View source for Bill Finger

{{Short description|American comics writer (1914–1974)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox comics creator
| image         = Bill finger photo.jpg
| image_size    =
| caption       = Finger in 1945
| alt           =
| birth_name    = Milton Finger
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1914|02|08}}
| birth_place   = [[Denver]], [[Colorado]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{circa}} {{Death date and age|1974|01|18|1914|02|08}}
| death_place   = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| area          =
| cartoonist    =
| write         = y
| art           =
| pencil        =
| ink           =
| edit          =
| publish       =
| letter        =
| colour         =
| alias         =
| spouse        = Ethel "Portia" Finger (née Epstein; 1943–1950s)<br />Lyn Simmons (about 1968–1971)
| children      = 1
| signature     = Signature of Bill Finger.png
| signature_alt =
| notable works = ''[[Batman (comic book)|Batman]]''<br />''[[Detective Comics]]''<br />''[[Green Lantern (comic book)|Green Lantern]]''
| awards        = {{Plain list|
* [[List of Harvey Award winners#The Jack Kirby Hall of Fame|Jack Kirby Hall of Fame]] (1994)
* [[List of Eisner Award winners#The Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame|Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame]] (1999)
* [[Inkpot Award]] (2014)
}}
| website       =
}}

'''Milton''' "'''Bill'''" '''Finger''' (February 8, 1914<ref>{{Cite comic| writer= [[Carmine Infantino|Infantino, Carmine]]| penciller=| inker=| story= Last February, The Batman lost a father. | title= Famous First Edition| issue= F-6| date= March 1975| publisher= [[DC Comics]]| page= inside front cover| panel=}}</ref> – {{circa|January 18, 1974}})<ref name=fingerfamily>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fingerfamily.com/html/bio-finger-bill-12367.html |title=Bill Finger |first=Dwight |last=Finger |publisher=FINGAR and FINGER Family Genealogy |access-date=March 1, 2013 |archive-date=March 3, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130303032554/http://www.fingerfamily.com/html/bio-finger-bill-12367.html |url-status=live |quote=Some researchers have put his birth in New York, but the 1920 U.S. Census along with other evidence shows he was born in Denver, Colorado. }}</ref><ref name=fredfinger>{{Cite book | last=Nobleman | first=Marc Tyler | title=Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Creator of Batman | publisher=Charlesbridge Publishing | year=2012 | page=[https://archive.org/details/billboywondersec0000nobl/page/32 32 (unnumbered)] | isbn=978-1580892896 | url=https://archive.org/details/billboywondersec0000nobl/page/32 }}</ref> was an American comic book writer who was the co-creator (with [[Bob Kane]]) of the [[DC Comics]] character [[Batman]]. Despite making major (sometimes, signature) contributions as an innovative writer, visionary mythos/world builder and illustration architect, Finger (like other creators of his era) was often relegated to [[ghostwriter]] status on many comics—including those featuring Batman, and the original [[Green Lantern]], [[Alan Scott]].

While Kane privately admitted in a 1980s audio interview with his autobiographer that Finger was responsible for "50–75% of all the creativity in Batman," he publicly denied Finger had been anything more than a subcontractor executing Kane's ideas for decades. As a result, Finger died in obscurity and poverty while the Batman brand, and Kane, amassed international fame and wealth.<ref>{{cite AV media | people = Argott, Don and Joyce, Sheena M. (co-directors) | title = Batman & Bill | medium = Motion picture | publisher = 9.14 Pictures and Thruline Entertainment | location = United States | date = 2017}}</ref> In the 2000s, Finger biographer [[Marc Tyler Nobleman]]'s research uncovered previously unknown heirs. At the urging of Nobleman, the online comics fan community, and others, Finger's granddaughter revived the fight to restore his lost legacy, which continued for years. In 2015, DC Comics's parent company conditionally agreed to recognize Finger's intellectual property claim as co-creator of the Batman characters and mythos, officially adding his name, going forward, to the "created by" credit line Kane had been contractually guaranteed in 1939.<ref name="thr-sept2015">{{Cite news |last=McMillan |first=Graeme |date=September 18, 2015 |title=DC Entertainment To Give Classic Batman Writer Credit in 'Gotham' and 'Batman v Superman' (Exclusive) |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dc-entertainment-give-classic-batman-824572 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022181821/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/dc-entertainment-give-classic-batman-824572 |archive-date=October 22, 2015 |access-date=September 21, 2015 |work=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref>

