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worldofjoel's review
3.0
In full disclosure, outside of Sunday morning newspapers, I've never read a comic book. I love comic book characters and used to love watching the cartoons growing up, but never got into reading comic books. That changed when the latest pick for my book club, GamersRead was Dark Night: A True Batman Story. When I first heard I thought I might be reading a full-blown Batman comic but instead quickly realized that we were in for something completely different.
Dark Night: A True Batman Story is actually a re-telling of Paul Dini's horrific mugging in Los Angeles while he was working for Warner Bros. The comic picks up right before the mugging where Paul was beaten nearly to death by two guys on his way home from a date. Paul was already struggling with his own demons in which he depicts with some of the famous Batman villains like The Joker. There is a certain cleverness to this comic book that weaves in these Batman tropes with a man who's lived and breathed these characters for decades.
What I struggled with though was that although the tale harrowing, there was nothing particularly interesting in the way the Paul weaved in his inner demons with that of Batman. I understood the novelty early on and afterward, it began to feel just like that, a novelty. In some ways, I felt like I knew the entire story only a quarter of the way through. I did love the art style and the way that it changed quite drastically depending on what was happening within the story.
Granted its hard for me to be a big comic book critic since this is literally the first full comic book I can remember reading. But I will say I was completely middle of the road with this. It's an interesting concept, a sad story, and one that I think was well told. I just didn't necessarily find the connection between these characters that he loved to his own internal struggle to be that compelling.
Dark Night: A True Batman Story is actually a re-telling of Paul Dini's horrific mugging in Los Angeles while he was working for Warner Bros. The comic picks up right before the mugging where Paul was beaten nearly to death by two guys on his way home from a date. Paul was already struggling with his own demons in which he depicts with some of the famous Batman villains like The Joker. There is a certain cleverness to this comic book that weaves in these Batman tropes with a man who's lived and breathed these characters for decades.
What I struggled with though was that although the tale harrowing, there was nothing particularly interesting in the way the Paul weaved in his inner demons with that of Batman. I understood the novelty early on and afterward, it began to feel just like that, a novelty. In some ways, I felt like I knew the entire story only a quarter of the way through. I did love the art style and the way that it changed quite drastically depending on what was happening within the story.
Granted its hard for me to be a big comic book critic since this is literally the first full comic book I can remember reading. But I will say I was completely middle of the road with this. It's an interesting concept, a sad story, and one that I think was well told. I just didn't necessarily find the connection between these characters that he loved to his own internal struggle to be that compelling.
modkuraika's review
4.0
It's hard to say whether this is a memoir or a legitimate Batman story. I'd say it's both, and both play to each other's advantage. Reminds me of American Splendor. Personal, insightful, uplifting.
jasmiinaf's review
5.0
This works surprisingly well. The story is hopeful but quite dark and it was interesting to read a very different Batman story.
saidtheraina's review
4.0
Paul Dini's autobiographical work, which revolves around a physical attack he suffered, a doomed romance he suffered, and a troubled portion of his career. Basically, there's a lot of suffering.
It's pretty engrossing though - I think I read it in one sitting. The color-work is pretty gorgeous and striking, and [a: Eduardo Risso|54360|Eduardo Risso|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1302507871p2/54360.jpg] uses a variety of drawing styles in homage and referential sequences.
Worth the read, even if you're not a superhero reader.
It's pretty engrossing though - I think I read it in one sitting. The color-work is pretty gorgeous and striking, and [a: Eduardo Risso|54360|Eduardo Risso|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1302507871p2/54360.jpg] uses a variety of drawing styles in homage and referential sequences.
Worth the read, even if you're not a superhero reader.
tearsinthesea's review
4.0
Out of the seven books I got from the "best books of the year" nominations so far, this has to be my favourite one so far. A very creative adaption of Batman, this graphic novel seemed to be a unique and reaisticaly life-incorporated comic so far. I enjoyed the graphics as much as the content. Quick as well!
helpfulsnowman's review
I’m gonna go with my normal policy that applies to someone’s story of personal trauma and leave a star rating off this one because it’s sort of hard to feel like you’re not rating what the person went through.
This memoir addresses something a lot of us struggle with: what’s the point? If I’m a person who writes dumb books (finally something I can speak on with authority!), when something big and serious happens in life, it really knocks you down a notch. It makes what you do feel really pointless.
And that’s where Paul Dini was at: after a personal trauma, it’s like, “What am I doing writing Batman cartoons?”
It’s not like being a builder where you take your kids to a building and you’re like “I built this shit, you ungrateful bastards.” I’m not sure who I’m calling ungrateful, my kids or the people in the building, but whatever.
When you do something silly or frivolous, you have your days where you doubt, well, the entire course of your life.
If I was a doctor, surely I’d have really helped someone by now. Or maybe not a doctor, just like someone who came up with a pretty good workout machine or something.
I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong to have those thoughts. But we’ve all got our levels. I’m not going to save someone’s life with my bullshit, but that was never the goal. It’s more about making someone else’s life suck a little less because THEY aren’t a doctor. They get down, feel like their life is worthless, then maybe get a laugh from something I did.
Doesn’t save their life. But hell, you don’t wanna be a doctor anyway. Those guys are assholes.
This memoir addresses something a lot of us struggle with: what’s the point? If I’m a person who writes dumb books (finally something I can speak on with authority!), when something big and serious happens in life, it really knocks you down a notch. It makes what you do feel really pointless.
And that’s where Paul Dini was at: after a personal trauma, it’s like, “What am I doing writing Batman cartoons?”
It’s not like being a builder where you take your kids to a building and you’re like “I built this shit, you ungrateful bastards.” I’m not sure who I’m calling ungrateful, my kids or the people in the building, but whatever.
When you do something silly or frivolous, you have your days where you doubt, well, the entire course of your life.
If I was a doctor, surely I’d have really helped someone by now. Or maybe not a doctor, just like someone who came up with a pretty good workout machine or something.
I’m not here to tell you you’re wrong to have those thoughts. But we’ve all got our levels. I’m not going to save someone’s life with my bullshit, but that was never the goal. It’s more about making someone else’s life suck a little less because THEY aren’t a doctor. They get down, feel like their life is worthless, then maybe get a laugh from something I did.
Doesn’t save their life. But hell, you don’t wanna be a doctor anyway. Those guys are assholes.
sarahdenn27's review
5.0
"It's taken me years to accept what you told me back then, that you were there for me that night. Not as a vigilante swinging to the rescue, but as an ideal, an inspiration. A voice I heard in darkness, commanding me to stand up. The same voice that tells us when we get beaten down, we can accept being a victim or choose to be the hero of our own stories. And we make that choice by standing up."
A wonderfully told memoir by someone who was such a huge part of the Batman universe and ended up being profoundly affected by him in his real life. It was touching to see how Batman and characters like the Joker helped him on his road to recovery and showed him how to get back up and get through life again.
A wonderfully told memoir by someone who was such a huge part of the Batman universe and ended up being profoundly affected by him in his real life. It was touching to see how Batman and characters like the Joker helped him on his road to recovery and showed him how to get back up and get through life again.
lintkaurea's review against another edition
3.0
Autobiografía friki de Paul Dini con momentos muy inspirados. Creo que le ha servido más a él, para exorcizar sus demonios, que al resto del mundo.
jenrkeeling's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
4.5
A dark but hopeful true story. I really related to Paul Dini in a lot of ways.