Do You Think Bob Kane Deserves To Be Credited As Co-Creator Of Batman?

[Amadeus Arkham]

Just got done watching that Bill Finger documentary and it was real eye opener for me in terms of Finger’s contributions. Finger created Gotham, crafted Batman’s origin, created Bruce Wayne, among other things. Kane’s contributions by comparison seem rather minuscule in comparison. He only created like one drawing that looked nothing the one seen in Detective Comics #27. It didn’t have the ears and there was no cowl, just a blonde haired dude in a domino mask with wings. Do you think Kane deserves to be credited as the creator, or do you think Bill Finger deserves solo credit for the creation?

[Gaius]

The basic concept of a superhero called "Bat Man" originated with Kane. So on that basis, yes.

[Vakanai]

Yes. Without Kane there would be no Batman. Without Finger there would be no Batman as we recognize him today. Both deserve credit.

[JAG2045]

The original contract signed between Kane and DC over 80 years ago gave him a permanent "Created by" credit so there is no way to remove or edit his name from the comics

[kevink31593]

I agree Kane deserves credit, at the very least because he was the one who had the deal with DC that made Batman happen. He came up with the basic name “Bat-Man”. But Bill Finger no doubt at all made Batman what he is today.

I think it’s great that Finger is finally getting official credit. However, I really wish it could have been “and Bill Finger” instead of “with Bill Finger”. It’s a subtle difference, but to me it seems like it downplays his role. I think “with Bill Finger” was probably a compromise with the Kane estate, but it’s definitely better than the zero credit Finger got until recently.

[JAG2045]

I agree Kane deserves credit, at the very least because he was the one who had the deal with DC that made Batman happen. He came up with the basic name “Bat-Man”. But Bill Finger no doubt at all made Batman what he is today.

I think it’s great that Finger is finally getting official credit. However, I really wish it could have been “and Bill Finger” instead of “with Bill Finger”. It’s a subtle difference, but to me it seems like it downplays his role. I think “with Bill Finger” was probably a compromise with the Kane estate, and it definitely better then the zero credit he got during his lifetime.

Agreed, Seigel and Shuster get an "AND" credit showing they are equals in the creation of Superman, Finger getting a "WITH" credit seems to imply he was involved but not equally, its a minor thing but I think he deserves better credit (especially since he was robbed of credit for nearly his entire life!)

[Riv86672]

Yes. Without Kane there would be no Batman. Without Finger there would be no Batman as we recognize him today. Both deserve credit.

This is correct.

[batnbreakfast]

Agreed, Seigel and Shuster get an "AND" credit showing they are equals in the creation of Superman, Finger getting a "WITH" credit seems to imply he was involved but not equally, its a minor thing but I think he deserves better credit (especially since he was robbed of credit for nearly his entire life!)

It should be the other way round... Bill Finger with Bob Kane. Does Kane have family?

[Shadowcat]

DC should contact the Kane family/estate, and reach an agreement to allow both creators credit. Start an online movement via social media.

[Tsukiakari1203]

It should be the other way round... Bill Finger with Bob Kane. Does Kane have family?

i like this version

[Swallowtail]

It should be the other way round... Bill Finger with Bob Kane. Does Kane have family?

Yes. They get a seven figure sum everytime they make a Batman film.

[batnbreakfast]

Yes. They get a seven figure sum everytime they make a Batman film.

It would be a decent thing to do from Kane's family to put at least half the money in the account of Finger's granddaughter

[Jim Kelly]

He only created like one drawing that looked nothing the one seen in Detective Comics #27. It didn’t have the ears and there was no cowl, just a blonde haired dude in a domino mask with wings.

I haven't watched this documentary but as far as I know there's no sketch of Kane's original idea that exists. All the sources I've seen use a reconstruction by someone (I'm blanking on who right now, but I can find it if you need the name), based on what's been reported as Kane's original idea. So if there was a sketch in the documentary then it was that non-Kane reconstruction.

