Bill Finger

Also known as Milton "Bill" Finger, Milton William Finger, Milton Finger

American comic strip and comic book writer (1914-1974)

Person · Open Library

Works: 45

Top works

Superman
Atomic Age Superman
Showcase Presents Superman
Detective Comics #27
Batman and Superman World's Finest

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Writing · Denver, Colorado, USA

Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914–c January 18, 1974) was an American comic book writer who was the creator 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…

Known for

Superpowered: The DC Story — Self (archive footage)2023
Heart of Batman2018
Batman & Bill — Self (archive footage)2017

via TMDB

Music · MusicBrainz

Type: Group
Origin: United Kingdom
Active from: 1969

blues rockpop rockpower pop

Discography

Official site Discogs Stream

via MusicBrainz · CC0

Listeners · Last.fm

Listeners: 1
Total plays: 1

via Last.fm · Bill Finger

Recent publications · Crossref

5 total works indexed

The ERA5 global reanalysis
· 2020 · cited 22,805x
The diagnosis of dementia due to Alzheimer's disease: Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging‐Alzheimer's Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease
· 2011 · cited 13,273x
The diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer's disease: Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging‐Alzheimer's Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease
· 2011 · cited 9,013x
Observation of a new boson at a mass of 125 GeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC
· 2012 · cited 6,604x
Toward defining the preclinical stages of Alzheimer's disease: Recommendations from the National Institute on Aging‐Alzheimer's Association workgroups on diagnostic guidelines for Alzheimer's disease
· 2011 · cited 6,026x

via Crossref · CC0

Quotes

“...[Bob Kane] 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 ... reddish tights, I believe, with boots ... no gloves, no gauntlets ... 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 ... BATMAN.”
“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.”
“Robin was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of 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"”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Key facts

Born: Milton Finger , ( 1914-02-08 ) February 8, 1914, Denver , Colorado, U.S.
Died: c. January 18, 1974 (1974-01-18) (aged 59), New York City, U.S.
Area: Writer
Notable works: Batman , Detective Comics , Green Lantern
Awards: Jack Kirby Hall of Fame (1994) Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame (1999) Inkpot Award (2014)
Spouse s: Ethel "Portia" Finger (née Epstein; 1943–1950s), Lyn Simmons (about 1968–1971)

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image: Bill Finger yearbook photo 1933.png

Show 4 more facts

date of birth: 1914-02-08
date of death: 1974-01-18
name in native language: Bill Finger
Commons category: Bill Finger

Sources (4)

via Wikidata · CC0

~20 min read

Article

Milton "Bill" Finger (February 8, 1914 – c. January 18, 1974) was an American comic book writer who is credited with co-creating the DC Comics character Batman with Bob Kane. 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 given "ghostwriter" status on comics he created or co-created, including those featuring Batman and the original Green Lantern. In recent years, Finger's lost legacy has been restored.

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. 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.