Paul McClaran Dini (; born August 7, 1957) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

and comic creator. He has been a producer and writer for several

Warner Bros. Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios division of Warner Bros., a flagship of Warner Bros. Discovery. As the successor to Warner Bros. Cartoons, which was active from 19 ...

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

series, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995), and the subsequent

DC Animated Universe The DC Animated Universe (DCAU; also referred to as the Timmverse or Diniverse by fans referring to the creators and producers Bruce Timm and Paul Dini respectively) is a shared universe consisting primarily of superhero-based animated televi ...

. Dini and

Bruce Timm Bruce Walter Timm (born February 5, 1961) is an American artist, animator, writer, and producer. He has contributed to building the modern DC Comics animated franchise, most notably '' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) and the subseque ...

co-created the characters

Harley Quinn Harley Quinn is a character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Quinn was created by Paul Dini and Bruce Timm as a comic relief henchwoman for the supervillain Joker (character), Joker in ''Batman: The An ...

and

Terry McGinnis Batman (Terrence "Terry" McGinnis Wayne) is a fictional superhero appearing in media published by DC Entertainment. The character was created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and first appeared in the pilot episode of the animated television series ...

. Dini began writing for

on ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...

''. In addition to ''Batman: The Animated Series'', Dini was a writer for '' Superman: The Animated Series'' (1996–2000), writer and co-creator for ''

The New Batman Adventures ''The New Batman Adventures'' (often shortened as ''TNBA'') is an American superhero animated television series based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, which aired on Kids' WB from September 13, 1997 to January 16, 1999. Produced by Warner Bro ...

'' (1997–1999), and writer and developer for ''

Batman Beyond ''Batman Beyond'' (known as ''Batman of the Future'' outside the United States) is an American superhero animated television series developed by Bruce Timm, Paul Dini, and Alan Burnett. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation in collaborati ...

'' (1999–2001). He also co-created ''

Freakazoid! ''Freakazoid!'' is an American superhero comedy animated television series created by Bruce Timm and Paul Dini and developed by Tom Ruegger for the Kids' WB programming block of The WB. The series chronicles the adventures of the title characte ...

'' (1995–1997) with Timm, produced ''

Duck Dodgers Duck Dodgers is the metafictional star of a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros., featuring Daffy Duck in the role of a science fiction hero. He first appeared in the 1953 cartoon short ''Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century'', directed b ...

'' (2003–2005), developed and scripted ''

Krypto the Superdog ''Krypto the Superdog'' is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on Superman's canine companion Krypto, which premiered on Cartoon Network on March 25, 2005 (exactly 50 years after his comic debut), an ...

'' (2005–2006). After leaving Warner Bros. Animation in early 2004, Dini went on to write and story edit the first season of the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

adventure series ''

Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...

''. Dini wrote the storylines for the '' Batman: Arkham Asylum'' and '' Batman: Arkham City'' video games. In 2010, he created the live action drama series ''

Tower Prep ''Tower Prep'' is an American-Canadian 13-episode live-action teen science-fiction television series created by Paul Dini for Cartoon Network. It aired between October 12 to December 28, 2010. Prior to ''Tower Prep'', Dini was a producer and wri ...

'' for

Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...

. He has written a number of comic books for

. Dini and Timm collaborated on '' The Batman Adventures: Mad Love'', which won the

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

for Best Single Story in 1994. Dini and illustrator

Alex Ross Nelson Alexander Ross (born January 22, 1970) is an American comic book writer and artist known primarily for his painted interiors, covers, and design work. He first became known with the 1994 miniseries ''Marvels'', on which he collaborated wi ...

created the

graphic novel A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...

s '' Superman: Peace on Earth'', '' Batman: War on Crime'', '' Shazam! Power of Hope'', and '' Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth''. His original creations include

Jingle Belle Jingle Belle is a fictional comics character created by Paul Dini. The spoiled teenage daughter of Santa Claus, she has a humorously contentious relationship with her famous father. She is usually motivated by feeling unappreciated or being jea ...

, Sheriff Ida Red, and

Madame Mirage Madame Mirage is a fictional character, a superheroine from American comics publisher Top Cow Productions. She was created by Paul Dini. Overview Murder, intrigue, and revenge with superpowers: the story of Madame Mirage takes place in a world whe ...

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

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

descent through his father. Dini attended

Stevenson School Stevenson School (also known as Robert Louis Stevenson School and abbreviated as RLS) is a coeducational, private school for boarding and day students in preschool through twelfth grade. Its high school and Pre-K through eighth-grade campuses are ...

