You can never give too much credit to Batman’s greatest creative force…
There’s a spot outside the Guinness World of Records Museum at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles. It’s something of a Batman shrine: Four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame are situated near each other — Bob Kane, Adam West, Burt Ward and, most recently, the Caped Crusader himself.
Others with links to the Masked Manhunter — Michael Keaton, Cesar Romero and Burgess Meredith, for example — have stars elsewhere, but their careers have been defined by much more than their Gotham City exploits.
The late Bill Finger, however, does not have a star. That’s hardly a surprise: Though long admired by the comics cognoscenti, it was only in recent years that DC Comics and Warner Bros. began to formally acknowledge Finger’s crucial role in creating Batman. Kane had the initial concept, but Finger built the character into the one we recognize today.
So, how about getting Finger a star? Wherever Kane’s name is, Finger’s should be too. But it’s a lengthy, expensive process that requires a lot of lobbying. But here’s where you come in: Athena Finger, Bill’s granddaughter and keeper of the family flame, has launched a GoFundMe campaign and if you’d like to make this happen, click here.
Writer Marc Tyler Nobleman, who was instrumental in getting DC/WB to recognize Finger, has endorsed the campaign, as have others. But supporters are far short of their funding goal and need your support, if you’re inclined to give it.
And keep this in mind: It’s not an impossible dream. Remember, New York City established Bill Finger Way, outside Poe Park in the Bronx, where Finger and Kane would collaborate on stories.
Again, for more info on the campaign, click here.
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MORE
— A BILL FINGER Tribute: BATMAN From 1939 to Today. Click here.
— A Fine Honor: BILL FINGER WAY Unveiled in New York City. Click here.
October 5, 2024
I saw the alert come through my INBOX on this post. I came here to ask my question but your article has already answered it.
When you see things like this (much like the recent push to finally have Pete Rose in the HoF), I can’t help but think the time has passed. The time to honor someone is when they are alive.
So when it comes after the passage of time, the question falls to their family. How do they feel about it? To be honest, I couldn’t argue with anyone who might feel too little, too late.
Seeing that Bill’s granddaughter is behind it is a good thing. I’ll checkout the GoFundMe. Hopefully it takes PayPal.
But it got me thinking… Maybe some kind of Kickstarter campaign could also help raise the money. Shoot….maybe we could get some kind of recognition at the newly opened BATMAN ‘66 Museum in Indiana.
October 5, 2024
Thank you for sharing this! Donated!
October 5, 2024
Too bad there was not a comics Walk of Fame in NYC where the comics industry thrived for a few decades. Would have loved to have seen Finger and so many other deserving creators commemorated in the city they worked in (or out of) for so long. I still believe it was the move from NYC to LA and the mix-in with Hollywood culture that has led to so much of the content problems that plague comic books today.