Hey, everyone! Hero Worship is back, and it now exists in a post-Comic-Con and more depressingly, a post-Dark Knight Rises world. Yes, the one big blockbuster movie I’ve been waiting for since 2008 has, at long last, passed through my eyeballs and entered my brain. As such, I’m left aimless. Without purpose, you might say. Okay, that’s not entirely true, but the lack of any other movies left to anticipate this summer has instead drawn me to reflecting on the Christopher Nolan trilogy and, more broadly, Batman as a character.
Superhero comics are an industry built on the hard work and often, the unsung sacrifice of many creators whose contributions have fallen by the wayside in the decades that followed the debut of their iconic creations. While it’s taken legal battles and much championing by advocates of creator rights to get names like Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s listed as co-creators of Superman, one name in particular still has yet to be given credit where credit is due: Bill Finger, the uncredited co-creator of Batman.
To help shed some light on Finger’s importance in the Batman legacy and the need to appreciate the creators – not just the characters they create – I turned to my friend Marc Tyler Nobleman, who just recently released a new book called Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman. “Bill Finger was the original writer and even before that, co-creator of Batman. He was there from the very first weekend; Bob Kane the cartoonist came to Bill with a sketch of a character that some people say was called Bat-Man. Other people say that Bob didn’t even do that much – that might never be known for sure,” said Nobleman. Illustrated by Ty Templeton and meticulously researched through the culling of old documents and interviews with friends, associates, family, and others that had never spoken at length about Finger before, Bill the Boy Wonder is presented as a kid’s storybook and walks the reader through the life of and career of Finger, following the format of Nobleman’s other book, Boys of Steel, which is a similar exploration of Superman’s creators.
It’s important to reflect on this, especially as The Dark Knight Rises climbs up the box office charts. With the rights of creators shooting to the forefront of the comics community this year as superhero flicks continue to eat up more and more of our money, fan awareness of the men and women behind their favorite characters is more crucial than ever. While creations like Spider-Man have gotten proper billing for both Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Batman remains credited solely to Bob Kane, despite the fact that Finger did much of the heavy lifting. Nobleman told me, “Bill was the one who completely overhauled it [Kane’s original sketch] and turned it into the Batman that we still know today, visually. Bob went into what became DC Comics that Monday morning with a revised sketch that was Bill’s vision. He didn’t mention to DC about Bill being involved, and then he hired Bill to write anonymously for him. That’s how Bill’s career got started.”
In terms of Finger’s contributions, Nobleman said, “I always challenge people to name something central to Batman that doesn’t come from Bill. So far, no one’s done it.” The most notable additions are things now synonymous with Batman: the color scheme, the cape and cowl, the name Bruce Wayne, and even the moniker “the Dark Knight,” a phrase so iconic that the latest Batman movies – one of which is one of the most successful movies of all time – could use that moniker alone without even having “Batman” appear in the title.
Perhaps most importantly, Finger is the one that penned that fateful journey into Crime Alley. “He wrote the first story, and many of the best stories of the first 25 years including Batman’s origin, which some people say is the reason for his endurance,” explained Nobleman. “This was the first time someone had imprinted a psychological reason to wage war on crime, where it wasn't being done just to do good for good’s sake; there was a real scarring there.” Finger was also instrumental in the creation and development of some of Batman’s most famous supporting cast, including Robin, Catwoman, and the Joker.
Sadly, the exploitation of creators at the time was not unheard of. In fact, it’s only fairly recently in the world of company-owned characters the creators have gained more recognition for their creations, even if they are still technically owned by the publisher. “It was unfortunately fairly common at the time where the comic book company couldn’t care less how the story got there; they just wanted the story there on time. You could’ve hired a person to write each page if you wanted, and they didn’t care as long as you turn it in and don’t ask for more money,” Nobleman said. He continued to explain that eventually DC discovered Finger’s involvement and then contracted him to work directly for the company instead of for Kane.
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Bob Kane never wrote a single Batman story in his lifetime.
Finger’s involvement in Batman has become common knowledge throughout the comics community, but Nobleman’s goal is for more mainstream recognition. “Bob [Kane] never wrote a single Batman story in his lifetime,” said Nobleman, but you’re not going to find Finger’s name in the credits of The Dark Knight Rises this weekend or in the next Batman graphic novel you buy; Kane’s name will stand alone. But Nobleman hasn’t given up hope that it could happen someday. “Nothing can happen for Bill unless there is legal action. DC’s not just going to put his name on there just because they know it’s the right thing to do,” he said. “They know it’s the right thing to do, but they’re part of a corporation.”
Nobleman’s exploration of Bill Finger in a digestible, accessible manner is to be commended and hopefully will educate new comic book fans on the sometimes revisionist history of superhero comics. It’s important not only to respect the past as you watch, read, or play the latest Batman adventure, but also be aware that the characters you’ve come to love and admire are products of much sacrifice, often not appreciated until long after the loss of the creators.
Keep that in mind the next time you’re reading a new comic book that you love. With comic book creators more accessible than ever on social media or at conventions, let them know their hard work is appreciated.
Bill the Boy Wonder is now available at Amazon, and Nobleman suggests that you mentally insert Finger’s name during the end credits of The Dark Knight Rises. At least until it appears there for real.
Source : feeds.ign.com
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