Universally loved writer and producer of Batman: The Animated Series Paul Dini will finally be returning to DC Comics to write a Batman original graphic novel.

Paul Dini is one who has blurred the lines between animated series/television writer and comic book scribe for the past few decades, but one character has stood out as a go-to for the writer and that is none other than Batman. Rabid Batman fans came to know Dini from his excellent work on Batman: The Animated Series, but following that Dini has had a lot of success as a comic book storyteller, most recently with Dini’s Detective Comics run, most specifically Heart of Hush, which led to Batman: Streets of Gotham and Gotham City Sirens in the wake of Grant Morrison’s Batman RIP story arc. Dini was one of the few writers to be a part of the post-Bruce Wayne Gotham, and did so to the praise of many fans.

All of this considered, it’s especially exciting to hear that Dini is making his way back to the character. When DC’s New 52 was announced, it wasn’t looking like there would be much room for many of the creators who were doing such wonderful work pre-relaunch, specifically Dini, whose work tends to lie somewhere between reflective, thought-provoking writing or a lighter, fun take on Batman. Honestly, we need Dini back. Unfortunately, as much as I’d love to see the scribe take on a full ongoing series, he has promised to deliver an original graphic novel.

At this point, there aren’t many other details, but even as a graphic novel, I’m extremely excited to see this come out whenever it does, even if it takes a year or two.

[Source: Robot 6]