==Early life==
Bill Finger was born in [[Denver]], Colorado, in 1914 to an [[Ashkenazi Jewish]] family.<ref name=fingerfamily /><ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/072408/ | first=Simcha | last=Weinstein | date=July 24, 2008 | title=A Jewish 'Joker' | work=[[New Jersey Jewish News]]|location= Whippany, New Jersey| access-date=December 29, 2010 | archive-date=May 18, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120518174649/http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/072408/ltJewishJoker.html}}</ref> His father, Louis Finger, was born in [[Austria-Hungary]] in 1890 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1907. Little is known about his biological mother Rosa Rosenblatt.<ref name="noblemania family">{{Cite web|title=Finger family mysteries: Bill's mother(s) and "sisters"|url=https://www.noblemania.com/2020/05/finger-family-mysteries-bills-mothers.html|access-date=September 19, 2021}}</ref> His stepmother Tessie was born in 1892 in New York City.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1919|title=United States of America Petition for Naturalization: Louis Finger|url=http://47251938.nhd.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/2/6/122675371/record-image_3qs7-89m8-292y.jpg}}</ref> The family also included two daughters (or possibly nieces raised as daughters),<ref name="noblemania family" /> Emily and Gilda. The family moved to [[The Bronx]], [[New York City]], where during the [[Great Depression]] Louis Finger was forced to close his tailor shop.<ref>Nobleman, ''Bill the Boy Wonder'', p. 2 (unnumbered).</ref> Finger graduated from [[DeWitt Clinton High School]] in The Bronx in 1933.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://noblemania.blogspot.cm/2012/08/bill-fingers-alma-mater-newsletter.html |first=Marc Tyler |last=Nobleman |date=August 19, 2012 |title=Bill Finger's alma mater newsletter |publisher=Noblemania |access-date=March 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413131626/http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2012/08/bill-fingers-alma-mater-newsletter.html |archive-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=dead }} Archive requires scrolldown.</ref><ref name=NNS>{{Cite news|last1=Cruz|first1=David|title=Batman Co-Creator to Get Street Renaming|url=http://www.norwoodnews.org/id=24846&story=batman-co-creator-get-street-renaming/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222162414/http://www.norwoodnews.org/id=24846&story=batman-co-creator-get-street-renaming/|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 22, 2017|access-date=December 22, 2017|work=Norwood News|date=December 7, 2017}}</ref>

==Career==
===Comics===
An aspiring writer and a part-time shoe salesman, Finger joined [[Bob Kane]]'s nascent studio in 1938 after having met Kane, a fellow DeWitt Clinton alumnus, at a party.<ref name="Archives 3">{{Cite book|chapter= Bill Finger|first= Joe|last= Desris|title= Batman Archives Volume 3|publisher= DC Comics|year= 1994|page= 223|isbn= 978-1563890994}}</ref> Kane later offered him a job [[ghostwriter|ghost writing]] the strips ''Rusty'' and ''Clip Carson''.<ref>{{Cite book |author-link=Les Daniels |last=Daniels |first=Les |title=Batman: The Complete History |publisher=Chronicle Books |year=1999 |isbn=0-8118-4232-0 |page=17}}</ref><ref name="jim">{{Cite book |author-link=Jim Steranko |last=Steranko |first=Jim |title=The Steranko History of Comics |publisher=Supergraphics | location=[[Reading, Pennsylvania]] | year=1970 | isbn=0-517-50188-0 |page=44}}</ref>

====Batman====
Early the following year, National Comics' success with the seminal superhero [[Superman]] in ''[[Action Comics]]'' prompted editors to scramble for similar heroes.<ref>Nobleman, ''Bill the Boy Wonder'', p. 5 (unnumbered).</ref> In response, Kane conceived the "Bat-Man". Finger recalled Kane
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |...&nbsp;had an idea for a character called 'Batman', and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of&nbsp;... reddish tights, I believe, with boots&nbsp;... no gloves, no gauntlets&nbsp;... with a small [[domino mask]], swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign&nbsp;... BATMAN.<ref name="jim" />}}

Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl with pointed bat-ears instead of the domino mask, a cape instead of wings, adding gloves, and changing the red sections of the costume to gray.<ref name="Archives 3" /><ref>Daniels, pp. 21 and 23.</ref> Finger later said his suggestions to have his eyes covered by white lenses was influenced by [[Lee Falk]]'s popular ''[[The Phantom]]'', a [[Print syndication|syndicated]] newspaper [[comic strip]] character with which Kane was also familiar,<ref>Kane, Andrae, p. 41.</ref> and that he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the character's secret identity. Finger said, "Bruce Wayne's first name came from [[Robert I of Scotland|Robert Bruce]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of [[gentry]]. I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock&nbsp;... then I thought of [[Anthony Wayne|Mad Anthony Wayne]]."<ref name="me" /> Kane decades later in his autobiography described Finger as "a contributing force on Batman right from the beginning&nbsp;... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective."<ref>Kane, Andrae, pp. 41–43.</ref> [[Marc Tyler Nobleman|Nobleman]] said, "Bob [Kane] showed Bat-Man to [editor] Vin [Sullivan]—without Bill. Vin promptly wanted to run Bat-Man, and Bob negotiated a deal—without including Bill."<ref>Nobleman, ''Bill the Boy Wonder'', p. 10 (unnumbered).</ref>

