BILL FINGER

'William "Bill" Finger' (February 8, 1914–January 18, 1974) was an American writer best known as the uncredited co-creator, with Bob Kane, of the DC Comics character Batman, as well as the co-architect of the series' development. In later years, Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation.^[1] Comics historian Ron Goulart, in ''Comic Book Encyclopedia'', refers to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger".^[2]
Finger additionally helped create Batman nemeses The Joker^[1] , Catwoman^[4], Two-Face^[5], The Riddler, and others. He also wrote many of the original 1940s Green Lantern stories and would go on to contribute to the development of numerous comic book series.

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Film

Credit

Awards

Quotes

Footnotes

Green Lantern

References

Biography

Early life and career

Bill Finger joined Bob Kane's nascent studio in 1938. An aspiring writer and a part-time shoe salesperson, he had met Kane at a party; Kane later offered him a job ghost writing the strips ''Rusty'' and ''Clip Carson''.^{[6] [7]}
Early the following year, National Comics' success with the seminal superhero Superman in ''Action Comics'' prompted editors to scramble for similar heroes. In response, Kane conceived "the Bat-Man". Finger recalled that Kane
Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl instead of the domino mask, a cape instead of wings, AND gloves, and removing the red sections from the original costume.^[8] He later said his suggestions were influenced by Lee Falk's popular ''The Phantom'', a syndicated newspaper comic strip character with which Kane was familiar as well,^[9] and that he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the character's secret identity: "Bruce Wayne's first name came from Robert Bruce, the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock ... then I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne." As Kane summed up decades later in his autobiography, "Bill Finger was a contributing force on Batman right from the beginning... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective.^[10]
Finger wrote the initial script for Batman's debut in ''Detective Comics'' #27 (May 1939), while Kane provided art. Batman proved a breakout hit, and Finger went on to write many of the early Batman stories, including making major contributions to the character of the Joker, as well as other major Batman villains. When Kane wanted Robin's origin to parallel Batman's, Finger made Robin's parents circus performers murdered while performing their trapeze act.^[11]
Bill Finger recalled that,
Comics historian Jim Steranko wrote in 1970 that Finger's slowness as a writer led Batman editor Whitney Ellsworth to suggest Kane replace him.^[12] During Finger's absence, Gardner Fox contributed scripts that introduced Batman's early "Bat-" arsenal(the utility belt, the Bat-Gyro/plane and the Batarang).^{[13] [14]} Upon his return, Finger created or co-created items such as the Batmobile and Batcave,^[15] and is credited with providing a name for Gotham City.^[12] Among the things that made his stories distinctive were a use of giant-sized props: enlarged pennies, sewing machines, or typewriters.^[17] Steranko, p. 49^[18]
Nodell's name appeared first, before Finger's, in the bylines on the stories that he drew, although when ghost artists such as Irwin Hasen were used, Bill Finger's name appeared first so that the credits instead read "by Bill Finger and Martin Nodell".

Film

As a screenwriter, he wrote or co-wrote the films ''Death Comes to Planet Aytin'', ''The Green Slime'', and ''Track of the Moon Beast''. He also wrote a Clock King episode of the live-action ''Batman'' TV series.

Credit

Kane negotiated a contract with National that signed away ownership in the character in exchange for, among other compensations, a mandatory byline on all Batman comics. Finger's name, in contrast, never appeared on any of the Batman stories he wrote in the 1940s and 1950s. He did receive credit for work done for National's sister company, All-American Publications, during that time. For example, the first Wildcat story, in ''Sensation Comics'' #1 (July 1942), has the byline "by Irwin Hasen and Bill Finger", and the first Green Lantern story (see above) is credited to "Mart Dellon and Bill Finger". National later absorbed All-American. General industry practice made formal bylines rare in comics, with DC regularly granting credit in its comics only to Kane and of William Moulton Marston, creator of Wonder Woman.
Finger began to receive limited acknowledgment for his Batman work in the 1960s, as a writer. The letters page of ''Batman'' #169 (Feb. 1965), for example, has editor Julius Schwartz naming Finger as creator of The Riddler, one of Batman's recurring villains.

Awards

Finger was posthumously inducted into both the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame. He is also the namesake of the Bill Finger Award, founded by Jerry Robinson, which honors lifetime achievements by comic book writers.

Quotes

'Bob Kane:' "There were other Batman writers throughout the years but they could never capture the style and flavor of Bill's scripts. Bill was the best writer in the business and it seemed that he was destined to write Batman".^[19]

Footnotes

1. Batman & Me, , Bob, Kane, Eclipse Books, 1989, 1-56060-017-9
2. Goulart, Ron, ''Comic Book Encyclopedia'' (Harper Entertainment, New York, 2004) ISBN 0-06-053816-3
3. Batman & Me, , Bob, Kane, Eclipse Books, 1989, 1-56060-017-9
4. Kane, Andrae, pp. 107-108
5. Kane, Andrae, pp. 108-109
6. The Comics Since 1945, , Brian, Walker, Harry N. Abrams, ,
7. The Steranko History of Comics, , Jim, Steranko, Supergraphics, 1970,
8. Batman: The Complete History, , Les, Daniels, Chronicle Books, 1999,
9. Kane, Andrae, p. 41
10. Kane, Andrae, p. 41–43
11. Kane, Andrae, pp. 104–105
12. Steranko, p. 45
13. Kane, Andrae, p. 103
14. Daniels, p. 31
15. Batman: The Dailies 1943-1946, , Bob, Kane, Sterling, 2007,
16. Steranko, p. 45
17. Kane, Andrae, pp. 119-120
18.
Eventually, Finger left Kane's studio to work directly for DC Comics, where he supplied scripts for Batman, Superman (wherein he introduced the character Lana Lang) and others. He would eventually supply scripts to rival publishers such as Fawcett, Quality and TimelyMarvel Comics.

Green Lantern

In 1940, Finger collaborated with artist Martin Nodell on a new superhero feature in All-American Comics #16 (July 1942) called The Green Lantern. Both writer and artist received a by-line on the strip, with Nodell in the earliest issues using the pseudonym "Matt Dellon".
According to Nodell, Finger was brought in to write scripts after Nodell had already conceived the character.Martin Nodell, ''The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives Volume 1'', preface
19. Kane, Andrae, p.44

References

★ Grand Comics Database

★ Jones, Gerard. ''Men of Tomorrow: Geeks, Gangsters, and the Birth of the Comic Book'' (Basic Books, 2004; trade paperback ISBN 0-465-03657-0

★ Goulart, Ron. ''Fifty Years of American Comic Books''