I'm a big fan of Batman and have been since I was a kid and watched the 1960s Batman TV show. The book "Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman" by Marc Tyler Nobleman (with illustrations by Ty Templeton) is an amazing revelation about Batman's creation. I've been reading Batman comics since the 1970s, and love the character and all of the films and cartoons he's appeared in as well. However, since his debut in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939, his creation as always been attributed solely to a man named Bob Kane. Well, Kane actually collaborated with Bill Finger to revise the look of Batman and Bill Finger wrote decades of stories about him.
Here's some of what you'll learn: It was Bill Finger's stories that helped propel Batman into fame with characters like Catwoman, the Joker, Penguin, Riddler and others. You'll read about his part in developing Robin the boy wonder, too.
MY THOUGHTS: The author, obviously a Batman fan, researched Bill Finger's family, history and work. Although a short book, and written and illustrated like a comic book, EVERY BATMAN FAN should read this. Bill Finger was married twice and had 1 son named Fred who was gay. The author's on detective work (which is a tribute to Batman himself, as he is known as "the world's greatest detective" - uncovered an heir to Bill Finger, living today... I won't give it away, however, he also uncovered that someone falsely claimed to be related to Bill Finger and was collecting royalties (which ended with the revelation).
Bill Finger was the co-creator of Batman with Bob Kane.
Bill Finger also helped co-create the original Green Lantern (Alan Scott).
He was an amazingly talented writer.
Again - Every Batman fan should read this book. - Rob