Finger wrote both the initial script for Batman's debut in ''[[Detective Comics]]'' #27 (May 1939) and the character's second appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #28 (June 1939), while Kane provided art.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Wallace|first1= Daniel|last2=Dolan|first2=Hannah, ed.|chapter= 1930s|title=DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle|publisher=[[Dorling Kindersley]]|year=2010|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn= 978-0-7566-6742-9|page= 24|quote=DC's second superstar debuted in the lead story of this issue, written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, though the character was missing many of the elements that would make him a legend.}}</ref><ref name="Archives 3" /><ref>[http://www.comics.org/issue/442/ ''Detective Comics'' #27] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906090658/https://www.comics.org/issue/442/ |date=September 6, 2017}} and [http://www.comics.org/issue/458/ #28] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906035641/https://www.comics.org/issue/458/ |date=September 6, 2017}} at the [[Grand Comics Database]].</ref> Batman proved a breakout hit, and Finger went on to write many of the early Batman stories, including making major contributions to the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]] character.<ref name=rocketllama>{{Cite web | url=http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/07/21/interview-meet-the-jokers-maker-jerry-robinson/ | title= Interview: Meet the Joker's Maker, Jerry Robinson | publisher=RocketLlama.com | date=July 21, 2009 | access-date=March 2, 2013 | archive-date=September 25, 2012 | url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925123328/http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/07/21/interview-meet-the-jokers-maker-jerry-robinson/}} Part 2, [http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/08/05/interview-the-jokers-maker-tackles-the-man-who-laughs/ "Interview: The Joker's Maker Tackles The Man Who Laughs"], August 5, 2009. {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723035747/http://www.rocketllama.com/blog-it/2009/08/05/interview-the-jokers-maker-tackles-the-man-who-laughs/ |date=July 23, 2012}}.</ref> Batman background artist and [[letterer]] [[George Roussos]] recalled:
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |What was good about Bill was that whenever he wrote a plot, he did a lot of research for it. Whether the setting was a railroad station or a factory, he would find a photo reference, usually from ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', and give Bob all the research to draw from. He was very orderly and methodical. His only problem was that he couldn't sustain the work&nbsp;... he couldn't produce material regularly enough.<ref>Roussos, George, in {{Cite news | author=Gruenwald, Mark | author-link=Mark Gruenwald | date=April 1983 | title=George Roussos | work=[[Comics Interview]] | issue=2 | pages=45–51 | publisher=[[Fictioneer Books]]}}</ref>}}

[[Dick Grayson|Robin]] was introduced as Batman's sidekick in ''Detective Comics'' #38 (April 1940).<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 31: "Writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane justified any hyperbole in this issue, for with the introduction of Robin, Batman's world changed forever."</ref> When Kane wanted Robin's origin to parallel Batman's, Finger made Robin's parents circus performers murdered while performing their trapeze act.<ref>Kane, Andrae, pp. 104–105.</ref> Finger recalled:
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |Robin was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of [[Douglas Fairbanks]] and [[Sherlock Holmes]]. Holmes had his Watson. The thing that bothered me was that Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking. I found that as I went along Batman needed a Watson to talk to. That's how Robin came to be. Bob called me over and said he was going to put a boy in the strip to identify with Batman. I thought it was a great idea".<ref name="jim" />}}

Comics historian [[Jim Steranko]] wrote in 1970 that Finger's slowness as a writer led Batman editor [[Whitney Ellsworth]] to suggest Kane replace him, a claim reflected in Joe Desris' description of Finger as "notoriously tardy".<ref name="Archives 3" /><ref name="Steranko, p. 45">Steranko, p. 45.</ref> 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]]).<ref>Kane, Andrae, p. 103.</ref><ref>Daniels, p. 31.</ref> Upon his return, Finger is credited with providing the name "[[Gotham City]]".<ref name="Steranko, p. 45" /> Finger wrote the debut issue of Batman's [[Batman (comic book)|self-titled comic book]] series which introduced the [[Joker (comics)|Joker]] and the [[Catwoman]].<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 31: "The first issue of Batman's self-titled comic written by Bill Finger and drawn by Bob Kane, represented a milestone in more ways than one. With Robin now a partner to the Caped Crusader, villains needed to rise to the challenge, and this issue introduced two future legends: the Joker and Catwoman."</ref> Among the things that made his stories distinctive were a use of giant-sized props: enlarged pennies, sewing machines, or typewriters.<ref>Kane, Andrae, pp. 119–120.</ref><ref>Steranko, p. 49.</ref> Finger seemed to avoid having Batman operate out of a cave in the early stories, to circumvent being too similar to the Phantom and Zorro. Instead Finger indicated that Wayne merely used "underground hangars" on the property to store vehicles. The [[Batcave]] first appeared in the 1943 [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia]] [[Batman (serial)|serial]] starring [[Lewis Wilson]] and the comics followed suit thereafter. [[Donald Clough Cameron]] created the concept of Batman having a trophy section in the Batcave. One of the prevalently featured trophies in Batman's Batcave, the giant replica of a [[Cent (United States coin)|Lincoln penny]], was introduced in a story written by Finger.<ref>Manning "1940s" in Dougall (2014), p. 39: ''World's Finest Comics'' #30 "Batman gained one of the most iconic trophies in his Batcave when he encountered the new villain dubbed the Penny Plunderer in this issue&nbsp;... artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger revealed how Batman added the giant penny to his intriguing collection."</ref> He was one of the writers of the syndicated ''[[Batman (comic strip)|Batman]]'' comic strip from 1943 to 1946.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=FINGER%2c+BILL|title= Finger, Bill|first= Jerry|last= Bails|author-link= Jerry Bails|date= n.d.|work= Who's Who of American Comic Books 1928-1999|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070511085227/http://www.bailsprojects.com/bio.aspx?Name=FINGER%2c+BILL|archive-date= May 11, 2007|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref> 

