Passing the Bat-on: advocating for Bill Finger from the 1960s to today
When people thank me for my efforts to get Bill Finger credited on Batman, I thank them right back, and also make clear that it was not a solo effort, nor was I the one who got the ball rolling.
I often say “Without Jerry Bails, there’d be no me.” He did not formally pass the baton after he introduced Bill to fandom in 1965, but others in scattershot formation picked it up where it lay.
Below are those whom I consider the VIPs in the decades-long push to officially acknowledge Bill Finger. (So many more have championed Bill; the people on this list took on the challenge in a particularly concrete way, i.e. writing about Bill.) They are in loose chronological order and rather than describe each again here, I’ve linked to a previous post about him or her. (If deceased, the year of passing is in parentheses.)
Jerry Bails (2006)Julie Schwartz (2004); he publicly credited Bill a year before Jerry, but Jerry was the one who made it a cause célèbreTom Fagan (2008)Jim SterankoRobert Porfirio (2014)Mike W. BarrTom AndraeLyn Simmons (2018)Jerry Robinson (2011)Athena FingerDerek WolffordDave HernandoTravis LangleyRoberto WilliamsLenny SchwartzAlethia Mariotta
I often say “Without Jerry Bails, there’d be no me.” He did not formally pass the baton after he introduced Bill to fandom in 1965, but others in scattershot formation picked it up where it lay.
Below are those whom I consider the VIPs in the decades-long push to officially acknowledge Bill Finger. (So many more have championed Bill; the people on this list took on the challenge in a particularly concrete way, i.e. writing about Bill.) They are in loose chronological order and rather than describe each again here, I’ve linked to a previous post about him or her. (If deceased, the year of passing is in parentheses.)
Jerry Bails (2006)Julie Schwartz (2004); he publicly credited Bill a year before Jerry, but Jerry was the one who made it a cause célèbreTom Fagan (2008)Jim SterankoRobert Porfirio (2014)Mike W. BarrTom AndraeLyn Simmons (2018)Jerry Robinson (2011)Athena FingerDerek WolffordDave HernandoTravis LangleyRoberto WilliamsLenny SchwartzAlethia Mariotta
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