Earlier this month, DC unveiled that Vertigo will be publishing Dark Knight: A True Batman Story from writer Paul Dini (Batman: The Animated Series, Batman Beyond, Lost) and artist Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets).
The story is an autobiographical tale detailing an extremely traumatic experience for Dini. One night he was assaulted and viciously beaten and left on a sidewalk. In order to recover from the attack, Dini finds a savior in Batman.
Dark Knight: A True Batman Story reimagines Batman as a man who aids Paul Dini in his struggle to the face world. Batman is there at Dini’s side urging him to move forward and recover.
Dini explains the book in his own words:
Batman is a character truly universal in his ability to entertain and inspire fans of all ages and backgrounds. As a writer of Batman stories for comics, video games and animation, I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve had to contribute to that legacy. But 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. DC and Vertigo have given me the unique opportunity to tell this personal story, rendered better than I could have dreamed by the powerful artwork of Eduardo Risso. It is my hope that Dark Night: A True Batman Story will both provide an interesting window into a writer’s mind in a time of crisis, and perhaps inspire other victims of violence to search for the heroes inside themselves.
While Dini will be doing the writing for Dark Knight: A True Batman Story, Eduardo Risso will be on art duties. Risso told DC that he will not be using the same aesthetic he normally uses and talked about how this graphic novel provided him an opportunity to do something different. “I must admit that this is not the kind of story I typically draw; it was undoubtedly a new challenge in my career,” Risso noted.
Dark Night: A True Batman Story hits comic book shelves on June 15, 2016 and everywhere books are sold just one week later on June 21, 2016.