Eventually, Finger left Kane's studio to work directly for DC Comics, where he supplied scripts for characters including Batman and [[Superman]]. A part of the Superman mythos which had originated on the [[The Adventures of Superman (radio)|radio program]] made its way into the comic books when [[kryptonite]] was featured in a story by Finger and [[Al Plastino]] in ''[[Superman (comic book)|Superman]]'' #61 (Nov. 1949).<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 61: "Kryptonite finally appeared in comics following its introduction in ''The Adventures of Superman'' radio show back in 1943. In a story by writer Bill Finger and artist Al Plastino&nbsp;... the Man of Steel determined that the cause of his weakness was a piece of meteorite rock."</ref> As writer of the ''[[Superboy (comic book)|Superboy]]'' series, Finger created [[Lana Lang]], a love-interest for the teenage superhero.<ref>[[Alexander C. Irvine|Irvine, Alex]] "1950s" in Dolan, p. 65: "Superboy met the girl next door in ''Superboy'' #10, when the spunky redhead Lana Lang made her first appearance. In a story written by Bill Finger, with art by John Sikela, Lana quickly became infatuated with her Smallville neighbor, Clark Kent."</ref> Continuing his Batman work, he and artist [[Sheldon Moldoff]] introduced [[Ace the Bat-Hound]] in ''Batman'' #92 (June 1955),<ref>Irvine "1950s" in Dolan, p. 77: "Once Superman had a dog, Batman got one too, in "Ace, the Bat-Hound!" In the story by writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff, Batman and Robin found a German Shepherd called Ace."</ref> [[Bat-Mite]] in ''Detective Comics'' #267 (May 1959),<ref>Irvine "1950s" in Dolan, p. 94: "The impish Bat-Mite made his first appearance in ''Detective Comics'' #267, care of writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff."</ref> [[Clayface#Matt Hagen|Clayface]] in ''Detective Comics'' #298 (December 1961),<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 103: "Scribe Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff reshaped the face of evil with the second&nbsp;— and perhaps most recognized&nbsp;— Clayface ever to challenge the Dark Knight."</ref> and [[Bette Kane|Betty Kane]], the original [[Batgirl|Bat-Girl]] in ''Batman'' #139 (April 1961).<ref>McAvennie, Michael "1960s" in Dolan, p. 102: "Young Betty Kane assumed the costumed identity of Bat-Girl in this tale by writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff."</ref> Finger wrote for other companies, including [[Fawcett Comics]], [[Quality Comics]] and [[Marvel Comics]]' 1940s predecessor, [[Timely Comics]].<ref>{{Grand Comics Database search|type=credit|search= Bill+Finger|title= Bill Finger}}</ref> Finger created the [[All-Winners Squad]] in ''[[All Winners Comics]]'' #19 (Fall 1946) for Timely.<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.toonopedia.com/allwinnr.htm|title= The All Winners Squad|first= Don |last= Markstein|date= 2008|publisher= [[Don Markstein's Toonopedia]]|archive-url= https://archive.today/20120914085620/http://www.toonopedia.com/allwinnr.htm|archive-date= September 14, 2012|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref>

====Batman villains====
Finger provided an account  on the creation of Joker in 1966, though admittedly unsure if it was Robinson or Kane who initiated the initial concept:

{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |I got a call from Bob Kane&nbsp;... He had a new villain. When I arrived he was holding a playing card. Apparently Jerry Robinson or Bob, I don't recall who, looked at the card and they had an idea for a character&nbsp;... the Joker. Bob made a rough sketch of it. At first it didn't look much like the Joker. It looked more like a clown. But I remembered that [[Grosset & Dunlap]] formerly issued very cheap editions of classics by [[Alexandre Dumas]] and [[Victor Hugo]]&nbsp;... The volume I had was ''[[The Man Who Laughs]]''&nbsp;— his face had been permanently operated on so that he will always have this perpetual grin. And it looked absolutely weird. I cut the picture out of the book and gave it to Bob, who drew the profile and gave it a more sinister aspect. Then he worked on the face; made him look a little clown-like, which accounted for his white face, red lips, green hair. And that was the Joker!<ref name="Batmania 14">Finger in a panel discussion at [[Academy Con|New York Academy Convention]], August 14, 1966, transcribed in {{Cite journal|last1=Hanerfeld|first1=Mark|title=Con-Tinued|journal=Batmania|date=February 14, 1967|volume=1|issue=14|pages=8–9|url=http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=11970|access-date= August 1, 2017}} Page 8 [https://web.archive.org/web/20170817231436/http://images.furycomics.com/viewer/c3/c3383c064c6f811b7157c83a5fd71119/7.jpg archived] and Page 9 [https://web.archive.org/web/20170817231621/http://images.furycomics.com/viewer/c3/c3383c064c6f811b7157c83a5fd71119/8.jpg archived] from the originals on August 17, 2017.</ref>}}

