it here.