Marc Tyler Nobleman's Blog, page 39
September 7, 2017
A third Bill Finger letter uncovered
In my Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman research, I found only two (but still two!) letters written by Bill Finger.
I know there are more out there.
And now I know where one is: amidst a trove of info on the 1966 Batman show in the William Dozier archives at the University of Wyoming.
Though undated, it was written in early 1966 to producer Howie Horwitz. It is part of a series of letters regarding Bob's (non-)role on the show and in particular the inclusion of the Clock King as a villain. Apparently at one point Bob was to be involved with this particular script. However, according to Bill's letter, when it came time to execute, Bob was out of pocket, so Bill and writing partner Charles Sinclair (who, according to Charles, was the one who scored them the gig) forged ahead as a dynamic duo.
Considering Bob never wrote a single Batman script—for TV or comics—it is unclear why he was even part of a discussion about writing this particular script. Perhaps Bill still felt obligated to maintain the charade that Bob had written Batman scripts.
Interesting to note that in three of the four times Bill mentions Bob, he refers to him as "Bog." At first it may seem a typo, but you can see how he fixed most of the other goofs in the letter. So either he missed this misspelling (three times)...or he did it on purpose as a dig. The tone of the letter (and the fact that, again, the word appears three times) would seem to support the latter. Also, while "B" and G" are adjacent on the typewriter, it seems less likely a person would make a mistake when typing a word with a repeated letter, like "Bob." With experienced typists, the fingers (in this case, Bill's fingers) stay in position anticipating that imminent second strike...
Thanks to Batman & Bill story producer Alexandra Orton for this excavation!
I know there are more out there.
And now I know where one is: amidst a trove of info on the 1966 Batman show in the William Dozier archives at the University of Wyoming.
Though undated, it was written in early 1966 to producer Howie Horwitz. It is part of a series of letters regarding Bob's (non-)role on the show and in particular the inclusion of the Clock King as a villain. Apparently at one point Bob was to be involved with this particular script. However, according to Bill's letter, when it came time to execute, Bob was out of pocket, so Bill and writing partner Charles Sinclair (who, according to Charles, was the one who scored them the gig) forged ahead as a dynamic duo.
Considering Bob never wrote a single Batman script—for TV or comics—it is unclear why he was even part of a discussion about writing this particular script. Perhaps Bill still felt obligated to maintain the charade that Bob had written Batman scripts.
Interesting to note that in three of the four times Bill mentions Bob, he refers to him as "Bog." At first it may seem a typo, but you can see how he fixed most of the other goofs in the letter. So either he missed this misspelling (three times)...or he did it on purpose as a dig. The tone of the letter (and the fact that, again, the word appears three times) would seem to support the latter. Also, while "B" and G" are adjacent on the typewriter, it seems less likely a person would make a mistake when typing a word with a repeated letter, like "Bob." With experienced typists, the fingers (in this case, Bill's fingers) stay in position anticipating that imminent second strike...
Thanks to Batman & Bill story producer Alexandra Orton for this excavation!
September 5, 2017
Carmine Infantino on Bob Kane's income
For Batman & Bill, we filmed an interview with the uncompromising longtime DC Comics artist Carmine Infantino in 2011. The next year I hand-delivered a copy of Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.
I'm so glad we/I did what we did when we did. Carmine passed away in 2013.
From the phone interview I did with him in 2006 to the film interview five years later, the man was a delight, saying many things I found fascinating—one in particular. It came out during the filmed interview but did not make it into the documentary, so here it is:
I had already heard that it was the 1960s Batman TV series that made Bob Kane wealthy. The story went that he sold his stake in the character as part of the deal to get the show on air.
But Carmine, who was the Batman artist when the Batman show morphed the character from superhero to supernova, knew specifics. According to Carmine, Bob agreed to $50,000/year for 20 years—that may be the rumored $1 million he supposedly got (though it would not, of course, make him an instant millionaire, which was the impression I had).
However, in an archival clip in our film, which I believe is from the late 1980s, Bob says that he still had a piece of the pie.
I've done no further verification on this. I'm simply reporting what a person on the frontlines at the time remembered and reported.
I'm so glad we/I did what we did when we did. Carmine passed away in 2013.