Finger also asserted that the creation of [[Penguin (comics)|Penguin]] was fully his in the same interview, outright refuting Kane's claims:
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |Oh, he never came off a package of [[Kool (cigarette)|Kools]]...I happened to be looking at an old copy of the old ''[[The Saturday Evening Post|Saturday Evening Post]]'' that had an article on the [[Emperor Penguin]]. It had photographs of Emperor Penguins waddling about. To me they looked exactly like portly Englishmen on their way to their private clubs. Naturally when you think of an Englishman, you think of the perpetual umbrella. So, I decided to make a character who...well, it can't be just an umbrella. I decided to gimmick them. I gave him a tophat, make him looking like the Englishman, and gave him a thousand umbrellas, gimmicked. Alas, we have the Penguin.<ref name="Batmania 15">Finger in a panel discussion at [[Academy Con|New York Academy Convention]], August 14, 1966, transcribed in {{Cite journal|last1=Hanerfeld|first1=Mark|title=Con-Tinued|journal=Batmania|date=February 14, 1967|volume=1|issue=14|pages=8–9|url=http://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=11970|access-date= August 1, 2017}} Page 9 [https://web.archive.org/web/20170817231621/http://images.furycomics.com/viewer/c3/c3383c064c6f811b7157c83a5fd71119/8.jpg archived] from the originals on August 17, 2017.</ref>}}

Finger created the [[Scarecrow (DC Comics)|Scarecrow]] and it is believed that Kane penciled his first appearance.<ref name=Daniels55 /> Kane created [[Two-Face]] and Finger expanded his characterization in the first script for ''Detective Comics'' #66 (Aug. 1942).<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 41: "The nightmarish Two-Face debuted as Batman's antagonist in this story by writer Bill Finger and artist Bob Kane."</ref> The [[Riddler]] was created by Finger and designed by [[Dick Sprang]] in issue #140 (Oct. 1948).<ref name=Daniels55>Daniels, p. 55.</ref><ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 59: "The Riddler debuted as a perplexing foe of Batman in a story by writer Bill Finger and designed by Dick Sprang."</ref> The [[Calendar Man]] was another villain created by Finger without input from Kane.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Wallace|first=Daniel|contribution=Calendar Man|editor-last=Dougall|editor-first= Alastair|title= The DC Comics Encyclopedia|page= 65|publisher= [[Dorling Kindersley]]|year= 2008|location= London, United Kingdom|isbn=978-0-7566-4119-1|oclc=213309017}}</ref>

====Green Lantern====
Finger collaborated with artist and character creator [[Martin Nodell]] on the original Green Lantern, [[Green Lantern (Alan Scott)|Alan Scott]], who debuted in ''[[All-American Comics]]'' #16 (July 1940).<ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.toonopedia.com/lantern1.htm|title= Green Lantern|first= Don|last= Markstein|date= 2006|publisher= Don Markstein's Toonopedia|archive-url= https://archive.today/20240527042242/https://www.webcitation.org/6U8mktYcC?url=http://www.toonopedia.com/lantern1.htm|archive-date= May 27, 2024|url-status= live|df= mdy-all}}</ref> Both writer and artist received a byline on the strip, with Nodell in the earliest issues using the pseudonym "Mart Dellon".<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 32: "Alan Scott underwent an unexpected career change into the costumed hero Green Lantern in a story by artist Martin Nodell (using the pseudonym 'Mart Dellon') and writer Bill Finger."</ref>

According to Nodell, Finger was brought in to write scripts after Nodell had already conceived the character.<ref>{{Cite book|last= Nodell|first= Martin|author-link= Martin Nodell|title= The Golden Age Green Lantern Archives, Volume 1|chapter= preface|publisher= DC Comics|year= 1999|isbn= 978-1563895074}}</ref> Nodell recalled in an undated, latter-day interview:
{{Blockquote | style=font-size:100% |When I sent it in, I waited into the second week before I heard the word to come in. I was ushered into Mr. [[Max Gaines|[Max] Gaines]]' office, publisher, and after sitting a long time and flipping through the pages of my presentation, he announced, "We like it!" And then, "Get to work!" I did the first five pages of an eight-page story, and then they called in Bill Finger to help. We worked on it for seven years [through 1947].<ref name="nodell-int">Nodell in {{Cite web |url=http://www.accomics.com/accomics/goldenage/nuggets_nodell.html |title=An Interview With Green Lantern Creator, Martin Nodell |first=Bill |last=Black |publisher=AC Comics |access-date=July 24, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707080333/http://www.accomics.com/accomics/goldenage/nuggets_nodell.html |archive-date=July 7, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>}}