Pebble Beach Pebble Beach is an unincorporated community on the Monterey Peninsula in Monterey County, California. The small coastal residential community of mostly single-family homes is also notable as a resort destination, and the home of the golf course ...

, California on an art scholarship. He attended Emerson College in Boston, where he earned a BFA degree in

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...

. During college, he began doing

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

animation scripts for

Filmation Filmation Associates was an American production company that produced animation and live-action programming for television from 1963 until 1989. Located in Reseda, California, the animation studio was founded in 1962. Filmation's founders and ...

, and a number of other studios. In 1984, he was hired to work for

George Lucas George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the ''Star Wars'' and ''Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as chairm ...

on several of his animation projects. Dini later returned to the ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' universe in 2007 to script several episodes of '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars''.

Career

1980s

Dini wrote episodes for the 1983–1985 animated TV series, ''

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe ''He-Man and the Masters of the Universe'' is an American animated television series produced by Filmation based on Mattel's toy line ''Masters of the Universe''. The show, often referred to as simply ''He-Man'', was one of the most popular anima ...

'', as well as contributing to interviews on the released box sets of the series. He wrote an episode for the ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical Studies Rules ...

'' cartoon in 1983, an episode of the Generation One ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' cartoon series, "The Dweller in The Depths," an episode of the 1985 ''

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

'' cartoon called "Jungle Trap", and contributed to various episodes of the '' Star Wars: Ewoks'' animated series, several of which included rare appearances from the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

1990s

In 1989, Dini was hired at

to work on ''

''. Later, he moved onto '' Batman: The Animated Series'', where he worked as a writer, producer and editor, later working on '' Superman: The Animated Series'', ''

'', and ''

''. Dini was the writer for the episode Heart of Ice, which redefined

Mr. Freeze Mr. Freeze is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Dave Wood, Sheldon Moldoff and Bob Kane, and first appeared in ''Batman'' #121 in February 1959 as the ice-based criminal Mr. Ze ...

as a tragic character and won a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...

for Outstanding Writing in an Animated Program. He continued working with WB animation, working on a number of internal projects, including ''

'' and ''

'', until 2004. In 1989 and 1990, he contributed scripts to the live-action television horror anthology series ''

Monsters A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

'': " One Wolf's Family" and " Talk Nice to Me". Along with

, he created the animated series ''

''. He has earned five

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

awards for his animation work. In a related effort, Dini was the co-author with

Chip Kidd Charles Kidd (born 1964) is an American graphic designer known for book covers. Early childhood Born in Shillington in Berks County, Pennsylvania, Kidd grew up being fascinated and heavily inspired by American popular culture. Comic books ...

of '' Batman Animated'', a 1998 non-fiction coffee table book about the animated Batman franchise. Dini and

introduced

in ''Batman: The Animated Series'' as her first appearance was the episode "Joker's Favor" and in 1994, they adapted the character into comics in '' The Batman Adventures: Mad Love'' one-shot. In 1994, Dini and Timm won both the

for Best Single Story and the

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

for Best Single Issue or Story for ''Mad Love''. Dini won the same Eisner prize the next year as well, for ''Batman Adventures Holiday Special'', (a one-shot with several Christmas-themed stories) with Timm,

Ronnie del Carmen Ronnie del Carmen (born December 31, 1959) is a Filipino animation writer, director, story artist, story supervisor and production designer. He co-directed and was one of the story writers for the 2015 Pixar film '' Inside Out'', for which he ...

, and others. Harley Quinn was integrated into the mainstream DC Comics continuity in the ''Batman: Harley Quinn'' one-shot published in 1999. In ''Batman Beyond'', Dini and Timm co-created

, the teenage Batman of the future, and his supporting cast. Dini has written several comics stories for DC Comics, including an oversized

series illustrated by painter

featuring

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

('' Superman: Peace on Earth''),

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

('' Batman: War on Crime''), Shazam ('' Shazam! Power of Hope''),

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...

('' Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth''), and the

Justice League The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...

(''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''. Among Dini's original creations is

, the rebellious teen-age daughter of

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

2000s

In 2002, Dini created Sheriff Ida Red, the super-powered

cowgirl A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the ''vaquero'' ...

star of a series of books set in Dini's mythical town of Mutant, Texas. He collaborated with

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

on '' Clerks: The Animated Series''. He and Bruce Timm collaborated on the ''Harley and

Ivy ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

'' limited series for DC in 2004. Dini became the writer for DC Comics' ''

Detective Comics ''Detective Comics'' is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics. The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman i ...

