Bob Kane is credited as the sole creator of Batman and as such received both wealth and celebrity during his lifetime. In actuality, the character that Kane had created was a Superman knockoff who wore red tights, a domino mask and stiff wings that protruded from either side of his back. In 1938 Kane called his friend and employee, a writer named Bill Finger, and asked him to come over and review this “Bat-Man” character he was contracted to create for DC Comics. Finger came over, reviewed Kane’s work and changed everything from the colour scheme to those stiff Michelangelo-esque wings and in so doing created one of the most recognizable and profitable pieces of intellectual property that the world has ever known.
In 1989, fifteen years after Finger’s death, Bob Kane wrote, “Now that my long-time friend and collaborator is gone, I must admit that Bill never received the fame and recognition he deserved…I often tell my wife, if I could go back fifteen years, before he died, I would like to say ‘I’ll put your name on it now. You deserve it.'” Bill Finger died alone, destitute and unknown in 1974 at the age of 59. The final words on the chief medical examiner’s case file read, “Natural death. No history. No family.”
Today we all have a chance to begin restoring Bill Finger’s name. Marc Nobleman, pop-culture historian and author of Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, agreed to discuss Bill Finger, Bob Kane and what we can do to finally bring Bill Finger’s name out of the dark.
- Batman is…
Marc Nobleman: …allegedly the world’s most popular (AKA lucrative) superhero, someone who does good without needing to be paid, praised, or thanked for it.
- Bill Finger is…
Marc Nobleman: …the main mind behind Batman and the greatest unsung legacy in superhero history.
- Bob Kane is…
Marc Nobleman: …the main villain of the story behind Batman.
- The reason Bob Kane is credited as Batman’s sole creator is…
Marc Nobleman: …he checked his conscience at the door.
- Bill Finger’s contributions to the Batman character are…
Marc Nobleman: …Name the first thing that comes to mind about Batman; whatever you said is almost certainly a Bill Finger contribution. But to spell it out, Bill designed Batman’s costume. Wrote the first story. Wrote 1,500 more stories over 25 years, including Batman’s groundbreaking (and heartbreaking) origin. Wrote the first stories to feature Robin, Joker, Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler. Named Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Gotham City. Conceived of the bat motif (Batcave, Batmobile, Batarang). Nicknamed Batman “the Dark Knight.” For starters.
- Bob Kane’s contributions to the Batman character are…
Marc Nobleman: …maybe the name “Bat-Man,” but even that is disputed; besides, between pulps and film, bat-themed characters were nothing new by 1939. Finger gave Kane credit for Two-Face. Creatively, that’s about it.
- The purpose behind the Bill Finger Google Doodle Campaign is…
Marc Nobleman: …to honor Finger on the 100th anniversary of his birth in perhaps as mainstream a way as possible.
- The relationship that Bill Finger had with DC Comics –the owners and publishers of all things Batman- was…
Marc Nobleman: …unhealthy. They loved his work so tolerated missed deadlines, but (aside from [prominent DC Comics editor] Julie Schwartz) did not give him his due in his lifetime. Finger endured humiliating treatment (particularly from [Green Arrow co-creator and prominent DC Comics writer/editor] Mort Weisinger) but continued to churn out great stories.
- Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman -my biographical picture book of Bill Finger- is…
Marc Nobleman: …my humble attempt to pay tribute to a man whose work has entertained untold millions for seven decades yet who died poor, alone, and virtually unheralded.
- Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman -my biographical picture book of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster- is…
Marc Nobleman: …the first-ever standalone biography of the young men who dreamed up the world’s first superhero.
- The story of Batman’s creation by Bill Finger and Bob Kane differs from the story of Superman’s creation by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in that…
Marc Nobleman: …Siegel and Shuster died with their names on their creation. Theirs is a David and Goliath story. Finger and Kane is a Kane and Abel story—brother vs. brother—with a literal Kane.
- Comics readers who want to be more morally conscientious in the way that they support the comics industry should…
Marc Nobleman: …pay attention to who creates the work they love.
- The most surprising thing that I’ve learned about the comics industry in my career as a pop culture researcher and commentator is…
Marc Nobleman: …they had no information about Bill Finger that wasn’t already published. All the “new” information I uncovered came from private sources.
- The best way for readers to contribute to the Bill Finger Google Doodle Campaign is…
Marc Nobleman: …email proposals@google.com ASAP (target date is fast approaching!). Tell your friends to email proposals@google.com. Tweet strangers to email proposals@google.com. And if we succeed, raise a glass on February 8.
You can learn more about Bill Finger by reading Marc Nobleman’s blog Noblemania (noblemania.blogspot.ca) or Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. You can participate in the campaign by emailing proposals@google.com.
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Theodore Wiebe is a writer living in Calgary. You can follow more of his important nonsense on Twitter (@TheodoreWiebe) or Tumblr (writingafterdark.tumblr.com).
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