===Screenwriter===
As a [[screenwriter]], Finger wrote or co-wrote the films ''Death Comes to Planet Aytin'', ''[[The Green Slime]]'', and ''[[Track of the Moon Beast]]'', and contributed scripts to the TV series' ''[[Hawaiian Eye]]'' and ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]''.<ref name="Archives 3" /> He and Charles Sinclair wrote the two-part episode "The [[Clock King]]'s Crazy Crimes / The Clock King Gets Crowned", airing October 12–13, 1966, in season two of the live-action ''[[Batman (TV series)|Batman]]'' TV series.<ref name="Archives 3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.geocities.com/garn13/batman1.html |title=Garn's Guides: ''Batman'' |publisher=Geocities.com |access-date=December 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091028140330/http://geocities.com/garn13/batman1.html|archive-date=October 28, 2009}}</ref> It was his first public credit for any Batman story.<ref name=":0" />

==Credit==
Artist [[Bob Kane]] negotiated a contract with National Comics (the future [[DC Comics]]) that signed away ownership of the character in exchange for, among other compensations, a sole mandatory [[byline]] on all Batman comics (and adaptations thereof). Finger's name, in contrast, did not appear as an official credit on Batman stories or films until 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2015/09/19/batmans-co-creator-bill-finger-finally-receives-recognition/?sh=73154a9287e3 |title=Batman's Co-Creator Bill Finger Finally Receives Recognition |last=Salkowitz |first=Rob |author-link=Robert Salkowitz |date=September 19, 2015 |website=[[Forbes]] |access-date=September 19, 2015}}</ref> Finger began receiving limited acknowledgment for his writing work in the 1960s; the letters page of ''Batman'' #169 (Feb. 1965), for example, features editor [[Julius Schwartz]] naming Finger as creator of the Riddler.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=O'Neil |editor-first1=Dennis |editor-link1=Dennis O'Neil |editor-last2=Wilson |editor-first2=Leah |date=2009 |title=Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VydBDR_aTgoC&pg=PA95 |location=Dallas, Texas |publisher=[[BenBella Books]] |page=95 |isbn=978-1-933771-30-4}}</ref>

Additionally, Finger did receive credit for his work for National's sister company, [[All-American Publications]], during that time. For example, the first [[Wildcat (DC Comics)|Wildcat]] story, in ''[[Sensation Comics]]'' #1 (Jan. 1942), has the byline "by Irwin Hasen and Bill Finger",<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 41: "Writer Bill Finger and artist Irwin Hasen's Wildcat was Ted Grant, a boxer accused of murdering his opponent in the ring."</ref> and the first Green Lantern story (see above) is credited to "Mart Dellon and Bill Finger". National later absorbed All-American. National's practice in the 1950s made formal bylines rare in comics, with DC regularly granting credit only to Kane; [[William Moulton Marston]], creator of [[Wonder Woman]], under his pseudonym of Charles Moulton; and to [[Sheldon Mayer]].

In 1989, Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation, and wrote, "Now that my long-time friend and collaborator is gone, I must admit that Bill never received the fame and recognition he deserved. He was an unsung hero&nbsp;... 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.{{'"}}<ref name="me">{{Cite book |first=Bob |last=Kane |author2=Tom Andrae |title=Batman & Me |publisher=[[Eclipse Books]] |location=[[Forestville, California]] |year=1989 |isbn=1-56060-017-9 |page=44}}</ref> Comics historian [[Ron Goulart]] referred to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger".<ref>{{Cite book | author-link=Ron Goulart | last=Goulart | first=Ron | title=Comic Book Encyclopedia | publisher=[[HarperCollins|Harper Entertainment]] | location=New York | year=2004 | page=[https://archive.org/details/comicbookencyclo00goul/page/ '''???'''] | isbn=0-06-053816-3 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/comicbookencyclo00goul/page/ }}</ref>

Finger's contemporary, artist and writer [[Jerry Robinson]], who worked with Kane from the beginning, said, "[Bill] had more to do with the molding of Batman than Bob. He just did so many things at the beginning,&nbsp;... creating almost all the other characters,&nbsp;... the whole persona, the whole temper."<ref name= noblemanp-june19-2013>{{Cite web|title= Jerry Robinson Previously Unpublished Interview, 6/9/06|url= http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/06/jerry-robinson-previously-unpublished_19.html|publisher= Noblemania| date= June 19, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140309200319/http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/06/jerry-robinson-previously-unpublished_19.html|archive-date= March 9, 2014|url-status= live|access-date= June 19, 2013}}</ref> Batman [[inker]] [[George Roussos]], another contemporary, said, "Bob Kane had rough ideas, but Bill was the man behind Batman."<ref>{{Cite book|title=''Comic Book Artist'' #17|chapter= CBA Interview: The Great "Inky" Roussos|publisher= TwoMorrows|year= 1997|pages=66–67}}</ref> A DC Comics press release in 2007 said, "Kane, along with writer Bill Finger, had just created Batman for DC predecessor [[DC Comics|National Comics]]."<ref>{{Cite press release | url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134320 | title=DC Comics Names Jerry Robinson Creative Consultant | publisher=DC Comics via Newsarama.com | date=October 26, 2007 | access-date=December 29, 2010 | archive-date=October 28, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028024304/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134320}}</ref> Likewise, DC editor [[Paul Levitz]] wrote, "The Darknight [sic] Detective debuted in [''Detective''] #27, the creation of Bob Kane and Bill Finger."<ref>Levitz, Paul. Retrospective, inside back cover of ''Detective Comics'' #500 (March 1981).</ref>

