Dark Night: A True Batman Story by Paul Dini, Eduardo Risso (illustrator) (2016, Vertigo; 128 pages) Paul Dini is a very successful writer. He wrote for the primetime TV shows Lost and Clerks. He has written for several comic book series and won an Eisner Award for Mad Love, a story featuring Harley Quinn, a character he created and who is now enjoying huge mainstream attention in the new Suicide Squad film. However, he is most well known for his work in animation, where he won Emmys for shows like Tiny Toon Adventures, Ultimate Spider-man, and Batman, The Animated Series (where Harley was originally introduced). During his time working on the Batman series, Dini was also, like too many people, the victim of a violent crime. That experience led him to write the graphic novel memoir, Dark Night. The title, a play on words based on a Batman nickname, Dark Knight, focuses on Dini’s very dark night, when he nearly lost his life in an ugly, random attack. That event caused him to reflect on his mortality, his place in life, why bad things happen, and the true meaning of heroes and villains. How Dini deals with that post-traumatic stress is powerful, ironic, humorous, scary, touching, and hits really close to home. Eduardo Risso’s art, peppered with pop culture references and inner conversations between Dini and his fictional co-workers, is brilliant and provocative. There is a reason why more and more people gravitate toward graphic fiction. The mind’s eye is powerful, and creating a scene in your head from reading a passage works to bring books to life. However, sometimes, readers don’t have all the context or experience necessary to effectively depict those scenes. In those instances, graphic literature can bridge those gaps. Dark Night is a book that should be read and seen. Find this title in our catalog: Dark Night Recommended by: Robb
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