I recently had the opportunity to watch the documentary Batman & Bill, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. The film highlights the quest by writer Marc Tyler Nobleman to get credit to (the late) writer Bill Finger for co-creating Batman.
If you are not an expert on the history of comics, you may be thinking, “Who is Bill Finger?” Hence, another reason for this documentary. Finger was an independent creator who was friends with Bob Kane. After Kane saw the success of Superman, he decided to pitch a superhero to DC (then National Periodicals). His initial sketch of “The Batman” looked nothing like what the eventual character was. Knowing he needed help, Kane called his friend Bill who gave him some great feedback – basically, a full-on redesign of the character. Kane sold the character to DC, and was contractually credited as the creator of Batman.
Finger continued to work with Kane, ghost writing most of the initial stories. He created the Bat signal, the Batcave, the Batmobile, the origin story, and most of the Batman’s rogues gallery. DC paid Kane, and Kane paid Finger.
The story of Finger’s life is elegantly told with animated segments drawn in comic-book style, interlaced with interview footage of some of comic’s greats. When you also see (through archival footage) the huge impact – and billions of dollars in revenue – the character has generated over the decades, the lifestyle Finger struggled through in his final days is a sharp sad contrast.
Fair warning: It will get a bit dusty in whatever room you watch this in, due to some very emotional moments – especially when Nobleman finds a surviving heir of Finger, and you hear her story. An additional point: Any respect you may have had for Bob Kane in the past will fly out the Bat-window by the time the final moments of the documentary play out.
I will not spoil the ending, but I will say that eventually justice is served. The type of justice Batman fights for. See it.
Batman & Bill is streaming on Hulu.