From the phone interview I did with him in 2006 to the film interview five years later, the man was a delight, saying many things I found fascinating—one in particular. It came out during the filmed interview but did not make it into the documentary, so here it is:
I had already heard that it was the 1960s Batman TV series that made Bob Kane wealthy. The story went that he sold his stake in the character as part of the deal to get the show on air.
But Carmine, who was the Batman artist when the Batman show morphed the character from superhero to supernova, knew specifics. According to Carmine, Bob agreed to $50,000/year for 20 years—that may be the rumored $1 million he supposedly got (though it would not, of course, make him an instant millionaire, which was the impression I had).
However, in an archival clip in our film, which I believe is from the late 1980s, Bob says that he still had a piece of the pie.
I've done no further verification on this. I'm simply reporting what a person on the frontlines at the time remembered and reported.
September 1, 2017
"Batman & Bill" documentary: the public response, part 3
August 31, 2017
Lesser-noticed 21st century changes at DC Comics
It's easy to find out the first comics to feature a superhero's new costume or to sport a new DC Comics logo (there have been three since 2005). Now it's even easy to find out the first comics to include Bill Finger in the official Batman credit.
But when did DC Comics…
…add its URL to its covers?
…drop letter columns from its comics?
…drop page numbers from its comics?
…switch interiors of monthly books from newsprint to glossy paper?
…add a rating to its covers?
…stop running ads for products unrelated to comics?
1st URL on cover: 2000
JLA #39, 3/00
(backup verification: JSA #8, 3/00) dropped letter column: 2002
verifications:
JSA #36, 6/02
JLA #71, early 11/02
Letter columns fleetingly returned in 2011 just in time to be killed off again with the New 52 reboot.
dropped page numbers: 2003
verifications:
JSA #51, 10/03
H-E-R-O #8, 11/03
1st glossy interior paper: 2005
JSA #72, 6/05
1st rating on cover: 2011
Justice League of America #56, 6/11
(backup verification: Secret Six #32, 6/11)
stop running ads for non-comics: unconfirmed but circa 2014
This is the hardest of the bunch to ascertain and the answer won't be a fixed month or even year like the previous elements; it may vary from title to title and fluctuate depending on various factors. By my admittedly limited examination, it seems that by 2014, ads for chips and cars (yes, cars!) were mostly of the past and ads were almost always for comics or comics-related products/events (video games, shows, cons). Of course this is not because comics began turning away advertisers but rather because advertisers began to turn their backs on print comics as the world turned digital.
By the way, I vote for reinstating page numbers. Makes things easier to reference! I believe that numbering was ditched so as not to remind readers how short an average comic book is…but fans are fine with it and have been for decades. A good story is a good story whether told in 22 or 222 pages.
But when did DC Comics…
…add its URL to its covers?
…drop letter columns from its comics?
…drop page numbers from its comics?
…switch interiors of monthly books from newsprint to glossy paper?
…add a rating to its covers?
…stop running ads for products unrelated to comics?
1st URL on cover: 2000
JLA #39, 3/00
(backup verification: JSA #8, 3/00) dropped letter column: 2002
verifications:
JSA #36, 6/02
JLA #71, early 11/02
Letter columns fleetingly returned in 2011 just in time to be killed off again with the New 52 reboot.
dropped page numbers: 2003
verifications:
JSA #51, 10/03
H-E-R-O #8, 11/03
1st glossy interior paper: 2005
JSA #72, 6/05
1st rating on cover: 2011
Justice League of America #56, 6/11
(backup verification: Secret Six #32, 6/11)
stop running ads for non-comics: unconfirmed but circa 2014
This is the hardest of the bunch to ascertain and the answer won't be a fixed month or even year like the previous elements; it may vary from title to title and fluctuate depending on various factors. By my admittedly limited examination, it seems that by 2014, ads for chips and cars (yes, cars!) were mostly of the past and ads were almost always for comics or comics-related products/events (video games, shows, cons). Of course this is not because comics began turning away advertisers but rather because advertisers began to turn their backs on print comics as the world turned digital.