'' as of issue #821 (Sept. 2006) and created a new version of the

Ventriloquist Ventriloquism, or ventriloquy, is a performance act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) creates the illusion that their voice is coming from elsewhere, usually a puppeteered prop known as a "dummy". The act of ventriloquism is v ...

in #827 (March 2007). While

Grant Morrison Grant Morrison, MBE (born 31 January 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer, screenwriter, and producer. Their work is known for its nonlinear narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, w ...

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 "The Resurrection of Ra's al Ghul" is the name of an eight issue comic book crossover story arc published by DC Comics in 2007 and 2008. It involves the return of notable Batman villain Ra's al Ghul, and is his first appearance since his apparen ...

and another on the return of

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi * ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...

. After Morrison's " Batman R.I.P." storyline in 2009, creators were moved around titles and Dini started writing two new Batman titles '' Batman: Streets of Gotham'' and '' Gotham City Sirens''. ''Streets of Gotham'' 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 Zatanna Zatara () is a superheroine appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Gardner Fox and Murphy Anderson, and first appeared in '' Hawkman'' #4 (November 1964). Zatanna is a stage magician with a ...

and

Black Canary The Black Canary is the name of two superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics: Dinah Drake and her daughter Dinah Laurel Lance. The original version was created by the writer-artist team of Robert Kanigher and ...

. In 2006, Dini was on the writing staff for the first season of the

adventure series ''

''. The ''Lost'' writers were awarded at the 2006 Writers Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Writing for a Dramatic Television Series. The following year he was the head writer of DC's weekly series, ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

''. Dini co-wrote a draft script for the ill-fated ''

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman is a Japanese animated franchise about a five-member superhero ninja team created by Tatsuo Yoshida and produced by Tatsunoko Productions. The original anime series, which debuted in 1972, was eponymously entitled ''Kagaku Ninja-tai Gatcham ...

'' movie, which never saw the light of day and resulted in him leaving the project. Dini wrote a series for

Top Cow Productions Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, an imprint of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992. History During the early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim L ...

, based in a character he created,

. In July 2008, Dini started a partnership with

GoAnimate Vyond (formerly known as GoAnimate until 2018; stylized as ''Go!Animate'' until 2013) is an American cloud-based animated video creation platform. History Vyond was founded as GoAnimate in 2007 by Alvin Hung, and the first version of GoAnimat ...

to launch his Super Rica & Rashy series on the platform. Dini returned to Batman animated adaptations to write the '' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' 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. He would go on to write several additional episodes for the series, including "Chill of the Night!", which contained a team-up between Batman and

, one of Dini's favorite characters. Dini penned the storyline for the

Rocksteady Studios Rocksteady Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London, England. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and the studio is best known for its work in the '' Batman: Arkham'' series. History ...

video game '' Batman: Arkham Asylum'', released on August 25, 2009. He wrote three episodes of '' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'': "Cloak of Darkness," "Holocron Heist," and "Voyage of Temptation." On February 14, 2008 the first edition of Dini's column, "200 Words with Paul Dini" was released on the

iFanboy ''iFanboy'' is a weekly audio podcast which focuses on comic books, comic book publishing, and comic book creators. It stars Josh Flanagan, Ron Richards, and Conor Kilpatrick. The first episode of the audio podcast was released on November 2, 20 ...

site.

2010s

Dini is the main creator of the live action drama ''

series. On August 4, 2010, it was confirmed that Dini will be involved in Marvel Comics' upcoming animated series ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate ...

'', which aired on Disney XD in 2012. He worked on ''

Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H. ''Hulk and the Agents of S.M.A.S.H.'' is an American animated television series based on the superhero character by Marvel Comics. The series premiered on August 11, 2013, on Disney XD as part of the ''Marvel Universe'' block, and ended on June 2 ...

'', an animated series centered around the

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk' ...

and his supporting cast. Dini worked with Rocksteady studios once again to create '' Batman: Arkham City'', which was a sequel to '' Batman: Arkham Asylum''. He wrote a five-issue

comic series This page provides lists of best-selling comic book series to date. It includes Japanese manga, American comic books, and European comics. This list includes comic books that have sold at least 100million copies. There are three separate lists, ...

