Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an American writer, animator, and comic book artist. He has served as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros. Animation/DC Comics animated series, most notably (1992–1995), and the subsequent DC Animated Universe. Dini and Bruce Timm co-created the characters Harley Quinn and Terry McGinnis.
Dini began writing on He-Man and the Masters of the Universe for Filmation (1983-1984) Then later for Warner Bros. Animation on Tiny Toon Adventures. In addition to Batman: The Animated Series, Dini was a writer for (1996–2000), writer and co-creator for The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999), and writer and developer for Batman Beyond (1999–2001). He also co-created Freakazoid! (1995–1997) with Timm, produced Duck Dodgers (2003–2005), developed and scripted Krypto the Superdog (2005–2006). After leaving Warner Bros. Animation in early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the first season of the ABC adventure series Lost. Dini wrote the storylines for the and video games. In 2010, he created the live action drama series Tower Prep for Cartoon Network.
He has written a number of comic books for DC Comics. Dini and Timm collaborated on , which won the Eisner Award for Best Single Story in 1994. Dini and illustrator Alex Ross created the , , Shazam! Power of Hope, and . His original creations include Jingle Belle, Sheriff Ida Red, and Madame Mirage.
Early life
Paul Dini was born on August 7, 1957
in New York City to Patricia (McClaran) and Robert Dini, an advertising executive. He is of
Italians descent through his father.
Dini attended
Stevenson School in
Pebble Beach, California on an art scholarship. He attended
Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in
creative writing.
During college, he began doing freelance animation scripts for Filmation,
Career
1980s
Dini wrote episodes for the 1983–1985 animated TV series,
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series. He wrote an episode for the
Dungeons & Dragons cartoon in 1983, an episode of the Generation One
Transformers cartoon series, "The Dweller in The Depths," an episode of the 1985
cartoon called "Jungle Trap", and contributed to various episodes of the animated series,
several of which included rare appearances from the Empire.
1990s
In 1989, Dini was hired at Warner Bros. Animation to work on
Tiny Toon Adventures.
Later, he moved on to
, where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on ,
The New Batman Adventures, and
Batman Beyond.
Dini was the writer for the episode "Heart of Ice", which redefined Mr. Freeze as a tragic character and won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program.
He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including
Krypto the Superdog and
Duck Dodgers, until 2004.
In 1989 and 1990, he contributed scripts to the live-action television horror anthology series
Monsters: "One Wolf's Family" and "Talk Nice to Me". Along with
Bruce Timm, he created the animated series
Freakazoid!.
He has earned five Emmy awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was the co-author with Chip Kidd of Batman Animated, a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise.
Dini and Bruce Timm introduced Harley Quinn in Batman: The Animated Series as her first appearance was the episode "Joker's Favor" and in 1994, after the character's comic debut in 1993, they adapted the character into the origins story one-shot.[Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 289: "Harley Quinn finally made her way into the DC Universe in her own one-shot prestige-format special by writer Paul Dini alongside artist Yvel Guichet."] In Batman Beyond, Dini and Timm co-created Terry McGinnis, the teenage Batman of the future, and his supporting cast.[Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 286: "Alex Ross teamed up with writer Paul Dini...to tell a powerful story of the Man of Steel. In this beautiful sixty-four-page oversized one-shot...Superman fought a battle even he couldn't truly win: the war on poverty and hunger."] Batman ( ),[Manning "1990s" in Dolan, p. 289: "The second in the oversized prestige-format tabloid collaborations between writer Paul Dini and painter Alex Ross, Batman: War on Crime was just as successful as its predecessor, and just as beautiful."] Shazam ( Shazam! Power of Hope), Wonder Woman (), and the Justice League ( Secret Origins and Liberty and Justice). A hardcover collection of the Dini and Ross stories was published in 2005 under the title The World's Greatest Super-Heroes.
2000s
In 2002, Dini created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered
cowgirl star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas.
