Bill, the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman (review)

Every superhero has an origin story, and Nobleman parallels his picture-book history of the literary creation of Superman (Boys of Steel, BCCB 10/08) with the equally riveting story of Milton "Bill" Finger, whose vital role in the development of Batman has not been fully credited—or remunerated—since the character debuted in 1939. Whereas the Shuster/Siegel vs. DC battle royale is relegated to the epilogue of Boys of Steel, the injustice suffered by easygoing Bill Finger at the hands of Batman's more assertive co-creator, Bob Kane, is the main event here. Boxed narration is heavily and delightfully laced with "bill" and "finger" puns and wordplay: "Bob publicly accused Bill of exaggerating. Despite that, Batmanians believed Bill. They began to murmur that he should be credited as the co-creator of Batman—that his Bill was long past due." Templeton's color artwork is a stylized homage to the period, with large frames, boxed insets, and splash pages that suggest rather than rigidly emulate the flow of a comic book. Engrossing and appropriate as the information in the main text may be for young listeners and readers, a six-page appended author's note once again saves a heckuva lot of the good stuff for the older readers who will tackle its denser, sparsely photoillustrated prose. Here Nobleman discusses his research into the life of Bill Finger, which begins as a photo hunt and ends by uncovering an entire branch of the family that had lost all public connection with Finger, and who now collect royalties from DC: "And it may be as close to a happy ending as Bill Finger will ever get. He just didn't live long enough to experience it." Older readers will enjoy the vindication, and they will never again read the words "Batman created by Bob Kane" without a mildly disdainful snort.