Writer [[John Broome (writer)|John Broome]] and penciler [[Gil Kane]] created the comic-book villain William Hand, a.k.a. [[Black Hand (comics)|Black Hand]], as a tribute to Finger, on whom the character's name and likeness were based.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Comic Book Legends Revealed #298|url=http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/02/02/comic-book-legends-revealed-298/|website=[[Comic Book Resources]] | first= Brian | last= Cronin| date =February 2, 2011 | access-date= July 9, 2015| archive-date= April 18, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418165209/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/02/02/comic-book-legends-revealed-298/ | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/green-lantern-black-hand-batman-creator-bill-finger/ |title=The Green Lantern Villain Based on Batman's Co-Creator |last=Cronin |first=Brian |date=March 15, 2017 |website=Comic Book Resources |access-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref>

In September 2015, [[DC Entertainment]] announced Finger would receive credit on the 2016 superhero film ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice]]'' and the second season of ''[[Gotham (TV series)|Gotham]]'', following a deal between the Finger family and DC.<ref name=thr-sept2015 /> Finger received his first formal credit as a creator of Batman in the October 2015 comic books ''[[Batman and Robin Eternal]]'' #3 and ''Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis'' #3. The updated acknowledgement for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://comicsalliance.com/bill-finger-batman-comics-credit/ |title=Bill Finger Has A Creator Credit On This Week's Batman Comics |last=Sims |first=Chris |date=October 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114836/http://comicsalliance.com/bill-finger-batman-comics-credit/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 21, 2015}}</ref>

==Awards==
Finger was posthumously inducted into the [[Harvey Awards|Jack Kirby Hall of Fame]] in 1994 and the [[Eisner Award|Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame]] in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |url= http://www.comic-con.org/awards/hall-fame-awards?page=2|title= Will Eisner Hall of Fame|year= 2014|publisher= [[Eisner Award|The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards]]|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140110104309/http://www.comic-con.org/awards/hall-fame-awards?page=2|archive-date= January 10, 2014|url-status= live}}</ref> In 1985, DC Comics named Finger as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication ''[[Fifty Who Made DC Great]]''.<ref>{{Cite comic| writer=Marx, Barry| cowriters=[[Joey Cavalieri|Cavalieri, Joey]] and Hill, Thomas| artist=Petruccio, Steven | editor=Marx, Barry| story=Bill Finger The Darknight Detective Emerges| title=Fifty Who Made DC Great| date=1985| publisher=DC Comics| page=11| panel=| id =}}</ref> In his honor, [[San Diego Comic-Con|Comic-Con International]] established in 2005 the [[Bill Finger Award|Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing]], which is given annually to "two recipients&nbsp;— one living and one deceased&nbsp;— who have produced a significant body of work in the comics field".<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.comic-con.org/awards/bill-finger-award-node | title=The Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing | publisher=[[San Diego Comic-Con]] | access-date=March 2, 2013 | year=2013 | archive-date=January 16, 2013 | url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116014411/http://comic-con.org/awards/bill-finger-award-node}}</ref> Finger posthumously received an [[Inkpot Award]] in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url= https://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot|title= Inkpot Award|date= 2016|publisher= San Diego Comic-Con|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170129155249/http://www.comic-con.org/awards/inkpot|archive-date= January 29, 2017|url-status= live}}</ref>

==Legacy==
On December 8, 2017, the southeast corner of East 192nd Street and the [[Grand Concourse (Bronx)|Grand Concourse]] in the Bronx was named "Bill Finger Way". The corner was chosen for its proximity to [[Edgar Allan Poe Cottage|Poe Park]], where Finger and Kane used to meet to discuss their Batman character.<ref name=NYTS>{{Cite news|last1=Gustines|first1=George Gene|title=Out of the Batcave and Into the Bronx|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/13/nyregion/out-of-the-batcave-and-into-the-bronx.html?_r=0|access-date=December 22, 2017|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 17, 2017|page=MB1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Mayorga|first1=Aaron|title=Brain Behind Batman Gets Street Renaming|url=http://www.norwoodnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Norwood-News-Vol.-30-No.-25.pdf|access-date=December 22, 2017|work=Norwood News|date=December 21, 2017 |page=3}}</ref> Finger is the subject of the [[Hulu]] original documentary, ''[[Batman & Bill]]'', which premiered in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://collider.com/batman-documentary-trailer-hulu/|title=First Trailer for 'Batman & Bill' Unmasks Hulu's Batman Documentary|last=Trumbore|first=Dave|website=[[Collider (website)|Collider]]|date=April 21, 2017|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170518212710/http://collider.com/batman-documentary-trailer-hulu/|archive-date= May 18, 2017|url-status= live|df= mdy-all|access-date=April 21, 2017}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Finger married twice. He and his first wife, Portia,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/02/after-npr-portia-fingers-friend-emerges.html |first=Marc Tyler |last=Nobleman |date=February 1, 2013 |title=After NPR, Portia Finger's friend emerges, part 1 |publisher=Noblemania |access-date=March 1, 2013 |archive-date=March 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130302044958/http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/02/after-npr-portia-fingers-friend-emerges.html |url-status=live }} [http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/02/after-npr-portia-fingers-friend-emerges_2.htmlPart 2], February 2, 2013. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130908030851/http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/02/after-npr-portia-fingers-friend-emerges_2.html Archived] from the original on March 1, 2013. Archived pages require scrolldown.</ref> had a son: Frederick (nicknamed "Fred").<ref name=authorsnotep5>Nobleman, ''Bill the Boy Wonder'', "Author's Note" p. 5.</ref> After their divorce, Finger married Edith "Lyn" Simmons in the late 1960s,<ref name=noblemania-07-20-2012>{{Cite web | url=http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-creator-rises.html | first=Marc Tyler | last=Nobleman | date=July 20, 2012 | title=The Dark Knight Creator Rises | publisher=Noblemania|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140311112639/http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-dark-knight-creator-rises.html|archive-date= March 11, 2014|url-status= live|access-date=March 1, 2013|quote=...&nbsp;Lyn Simmons, Bill's second wife; they married in the late 1960s&nbsp;... Lyn said Warner backed out when it learned she was Bill's ex-wife, rather than his widow.}}</ref> but they were no longer married when he died in 1974.<ref name=noblemania-07-20-2012 />