He collaborated with
Kevin Smith on
.[Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 290: "Paul Dini came aboard Detective Comics as its new ongoing writer as of this issue."] and created a new version of the Ventriloquist in #827 (March 2007).[Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 293: "Paul Dini and artist Don Kramer introduced a new Ventriloquist in this self-contained issue."] While Grant Morrison was starting a seven-year Batman story on the Batman title composed of long, interlinking arcs, Dini wrote a number of single-issue stories over the following year as well as two crossovers with Morrison's Batman, one focusing on the resurrection of Ra's al Ghul and another on the return of Hush.[Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 300: Detective Comics #846 "This issue began writer Paul Dini and artist Dustin Nguyen's 'Heart of Hush' story."] After Morrison's "Batman R.I.P." storyline in 2009, creators were moved around titles and Dini started writing two new Batman titles [Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 305: "Paul Dini and artist Dustin Nguyen introduced this ongoing series."] and
Gotham City Sirens.
[Manning "2000s" in Dougall, p. 306: "The villainous version of the Birds of Prey premiered in this new ongoing 'Batman: Reborn' series by writer Paul Dini and artist Guillem March."] started and ended with story arcs about Hush while
Gotham City Sirens focused on the women of Gotham; he wrote the bulk of both titles during their existence including the first and last issue of both.
In 2006 he announced that he was writing a hardcover graphic novel starring Zatanna and Black Canary. In 2004, Dini was on the writing staff for the first season of the ABC adventure series Lost.
Dini returned to Batman animated adaptations to write the episode "Legends of the Dark Mite". In the same episode, he appeared in an animated form wearing Harley Quinn's costume in a comic book convention parody scene, along with Bruce Timm wearing Joker's costume next to him.
2010s
Dini is the main creator of the live action drama
Tower Prep Cartoon Network series.
On August 4, 2010, it was confirmed that Dini will be involved in Marvel Comics' upcoming animated series
Ultimate Spider-Man, which aired on Disney XD in 2012.
He worked on
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H., an animated series centered around the
Hulk and his supporting cast.
Dini worked with Rocksteady studios once again to create
, which was a sequel to .
He wrote a five-issue set in the game continuity.
A building in Arkham City is named Dini Towers in tribute.
He did not write the storyline of the third Rocksteady game in the series,
, due to the company not wanting to hire freelance writers for future games.
Dini wrote the script for Bloodspell, an original graphic novel starring Black Canary and Zatanna.
Paul Dini and his wife, magician Misty Lee, created an online interview feature called "Monkey Talk" on Kevin Smith's website, Quick Stop Entertainment.com.
2020s
In September 2020,
DC Comics announced that Dini would be among the creators of a revived
Batman: Black and White anthology series to debut on December 8, 2020.
Dini wrote the prequel to
Scoob!,
Scoob! Holiday Haunt, set to release through
HBO Max.
It was canceled in August 2022 by Warner Bros. Discovery.
Personal life
Dini and his wife
Misty Lee,
[David, Peter (2009). More Digressions. Second Age, Inc. p. 96.] a magician and voiceover actress, live in Los Angeles.
Their two
, Mugsy and Deuce, were featured in "Anger Management", a 2012 episode of
The Dog Whisperer, in which they sought
Cesar Millan's help with their dogs' behavioral problems. Around this time, Dini began an extensive weight loss and exercise regimen which combined dog obedience training.
Screenwriting credits
Television
Head writer credits are denoted by
HW
-
The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle %26 Jeckle (1979)
-
Morgana La Duck (Quacula)
-
Bungled Burglary (Quacula)
-
Time Warped (Heckle & Jeckle)
-
Tarzan, Lord of the Jungle (1979)
-
Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids (1980)
-
Sport Billy (1980)
-
The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! (1981–1982)
-
The Incredible Sinking City
-
A Menacing Family Affair
-
A Little Something Extra
-
The Circus Plot
-
Gilligan%27s Planet (1982)
-
Let Sleeping Minnows Lie
-
The Gary Coleman Show (1982)
-
Hornswoggle's Hoax
-
Hornswoggle's New Leaf
-
Dungeons & Dragons (1983)
-
Mister T (1983)
-
The Ninja Mystery
-
Riddle of the Runaway Wheels
-
Saturday Supercade (1983)
-
The Incredible Hulk (1983)
-
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983–1984)
-
The Shaping Staff
-
Teela's Quest
-
Evil-Lyn's Plot
-
Quest for He-Man
-
Wizard of Stone Mountain
-
Prince Adam No More
-
The Mystery of Man-E-Faces
-
The Witch and the Warrior
-
Pawns of the Game Master
-
To Save Skeletor
-
The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show (1984)
-
(1985)
-
(1985)
-
Ewoks (1986) HW
-
The Transformers (1986)
-
The Dweller in the Depths
-
Jem (1987)
-
Pound Puppies (1987)
-
Good Night, Sweet Pups
-
Where's the Fire?
