Batman & Bill Page #2

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We ordered our Cokes.

And Otto turns to me and Bob,

he said, "Boys, how

would you like to meet

the creator of Batman?"

And, like, our jaws dropped,

our eyes had to be wide open,

and we figured we were

going to meet Bob Kane,

which was the only

name we ever saw

on a comic book, it

was always in a box

with a big "O" for Bob.

And Otto said, "Fellas,

meet Bill Finger."

So in 1965 at this Comic Con,

in this dingy hotel in New York,

Bill Finger made what

is probably his first

and maybe his only

public appearance,

and he appeared on a panel

with three other

comics' creators.

At this panel,

Bill was introduced

by the moderator whose

name was Jerry Bails.

And perhaps we'll hear some...

Jerry was the fan,

who in 1964 or so,

figured out that it could not be

just this one guy, Bob Kane,

writing and drawing

every Batman story every month.

So Jerry did some

detective work of his own.

He wrote letters

to DC Comics saying,

"Who's really doing all this?"

And in those days, companies

would write you back

with a personal letter.

And the name that he saw

more than any other

was Bill Finger.

So in 1965, Jerry wrote

a two-page article

which was called

"If the Truth Be Known,"

"A Finger in Every Plot!"

And this was obviously

way before the internet,

so his way of spreading the word

was he made copies of

this and sent it out

to Batman fans all

over the country.

And that's when...

the controversy erupted.

Bill was given a forum

to tell his story

where we could

finally become familiar

with all these

characters and books

that he wrote over the decades.

It was the first thing

that, in writing,

really gave Bill Finger credit

for the co-creation of Batman,

and it was about time.

That fateful Friday in 1939

when Bob told his editor

that he would be able to

come up with a superhero

over the weekend,

he apparently did

go home that day

and work on a character

which he called "Batman."

Bob's idea for Batman

was a character

in a red union suit,

basically red tights,

a domino mask

which is a little mask

like what Robin wears now,

stiff wings

attached to the arms,

and, as far as we

know, nothing more,

no other

distinguishing elements.

And he had enough sense to know

that this was not good enough,

and he knew who to call.

Bill Finger.

They get together.

They're huddling

over this drawing,

and Bill looked at

the red suit and said,

"This is not suitable for

a creature of the night.

He's got to be

darker," so he said,

"Let's darken

the whole costume."

He looked at the

little mask and said,

"This is not going to

intimidate criminals.

Let's cover most of

his face with a cowl

and put pointed ears on it,

so that he actually

looks like his namesake.

The stiff wings

are not practical

for obvious reasons,

so let's ditch the wings

and give him a cape

with a scalloped edge

which will fly out behind him

and look like wings."

You set the tone of

this character's essence

from his visuals

before you know a thing

about his personality

and his mission.

So that was all Bill.

Bill reconstructed Batman

into the Batman that

we all know today.

Bob apparently

went to the company

on Monday morning

with this sketch.

Did not mention that there

was anyone else involved,

and said, "This is my idea."

I have been told, although

I've never been privy,

of course, to the contract,

that that contract included

specifically a stipulation

that Batman would

hereafter be listed

as the sole

creation of Bob Kane.

Bob went back to Bill

and presumably said,

"Great news, they

want to buy Batman,

so you'll write it

and I'll draw it,

and my name will be on it

because I sold it, of course,

and I'll give you a portion

of what I get paid."

Nothing was signed,

as far as we know,

but it was something that

they mutually agreed on.

So Bill was not credited

at all from the beginning,

and within a couple of months,

Batman was on the newsstands.

Batman debuted in '39

and, essentially,

it was from 1939 to 1965

where Bill was anonymous.

It's one thing for

Bob Kane in 1939

to take full credit for Batman

when Bill Finger agreed to it,

but where the story

changes dramatically

is in the '60s when

Bill is coaxed out.

At that point, Bob had

a decision to make.

"Am I going to own up to this

or am I going to deny it

from my position of power?"

He had a chance to take,

obviously, the high road

or the low road,

and he took the way low road.

When Jerry's article about

what Bill Finger had done

on Batman came out,

of course it made

Bob Kane go ballistic

the minute that he saw it,

so he went to the

editor of Batmania

and he wrote half a

dozen pages of diatribe.

Obviously, Bob Kane did not want

Bill Finger's story told

and took tremendous

offense at it.

"Here, for the first time,

straight from the horse's mouth,

is the real inside story

about myself and Batman.

It seemed to me that Bill Finger

has given out the impression

that he and not myself

created the 'Batman'

as well as Robin

and all the other leading

villains and characters.

This statement is fraudulent

and entirely untrue!"

There was one man's

word against the other.

There was no reality show

documenting the birth

of Batman, of course.

It was two guys in an apartment

in the Bronx in 1939

when most people had

much bigger things

to worry about

than who's coming up with

this guy dressed as a bat?

"The truth is that Bill

Finger is taking credit

for much more than he deserves,

and I refute much of his

statements here in print.

The fact is that I

conceived the 'Batman' figure

and costume entirely by myself.

I created the title, masthead,

the format and concept,

as well as the Batman

figure and costume."

I don't think that

Bob Kane ever wanted

anything out in writing

that would admit

that anybody else

had a hand in creating

anything for Batman.

His whole myth,

his contract with DC,

his name on the stories

all owed to the fact

that he was the

creator of Batman.

When Bob chose to respond

to Bill's coming out

by writing a letter

denying Bill's

involvement to that degree,

Bob was, in effect,

changing the course

of his life with this letter.

He was saying, "I'm

going to have to stick

to this story forever."

We're all born with a

natural creative potential.

Every man has it

and every woman.

The idea is to find

out what that is.

And it's like a

little birdie tells you

and whispers in your ear,

it's an intuitive thing.

No one can tell

you that but God.

And I knew I had that

when I was eight or ten

that I wanted to be

a famous cartoonist.

Bob Kane was a kid

from the Bronx,

and he was an artist

with big dreams.

He was a go-getter

and he was working

for the company that

would become DC Comics

which at that point was

called National Periodical.

Bob and Bill met at a party.

They didn't know each

other previous to that

even though they went

to the same high school.

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