Finger was last seen alive on January 16, 1974. His friend and longtime writing partner Charles Sinclair found Finger dead at his home on January 18 at the condominium Allen House at 340 East [[51st Street (Manhattan)|51st Street]] in Manhattan. The cause of death was [[Atherosclerosis|occlusive coronary atherosclerosis]]. His death was not widely reported at the time. Finger had suffered three heart attacks, in 1963, 1970, and 1973. Although it was long believed by Sinclair and others that Finger was buried in an unmarked [[Potter's field|potter's field grave]], his body was actually claimed by his son, Fred, who honored his wish to be cremated,<ref>{{Citation | last=Schmidt |first=Dr. Donald H.| title= Report of Death: William Finger| publisher=Office of Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York| date=June 18, 1974}} and {{Citation | title=Certificate of Death 156-74-101584: William M. Finger| publisher= Division of Records, Department of Health, City of New York}} via {{Cite web|url=http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2012/07/bill-fingers-medical-examiner-report.html|first=Marc Tyler |last=Nobleman | title= Bill Finger's Medical Examiner Report and Death Certificate|publisher=Noblemania|date=July 23, 2012|access-date= January 25, 2017|archive-date= June 17, 2015| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150617020946/http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2012/07/bill-fingers-medical-examiner-report.html|url-status=live}}</ref> and spread his ashes in the shape of a bat on a beach in Oregon.<ref name=":0">{{Cite AV media | people= Don Argott, Sheena M. Joyce (directors)|title=Batman & Bill|year=2017| medium=motion picture|publisher=Hulu}}</ref> The first story of the issue ''Batman'' #259 in December 1974 would be dedicated to Finger's memory.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Eury |first1=Michael |author-link1=Michael Eury |last2=Kronenberg |first2=Michael |date=2009 |title=The Batcave Companion |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e7t-mZrkF08C&pg=PA165 |location=Raleigh, North Carolina |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |page=165 |isbn=978-1-893905-78-8}}</ref>

Fred Finger had a daughter, Athena, born two years after Bill Finger's death. Fred died of complications from AIDS on January 13, 1992. Athena and her son are his only known living heirs,<ref name=":0"/> and her attempts (at the prompting of Nobleman and comics fans, and aided by her attorney half-sister) to restore Bill's legacy resulted in Warner Bros.'s 2015 decision to officially recognize Finger as co-creator of Batman on film and TV projects going forward.<ref name="authorsnotep5-6">Nobleman, ''Bill the Boy Wonder'', "Author's Note" pp. 5–6.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{cite AV media | people = Argott, Don and Joyce, Sheena M. (co-directors) | title = [[Batman & Bill]] | medium = Motion picture | publisher = 9.14 Pictures and Thruline Entertainment | location = United States | date = 2017}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Comicbookdb|type=creator|id= 111|title= Bill Finger}}
* {{IMDb name|277730}}
* [http://www.mikesamazingworld.com/mikes/features/creator.php?creatorid=30 Bill Finger] at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
* [http://www.twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/03kane.html ''Comic Book Artist'' #3 (Winter 1999): "The Bob Kane Letter"] (September 14, 1965, open letter by Bob Kane)
* {{Cite web| url =http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/07/27/comic-book-legends-revealed-377/ | title=Comic Book Legends Revealed | publisher=(Column #377), [[Comic Book Resources]] | date= July 27, 2012 | access-date=August 18, 2012 | first= Brian | last= Cronin | archive-date=October 22, 2012 | url-status=live| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022023742/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2012/07/27/comic-book-legends-revealed-377/}}
* {{LCAuth|n00042098|Bill Finger|22|}}

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