-
The Smurfs (1987)
-
The Magic Earrings
-
Sing a Song of Smurflings
-
Garbage Pail Kids (1988)
-
The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil (1988) HW
-
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990)
-
When the Going Gets Tough Bill & Ted are History
-
Monsters (1990)
-
One Wolf's Family
-
Talk Nice to Me
-
Tiny Toon Adventures (1990–1992, 1995)
-
Cap%27n O. G. Readmore (1992)
-
' (1992–1995) HW'''
-
Taz-Mania (1993)
-
Animaniacs (1994)
-
Freakazoid! (1995)
-
And Fanboy Is His Name
-
Foamy the Freakadog
-
Relax-O-Vision (Terror on the Midway)
-
Nerdator
-
House of Freakazoid
-
' (1996–2000) HW'''
-
The New Batman Adventures (1997–1999) HW
-
Batman Beyond (1999–2001) HW
-
(2000)
-
Justice League (2003)
-
Static Shock (2003)
-
Duck Dodgers (2003–2005) HW
-
Lost (2004)
-
Ozzy %26 Drix (2004)
-
Justice League Unlimited (2004)
-
This Little Piggy
-
Far From Home
-
Krypto the Superdog (2005–2006) HW
-
The Batman (2007)
-
(2008–2010)
-
Cloak of Darkness
-
Holocron Heist
-
Voyage of Temptation
-
(2009–2011)
-
Legends of the Dark Mite!
-
Chill of the Night!
-
Bat-Mite Presents: Batman's Strangest Cases!
-
Mitefall!
-
Sym-Bionic Titan (2010)
-
Tower Prep (2010) HW
-
Ultimate Spider-Man (2012–2015) HW
-
Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. (2013–2015) HW
-
New Looney Tunes (2015)
-
Aromatherapest
-
Wile E.'s Walnuts
-
Avengers Assemble (2016)
-
The 7D (2016)
-
Take Your Pet to Lunch Day
-
A Royal Pain in the Castle
-
Justice League Action (2016–2017)
-
Follow That Space Cab!
-
Nuclear Family Values
-
Zombie King
-
Play Date
-
Trick or Threat
-
Speed Demon
-
Garden of Evil
-
The Fatal Fare
-
Best Day Ever
-
Harley Goes Ape!
