Truly one of the most unique, entertaining, funny, and moving books that I've read in any category, Paul Dini's Dark Nightis a sometimes-heavy"but never harrowing"testament to the power of story to lift us from despair and push us into restoration. With the help of a cast of familiar, perfectly-characterized Gothamites, Dini shows us once again that he understands both the whatand the whyof Batman as well as anyone else; and in so doing, shows us how that understanding helped him emerge from his trial with more than the muggers took away. If that isn't a True Batman Story, I don't know what is. Read Full Review

For fans of Batman: the Animated Series, this graphic novel is an eye-opening insight into one of the series most valuable creative minds. Like an undressed emperor, Paul Dini is made unflinchingly real by his own words. Its a deeply personal reflection but like the master storyteller he continues to be, the anecdote serves more than just being a navel-gazing confessional. Highly recommended. Read Full Review

Dark Night: A True Batman Story is very much a Batman story even as the story acknowledges that Batman is a work of fiction. It's essential reading for fans of the Animated Series even as it only scratches the history of that beloved show. Really, Dark Night is a story about Dini's inner demons, the same ones that come for all of us in our darkest hours, and what Batman represents in our struggle to fight back against those moments. Read Full Review

This is a book that shows why superheroes matter, why supervillains matter, why stories matter. Imagination can trap us if it causes us to ignore reality, but it can also lift us out of trauma and deliver us back to the real world after our bodies and minds have been badly damaged. That an important lesson for us all not only in the events of our lives, but also in the collective trauma caused by war, famine and disease. Heroes and stories are never unimportant as long as people use them to inspire action, activity and healing in the real world. Read Full Review

Dark Night might not be the Vertigo-branded Batman book fans have been clamoring for from DC, but it's certainly worth a read for anyone who holds the Caped Crusader near and dear to their heart. It offers a very personal and heartfelt look at how the character helped guide Dini through a terrible time in his life, and it proves all the more that both Dini and Risso are among the most talented storytellers ever to work within Gotham City. Read Full Review

If you've experienced this kind of personal tragedy, regardless to what degree, I think you'll find this as cathartic an experience as I did. Read Full Review

We get to see something very special here: the power fantasy shown in books like Batman are unrealistic in reality. Dark Night challenges and conquers this belief by celebrating heroes. We will never be Batman, but he can inspire hope that tomorrow things will get better. For a lot of people, me included, the point wasn't to become Batman. I don't do tights. The point was to remember that somewhere, someone is fighting for the world to be better. We don't have to sit around and wait for anyone. We can do it in our own way. We can make the world better for ourselves. We might even have to rescue ourselves. Read Full Review

I had high hopes going into reading this graphic novel and it didn't disappoint at all, meeting my lofty expectations. I found myself emotionally caught up and invested in this story, and the real experiences Dini had, especially as someone who grew up watching the two shows he's most known for. It gives us a glimpse behind the curtain, no matter how ugly that may be. Dini and Risso have put together a biography in graphic novel that bends and twists the genre into something more. Read Full Review

Here's the skinny: Dini's story is gripping, powerful, and moving. His struggles with mental illness are on full display and his raw honesty is stirring. Just as the book was therapeutic for him, it was very much therapeutic for this writer and I hope that it can be the same for someone dealing with the same struggles. Like many of us who live in their imagination, he uses Batman characters to help him (it doesn't get better than that, Batfans). Although suffering from a poor resolution, the message remains intact and resonates. All of it is told brilliantly through Risso's evocative pencils. Read Full Review

Dark Night: A True Batman Story is the kind of memoir that I wish I had written first. But if someone else had to get to it before me, I'm glad that it's this good. Read Full Review

Paul Dini's story of the time he got mugged turns out to be a self-revealing tale about finding one's confidence, and the ongoing struggle to maintain it. Eduardo Risso's watercolors are lively and convey the many disparate intellectual properties withefficiency, even a particular IP that isn't part of the Warner Bros. collective! I'd have expected to recommend this to fans of Paul Dini's work or to comic book fans in general, but having read it I think I recommend it to everyone. The feelings described in this book are, I think, fairly universal, and not often discussed in even the most emotional novel. Read Full Review

Put aside for a moment that this is about Paul Dini. Also put aside the fact that it's about a time in his life working on a cartoon that is beloved by millions. At its core, this story is about a man who has everything he wants, but nothing that he needs. Without spoiling too much I will just say that there's probably not a single comic book reader out there that can't relate to some aspect of Dini's story. It is the epitome of the emotional journey that practically all comic book readers face. It captures the reason why we read comics about superheroes that can do more, that can be better, that are strong in the ways that we are weak. Simply put, Dark Night not only captures the reason we read comics, but in the very same way is the reason we read comics. Read Full Review

Do we finally see those faceless members of the DC/Vertigo editorial team? We do. For you to see the big reveal, you should pick up the book yourself at Amazon, Barnes and Noble or wherever books and comic books are sold. Read Full Review

All in all it's hard for me to say whether or not to recommend this as it's not your typical book, it all depends on how interested you are on hearing Dini's story. I personally found it a bit of a slog and often arrogant in it's depiction of his life and work. Reading around it's clear I am in the minority and that's fine, I'm glad most people got something out of this that I didn;t but I can only tell you my truth"..and unfortunately it pains me to be a negative truth this time out. Read Full Review

Dini delivers a deeply personal story told with a flexible art style from Risso.

Extremely satisfying testimony for adults.