By the way, I vote for reinstating page numbers. Makes things easier to reference! I believe that numbering was ditched so as not to remind readers how short an average comic book is…but fans are fine with it and have been for decades. A good story is a good story whether told in 22 or 222 pages.
August 30, 2017
Only known video of Bill Finger's son Fred
In 2011, halfway between the time I sold the manuscript for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman (2010) and the time the book came out (2012), someone posted a most interesting comment on my blog…under my first-ever post about Bill Finger (2008).
This kind soul said Fred Finger was interviewed for a TV show in the late 1980s.
I was not trying to find Fred Finger footage because it never occurred to me that there would be any.
Think of the multiple levels of luck required for this to happen.
This person had to...
a) watch this BBC show
b) remember it 22 years later
c) happen upon my blog
d) take the time not only to tell me about the show but to find and include a link
And I still don't know who he is.
The clip is part of the 6/15/89 episode of a BBC show called The Late Show, which ran about 40 minutes and aired a week shy of the debut of Tim Burton's Batman.
Fantastic as it was to hear Fred's voice, and as articulate as he was, nothing he said led to a change in what I'd already written. However, a clip of me first showing this clip to Fred's daughter Athena made it into Batman & Bill. Though the already short clip is seen/heard only in passing in the doc, it's one of my favorite scenes.
Fred's appearance in full:
This kind soul said Fred Finger was interviewed for a TV show in the late 1980s.
I was not trying to find Fred Finger footage because it never occurred to me that there would be any.
Think of the multiple levels of luck required for this to happen.
This person had to...
a) watch this BBC show
b) remember it 22 years later
c) happen upon my blog
d) take the time not only to tell me about the show but to find and include a link
And I still don't know who he is.
The clip is part of the 6/15/89 episode of a BBC show called The Late Show, which ran about 40 minutes and aired a week shy of the debut of Tim Burton's Batman.
Fantastic as it was to hear Fred's voice, and as articulate as he was, nothing he said led to a change in what I'd already written. However, a clip of me first showing this clip to Fred's daughter Athena made it into Batman & Bill. Though the already short clip is seen/heard only in passing in the doc, it's one of my favorite scenes.
Fred's appearance in full:
August 29, 2017
An Oscar for "Batman & Bill"?
Because the documentary was not released theatrically, it's not eligible, but it's sure nice that people think it's worthy. For a humbling sampling, scroll to the second section ("For your consideration").
Relevant also feels the film deserves a nomination for "Best Documentary Feature": "one of the most impressive documentaries of the year, not just the summer."
Relevant also feels the film deserves a nomination for "Best Documentary Feature": "one of the most impressive documentaries of the year, not just the summer."
August 25, 2017
Sleepover...at a library!
On 7/28/17, which was a day where rain was forecast to be "sideways," I went to a library sleepover. But I did not sleep over.
For 22 consecutive years (except 2010), Damascus Library in Damascus, MD has hosted a summer SleepOver for kids ages 8-10 (and a group of brave parent chaperones). In years past, the event let in 50 kids but due to budget cuts and staff regulations, they now can allow no more than 35. No matter the attendance, it is an eagerly awaited annual event in the community and I have seen why firsthand.
This year, I had the privilege of being the featured author. The talk I give started at 9 p.m., the second-latest I have ever spoken in a professional capacity.
And I was only the opening act.
After my Q&A, the kids ate pizza and ice cream (filling kids with sugar at 10 p.m.: abandon all hope ye who enter here).
Then they played a lively game of book character bingo. (I got to watch one round before taking my leave.)
Then they watched a movie! (A short one, but still!)
And then…though it would've been around 1 a.m., they could read by flashlight a bit before bed…after all, it was a library sleepover…
Like I said, the parent chaperones were brave. (They slept on the floor like the younglings.)
Thank you for inviting me to participate in this wonderful and rare event. Kudos to the staff for keeping it going these many years. May it inspire other libraries to do the same.
For 22 consecutive years (except 2010), Damascus Library in Damascus, MD has hosted a summer SleepOver for kids ages 8-10 (and a group of brave parent chaperones). In years past, the event let in 50 kids but due to budget cuts and staff regulations, they now can allow no more than 35. No matter the attendance, it is an eagerly awaited annual event in the community and I have seen why firsthand.