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, '' Batman: Arkham Knight'', due to the company not wanting to hire freelance writers for future games. Dini wrote the script for ''Bloodspell'', an original graphic novel starring

and

. He also performed rewrites on Disney's

dark fantasy Dark fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporate disturbing and frightening themes of fantasy. It often combines fantasy with elements of horror or has a gloomy dark tone or a sense of horror and dr ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

Maleficent Maleficent ( or ) is a fictional character who appears as the main antagonist in Walt Disney Productions' 16th animated feature film, ''Sleeping Beauty'' (1959). She is represented as an evil fairy and the self-proclaimed " Mistress of All Evil ...

''. His graphic novel '' Dark Night: A True Batman Story'', based on a mugging he experienced in 1993, was published in June 2016. Dini wrote the "Actionland!" chapter in ''Action Comics'' #1000 (June 2018) which was drawn by José Luis García-López and

Kevin Nowlan Kevin Nowlan (born 1958) is an American comics artist who works as a penciler, inker, colorist, and letterer. He has been called "one of the few artists who can be called 'artists's artist'", a master of the various disciplines of comic producti ...

. Paul Dini and his wife, magician

Misty Lee Misty may refer to: Music * Misty (Ray Stevens album), ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * Misty (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" ...

, created an online interview feature called "Monkey Talk" on

's website, Quick Stop Entertainment.com. Dini and Misty Lee appeared on Ken Reid (comedian), Ken Reid's ''TV Guidance Counselor'' podcast on April 6, 2016.

2020s

In September 2020,

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

, a magician and voiceover actress, live in Los Angeles. Their two Boston terriers, 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 in bold *''The New Adventures of Mighty Mouse and Heckle %26 Jeckle'' (1979) *''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) *''Gilligan%27s Planet'' (1982) *''The Gary Coleman Show'' (1982) *''Dungeons %26 Dragons (TV series), Dungeons & Dragons'' (1983) *''Mister T (TV series), Mister T'' (1983) *''Saturday Supercade'' (1983) *''The Incredible Hulk (1982 TV series), The Incredible Hulk'' (1983) *''

'' (1983–1984) *''The New Scooby and Scrappy-Doo Show'' (1984) *''G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1985 TV series), G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero'' (1985) *''Star Wars: Droids'' (1985) *''Ewoks (TV series), Ewoks'' (1986) *''The Transformers (TV series), The Transformers'' (1986) *''Jem (TV series), Jem'' (1987) *''Pound Puppies (1986 TV series), Pound Puppies'' (1987) *''The Smurfs (1981 TV series), The Smurfs'' (1987) *''Garbage Pail Kids (TV series), Garbage Pail Kids'' (1988) *''The New Adventures of Beany and Cecil'' (1988) *''Bill %26 Ted's Excellent Adventures (1990 TV series), Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventures'' (1990) *''

'' (1990) *''

'' (1990–1992, 1995) *''Cap%27n O. G. Readmore'' (1992) *'' Batman: The Animated Series'' (1992–1995) *''Taz-Mania'' (1993) *''Animaniacs'' (1994) *''

'' (1995) *'' Superman: The Animated Series'' (1996–2000) *''

'' (1997–1999) *''

'' (1999–2001) *'' Clerks: The Animated Series'' (2000) *''Justice League (TV series), Justice League'' (2003) *''Static Shock'' (2003) *''

'' (2003–2005) *''

'' (2004) *''Ozzy %26 Drix'' (2004) *''Justice League Unlimited'' (2004) *''

'' (2005) *''The Batman (TV series), The Batman'' (2007) *'' Star Wars: The Clone Wars'' (2008–2010) *'' Batman: The Brave and the Bold'' (2009–2011) *''Sym-Bionic Titan'' (2010) *''

'' (2010) *''

'' (2012–2015) *''

'' (2013–2015) *''New Looney Tunes'' (2015) *''Avengers Assemble (TV series), Avengers Assemble'' (2016) *''The 7D'' (2016) *''Justice League Action'' (2016–2017) *''Creepshow (TV series), Creepshow'' (2019, 2021)

Films

*''Tiny Toon Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation'' (1992) *''Batman: Mask of the Phantasm'' (1993) *''Double Dragon (film), Double Dragon'' (1994) *''Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker'' (2000) *''Chase Me'' (2003) *''Scooby-Doo! Abracadabra-Doo'' (2010) *''DC Showcase: Catwoman'' (2011) *''Scooby-Doo! and the Spooky Scarecrow'' (2013) *''Tom and Jerry%27s Giant Adventure'' (2013) *''