I'm pretty certain that you wouldn't be able to find the original, because Kane would have destroyed it long ago. He later faked sketches backdated to much earlier to prove he had created Batman, with those sketches looking like the familiar Batman we know. So he wouldn't want to keep anything that would contradict his story.

Of course, Bob Kane deserves to be credited as a creator. He was. The story we know had Bill and Bob confabbing on the idea together. It's not a case where Finger wrote and drew everything and then handed it to Bob. That was Kane who drew the original story--it certainly wasn't Finger. I've never seen a drawing by Bill Finger--he had lots of great ideas and he had an idea file full of articles and photos, but it seems like he needed artists to bring those ideas to life.

There are characters published by D.C. that are credited to artists as co-creators, even though the artist may have only worked on the debut story. We know that Bob Kane did a significant amount of the Batman art (even though he relied on ghost artists)--and if he had only done the art on the first story, he would still deserve credit as a co-creator.

We can't give out credit based on which people we like and which we don't. There has to be a fair and impartial approach. I believe that H.G. Peter deserves credit for co-creating Wonder Woman--which he doesn't get--so I can't support Peter's rights and deny Kane's, if I'm going to be consistent.

[JackDaw]

I haven't watched this documentary but as far as I know there's no sketch of Kane's original idea that exists. All the sources I've seen use a reconstruction by someone (I'm blanking on who right now, but I can find it if you need the name), based on what's been reported as Kane's original idea. So if there was a sketch in the documentary then it was that non-Kane reconstruction.

I'm pretty certain that you wouldn't be able to find the original, because Kane would have destroyed it long ago. He later faked sketches backdated to much earlier to prove he had created Batman, with those sketches looking like the familiar Batman we know. So he wouldn't want to keep anything that would contradict his story.

Of course, Bob Kane deserves to be credited as a creator. He was. The story we know had Bill and Bob confabbing on the idea together. It's not a case where Finger wrote and drew everything and then handed it to Bob. That was Kane who drew the original story--it certainly wasn't Finger. I've never seen a drawing by Bill Finger--he had lots of great ideas and he had an idea file full of articles and photos, but it seems like he needed artists to bring those ideas to life.

There are characters published by D.C. that are credited to artists as co-creators, even though the artist may have only worked on the debut story. We know that Bob Kane did a significant amount of the Batman art (even though he relied on ghost artists)--and if he had only done the art on the first story, he would still deserve credit as a co-creator.

We can't give out credit based on which people we like and which we don't. There has to be a fair and impartial approach. I believe that H.G. Peter deserves credit for co-creating Wonder Woman--which he doesn't get--so I can't support Peter's rights and deny Kane's, if I'm going to be consistent.

I agree there’s not enough evidence to take Bob Kane off credits altogether.

But he was such a tricky character that I wouldn’t place any real faith in “the story we know...”.

Bob might have got some else to draw original story. (Obviously not Bill F..as you say he wasn’t an artist. But Bob K did subsequently have form for getting other people to do artwork for him, and passing it off as his own.)

Giving the contract situation (getting water tight contracts seemed to be one of Bob K’s strengths) probably “Bob Kane with Bill Finger” is best DC can do...but as others have said there’s a strong case in equity for “Bill Finger and Bob Kane”.

[Jim Kelly]

All the sources I've seen use a reconstruction by someone (I'm blanking on who right now, but I can find it if you need the name), based on what's been reported as Kane's original idea. So if there was a sketch in the documentary then it was that non-Kane reconstruction.

It was Arlen Schumer who put together the cover for COMIC BOOK ARTIST PRESENTS ALTER EGO No. 5--



Inside the issue, Arlen explains how he constructed the cover image from different sources--knowing that Bob Kane tended to use other artists as reference for his comic book work on Batman. I first found this image in ALTER EGO: THE COMIC BOOK ARTIST COLLECTION (2002), which reprints that article.