This year, I had the privilege of being the featured author. The talk I give started at 9 p.m., the second-latest I have ever spoken in a professional capacity.
And I was only the opening act.
After my Q&A, the kids ate pizza and ice cream (filling kids with sugar at 10 p.m.: abandon all hope ye who enter here).
Then they played a lively game of book character bingo. (I got to watch one round before taking my leave.)
Then they watched a movie! (A short one, but still!)
And then…though it would've been around 1 a.m., they could read by flashlight a bit before bed…after all, it was a library sleepover…
Like I said, the parent chaperones were brave. (They slept on the floor like the younglings.)
Thank you for inviting me to participate in this wonderful and rare event. Kudos to the staff for keeping it going these many years. May it inspire other libraries to do the same.
August 18, 2017
Creative writing camp: last day surprise
Starting the summer of 2015, I have been teaching creative writing camps to rising 4th through rising 9th graders, primarily at schools local to me but once on the other side of the world (India).
On 8/4/17, I wrapped up my last sessions of the season and was supremely touched that my younger group presented me with a collection of cards, drawings, cookies, and other thank you gifts…all of which they organized on their own—no adult involvement.
This was my favorite (even more than the homemade chocolate chip cookies):
It was rewarding enough to discover the talent in many of these aspiring young writers and a major bonus to discover their empathetic side as well. I tend to end my camps/writing workshops by telling the participants that I look forward to seeing them on the bestseller list one day…and this time, in at least a couple of cases, I suspect my prediction will come true.
On 8/4/17, I wrapped up my last sessions of the season and was supremely touched that my younger group presented me with a collection of cards, drawings, cookies, and other thank you gifts…all of which they organized on their own—no adult involvement.
This was my favorite (even more than the homemade chocolate chip cookies):
It was rewarding enough to discover the talent in many of these aspiring young writers and a major bonus to discover their empathetic side as well. I tend to end my camps/writing workshops by telling the participants that I look forward to seeing them on the bestseller list one day…and this time, in at least a couple of cases, I suspect my prediction will come true.
August 17, 2017
Dear Photograph, "Batman & Bill" edition
Some years ago I discovered a site/idea that is exactly my kind of thing. It's called Dear Photograph.
The premise: you take a picture of an image from the past overlaid on the same spot in the present. Let that sink in; it's more involved than it may at first seem. It requires you to a) know exactly where a photo was taken, b) return there with a print copy of that photo, and c) line up that photo precisely with the current site so the intent is clear and the effect is seamless.
A tweeter (not affiliated with Dear Photograph, far as I can tell) did the Dear Photograph treatment with our documentary Batman & Bill. Needless to say, I loved this.
That scene was shot at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011. It's not an especially distinctive background so props to the photographer for tracking it down.
The internet has brought to light many clever photo-related projects. Two favorites:
The Rescued Film Project (developing lost/forgotten rolls of film...remember film?)The Five Year Photo Project (five friends pose for a photo in same position every five years since 1982)
(These days, such things make the human interest news fairly regularly. Search "recreated photo.")
Everyone from Ringo Starr (don't miss this) to Phil Collins to the Nirvana baby to Playboy has gotten into the photo booth time machine.
Other projects I like are not in and of itself about photographs but are visually driven:
Letters of NotePostSecret
The internet has also allowed the world to marvel at wild coincidences like married couples finding photographic evidence that their paths crossed years before they even met.
This has happened at least three times:
this time (Disney World)this time (British beach)this time (Sesame Place)
It will therefore be no surprise that I was drawn to Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series for the vernacular photographs. (I stayed for the fun stories.)
My next book, Fairy Spell (April 2018), is about a series of 100-year-old photographs that took on a life of their own…perhaps in more ways than one.
Though not consciously seeking out such stories, I've even written a second book about a famous photograph…to be revealed at a later date.
And while I make no claims to creating any photo as interesting as the examples above, I did spend two summers as a "professional" photographer myself.
The premise: you take a picture of an image from the past overlaid on the same spot in the present. Let that sink in; it's more involved than it may at first seem. It requires you to a) know exactly where a photo was taken, b) return there with a print copy of that photo, and c) line up that photo precisely with the current site so the intent is clear and the effect is seamless.