'' (2014) (uncredited revisions) *''Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz'' (2016) *''Scoob!#Scoob! Holiday Haunt, Scoob! Holiday Haunt'' (unreleased)

Bibliography

Bongo Comics

* ''Bart Simpson's Treehouse of Horror'' #2, 9 (1996, 2003) * ''List of The Simpsons comics#Simpsons Comics, Simpsons Comics'' #52, 193 (2000, 2012) * ''Simpsons Comics Winter Wingding'' #1, 3 (2006, 2008)

Dark Horse

* ''

'' vol.2 #1–4 (2004–2005) * ''Jingle Belle: The Fight Before Christmas'' (2005) * ''The Bakers Meet Jingle Belle'' (2006)

DC Comics

* ''Action Comics'' #975, 1000 (2017–2018) * ''DC Animated Universe (comics), Adventures in the DC Universe'' #3 backup story (1997) * ''Batgirl Adventures'' #1 (1998) * ''Batman (comic book), Batman'' vol.1 #685 (2009), vol.3 Annual #1 (2016) * '' Batman: Arkham City'' #1–4, 6–7 [digital]; #1–5 [print] (2011) * ''Batman Black and White'' vol. 2 (2002), vol. 4 #3 (2014), vol. 5 # 1 (2020) * ''Batman: Gotham Knights'' #14 backup story (2001) * ''Batman: Harley and Ivy'' #1–3 (2004) * ''Batman: Harley Quinn'' #1 (1999) * ''Batman: Mr. Freeze'' #1 (1998) * '' Batman: Streets of Gotham'' #1–4, 7, 10–14, 16–21 (2009–2011) * ''Batman: The Adventures Continue'' #1–14 [digital], #1–5 [print] (2020–present) * '' Batman: War on Crime'' (1999) * ''The Batman Adventures'' Annual 1–2, ''Holiday Special'', ''The Batman Adventures: Mad Love, Mad Love'' (1994–1995) * ''The Batman and Robin Adventures'' #1–3, 8, 17, Annual 1 (1995–1997) * ''Batman and Superman Adventures: World's Finest'' (1997) * ''Black Canary and Zatanna: Bloodspell'' (2015) * ''Countdown to Final Crisis'' #51–1 (2007–2008) * '' Dark Night: A True Batman Story'' (2016) * ''DC Infinite Halloween Special'' #1 (2007) * ''DC Nuclear Winter Special'' #1 (2018) * ''DCU Holiday Special'' #1 (2009) * ''

'' #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 Loves Joker'' #1–2 (2018) * ''Harley Quinn'' vol.3 #17–25 backup story (2017) * ''The World's Greatest Super-Heroes, JLA: Liberty and Justice'' (2003) * ''JLA: Secret Origins'' (2002) * '' Shazam! Power of Hope'' (2000) * '' Superman: Peace on Earth'' (1998) * ''Superman Adventures'' #1 (1996) * ''Wonder Woman: Spirit of Truth'' (2001) * ''Young Monsters in Love'' (2019) * ''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) * ''

'' #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) * ''Mutant, Texas: Tales of Sheriff Ida Red'' #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, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour), 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, Eisner and Harvey Award in 1994 for '' The Batman Adventures: Mad Love''; an Eisner for ''Batman Adventures Holiday Special'' in 1995, a Harvey for ''Batman: War on Crime'' in 2000. * He received the Writers Guild of America, Writer's Guild Animation Writing award in 1999, and a second WGA award for Outstanding Achievement in Writing for a Dramatic Television Series in 2006 as a member of the writing team for ''

''. * Five-time nominee of the animation industry's Annie Awards. * Inkpot Award in 2013.

References

External links

Paul Dini's Website

Paul Dini's Blog
* *
Paul Dini
at ComicVine.com
Paul Dini
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
Paul Dini
interviewed on nerdist.com podcast, July 2016 ()
''Write Now!'' issue 4 (June 2003) and issue 5 (July 2003), TwoMorrows Publishing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dini, Paul 1957 births 21st-century American screenwriters American bloggers American comics writers American male screenwriters American people of Italian descent Television producers from New York City American television writers Annie Award winners Emerson College alumni Inkpot Award winners Living people American male television writers American writers of Italian descent Writers from New York City Writers Guild of America Award winners Screenwriters from New York (state) American male bloggers