-
Quality Time
-
Special Delivery
-
Skyjacked
-
Eezy Freezy
-
Creepshow (2019, 2021)
-
Skincrawlers
-
The Right Snuff
-
The Last Tsuburaya
Films
-
(1992)
-
(1993)
-
Double Dragon (1994)
-
(2000)
-
Chase Me (2003)
-
Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo (2010)
-
(2011)
-
Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Scarecrow (2013)
-
Tom and Jerry%27s Giant Adventure (2013)
-
Maleficent (2014) (uncredited revisions)
-
(2016)
-
Scoob! Holiday Haunt (none)
Bibliography
Bongo Comics
-
Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror #2, 9 (1996, 2003)
-
Simpsons Comics #52, 193 (2000, 2012)
-
Simpsons Comics Winter Wingding #1, 3 (2006, 2008)
Dark Horse
-
Jingle Belle vol.2 #1–4 (2004–2005)
-
Jingle Belle: The Fight Before Christmas (2005)
-
The Bakers Meet Jingle Belle (2006)
DC Comics
-
Action Comics #900, 975, 1000 (2017–2018)
-
Adventures in the DC Universe #3 backup story (1997)
-
Batgirl Adventures #1 (1998)
-
Batgirl #25 (2018)
-
Batman vol.1 #685 (2009), vol.3 Annual #1 (2016)
-
#1–4, 6–7 digital; #1–5 print (2011)
-
Batman: Arkham Unhinged #4 (2012)
-
Batman Black and White vol. 2 (2002), vol. 4 #3 (2014), vol. 5 # 1 (2020)
-
#14 backup story (2001)
-
Batman: Harley and Ivy #1–3 (2004)
-
Batman: Harley Quinn #1 (1999)
-
Batman: Mr. Freeze #1 (1998)
-
#1–4, 7, 10–14, 16–21 (2009–2011)
-
#1–17 digital, #1–8 print (2020–2021)
-
#1–7 (2021–2022)
-
#1–8 (2023)
-
(1999)
-
The Batman Adventures Annual 1–2, Holiday Special, (1994–1995)
-
The Batman and Robin Adventures #1–3, 8, 17, Annual 1 (1995–1997)
-
Batman and Superman Adventures: World's Finest (1997)
-
Bizarro World (2005)
-
Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell (2015)
-
"Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular" #1 (2020)
-
Countdown to Final Crisis #51–1 (2007–2008)
-
(2016)
-
"DC's Beach Blanket Bad Guys Summer Special" #1 (2018)
-
DC Infinite Halloween Special #1 (2007)
-
DC Nuclear Winter Special #1 (2018)
-
DC Rebirth Holiday Special #1 (2016)
-
DCU Holiday Special #1 (2009)
-
Detective Comics #821–828, 831, 833–834, 837–841, 843–850, 852, 1000 (2006–2009, 2019)
-
Gotham City Sirens #1–2, 4–7, 9–11 (2009–2010)
-
"Harley Quinn 25th Anniversary Special" #1 (2017)
-
"Harley Quinn 30th Anniversary Special" #1 (2022)
-
Harley Loves Joker #1–2 (2018)
-
Harley Quinn vol.3 #17–25 backup story (2017)
-
(2003)
-
JLA: Secret Origins (2002)
-
"The Joker 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular" #1 (2020)
-
"Secrets of Sinister House" #1 (2019)
-
Shazam! Power of Hope (2000)
-
(1998)
-
Superman Adventures #1 (1996)
-
"Tis the Season to Be Freezin'" #1 (2021)
-
"Krypto the Superdog" #1 (2006)
-
"Spirit" #9 (2010)
-
Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth (2001)
-
Young Monsters in Love (2018)
-
Zatanna #1–6, 8–11, 13 (2010–2011)
-
Zatanna: Everyday Magic (2003)
DC Comics/Archie Comics
-
Harley & Ivy Meet Betty & Veronica #1–6 (2017–2018)
Eclipse Comics
-
Elvira, Mistress of the Dark #1, 8, 61 (1993, 1998)
Image Comics
-
Jingle Belle: Santa Claus vs. Frankenstein (2008)
-
Madame Mirage #1–6 (2007–2008)
-
Top Cow Holiday Special/Jingle Belle: Grounded (2010)
-
Witchblade Animated #1 (2003)
Marvel Comics
-
Captain America: Red, White, & Blue (2002)
Oni Press
-
Jingle Belle #1–2 (1999)
-
Jingle Belle: Jubilee (2001)
-
Jingle Belle: The Mighty Elves (2001)
-
Jingle Belle: Winter Wingding (2002)
-
Jingle Belle's All-Star Holiday Hullabaloo (2000)
-
#1–4 (2002)
-
Oni Double Feature #13 (1999)
-
Oni Press Summer Vacation Supercolor Fun Special (2000)
Awards
-
Two Primetime Emmy Awards nominations as part of the creation team:
-
1995, Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less)
-
1991, Outstanding Animated Program (For Programming One Hour or Less)
-
Won seven comics industry Eisner Awards and two Harvey Awards.
-
Eisner Award and Harvey Award in 1994 for ;
-
He received the Writer's Guild Animation Writing award in 1999,
-
Five-time nominee of the animation industry's .
-
Inkpot Award in 2013.
External links