A tweeter (not affiliated with Dear Photograph, far as I can tell) did the Dear Photograph treatment with our documentary Batman & Bill. Needless to say, I loved this.
That scene was shot at San Diego Comic-Con in 2011. It's not an especially distinctive background so props to the photographer for tracking it down.
The internet has brought to light many clever photo-related projects. Two favorites:
The Rescued Film Project (developing lost/forgotten rolls of film...remember film?)The Five Year Photo Project (five friends pose for a photo in same position every five years since 1982)
(These days, such things make the human interest news fairly regularly. Search "recreated photo.")
Everyone from Ringo Starr (don't miss this) to Phil Collins to the Nirvana baby to Playboy has gotten into the photo booth time machine.
Other projects I like are not in and of itself about photographs but are visually driven:
Letters of NotePostSecret
The internet has also allowed the world to marvel at wild coincidences like married couples finding photographic evidence that their paths crossed years before they even met.
This has happened at least three times:
this time (Disney World)this time (British beach)this time (Sesame Place)
It will therefore be no surprise that I was drawn to Ransom Riggs's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children series for the vernacular photographs. (I stayed for the fun stories.)
My next book, Fairy Spell (April 2018), is about a series of 100-year-old photographs that took on a life of their own…perhaps in more ways than one.
Though not consciously seeking out such stories, I've even written a second book about a famous photograph…to be revealed at a later date.
And while I make no claims to creating any photo as interesting as the examples above, I did spend two summers as a "professional" photographer myself.
August 16, 2017
"Fairy Spell" cover reveal
On 8/7/17, the incomparable Betsy Bird kindly unveiled the cover of my next book, Fairy Spell, edited by Jennifer Greene at Clarion, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler, and due 4/24/18.
I did the majority of the research for this enchanting story in 2008 but then set it aside to focus on books about other flying figures (Superman and Batman—he has a plane). That ended up taking up more of my time than I anticipated…so nine years later (!), here we are. (I was hoping that the book would come out this summer, 100 years after the first of an eventual five fairy photos the girls took. But this is not an anniversary acknowledged on par with the sinking of the Titanic or the U.S. invasion of the Beatles.)
This story continues my pattern of writing about duos of history whose names were not household but whose accomplishments were (Siegel and Shuster, Finger and Kane). This time, however, my protagonists are different in at least two notable ways (nationality and nature of accomplishment aside):
they are femalethey are kids
If only it were as easy to reveal fairies as it is to reveal covers of books about fairies…
By the way, I did not call Betsy "incomparable" as quid pro quo for her using the humbling words "superteam" and "inestimable." I often describe Betsy with words starting with "i" (immeasurable, invaluable, irrepressible, instoppable…).
In 1917, by a stream in England, 16-year-old Elsie took a picture for the first time. It showed her 9-year-old cousin Frances…and a group of fairies they insisted were real.
Their parents suspected a trick but did not know how children could have pulled it off. When Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of famous detective Sherlock Holmes, took interest, the world followed.
But what became one of the most reproduced photographs in history hid a secret that Frances and Elsie revealed only in old age. This true story is both magical and mysterious…whether or not you believe in fairies.
I did the majority of the research for this enchanting story in 2008 but then set it aside to focus on books about other flying figures (Superman and Batman—he has a plane). That ended up taking up more of my time than I anticipated…so nine years later (!), here we are. (I was hoping that the book would come out this summer, 100 years after the first of an eventual five fairy photos the girls took. But this is not an anniversary acknowledged on par with the sinking of the Titanic or the U.S. invasion of the Beatles.)
This story continues my pattern of writing about duos of history whose names were not household but whose accomplishments were (Siegel and Shuster, Finger and Kane). This time, however, my protagonists are different in at least two notable ways (nationality and nature of accomplishment aside):
they are femalethey are kids
If only it were as easy to reveal fairies as it is to reveal covers of books about fairies…
By the way, I did not call Betsy "incomparable" as quid pro quo for her using the humbling words "superteam" and "inestimable." I often describe Betsy with words starting with "i" (immeasurable, invaluable, irrepressible, instoppable…).
