110-527: Milton " Bill " Finger (February 8, 1914 – c. January 18, 1974 ) was an American comic book writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane ) of the DC Comics character Batman . Despite making major (sometimes, signature) contributions as an innovative writer, visionary mythos/world builder and illustration architect, Finger (like other creators of his era) was often relegated to ghostwriter status on many comics—including those featuring Batman, and
220-535: A syndicated newspaper comic strip character with which Kane was familiar as well. Finger, who said he also devised the character's civilian name, Bruce Wayne , wrote the first Batman story, while Kane provided art. Kane, who had already submitted the proposal for Batman at DC and held a contract, is the only person given an official company credit for Batman's creation. Comics historian Ron Goulart , in Comic Book Encyclopedia , refers to Batman as
330-424: A February 2010 auction. Batman's origin is first revealed in a two-page story in issue #33 (Nov. 1939). Batman became the main cover feature of the title beginning with issue #35 (Jan. 1940). Issue #38 (April 1940) introduced Batman's sidekick Robin , billed as "The Sensational Character Find of 1940" on the cover and the first of several characters that would make up the "Batman Family." Robin's appearance and
440-579: A Gotham police detective. Issues #773–775 were titled "Tales of Gotham" and feature Detectives Crispus Allen and Renee Montoya. Batman starred in "Spore" from issues #776–780. #781 featured a special Elseworlds tale, while #782 featured a Batman solo tale. Issue #783 featured a prelude to the "Death and the Maidens" miniseries, and issue #784 featured a Josie Mac tale. The "Tales of Gotham" stories resumed in issues #785–788 with "The Dogcatcher", and #789–794 featured "The Tailor". "Polished Stone", featuring
550-1005: A beach in Oregon. The first story of the issue Batman #259 in December 1974 would be dedicated to Finger's memory. Fred Finger had a daughter, Athena, born two years after Bill Finger's death. Fred died of complications from AIDS on January 13, 1992. Athena and her son are his only known living heirs, and her attempts (at the prompting of Nobleman and comics fans, and aided by her attorney half-sister) to restore Bill's legacy resulted in Warner Bros.'s 2015 decision to officially recognize Finger as co-creator of Batman on film and TV projects going forward. Argott, Don and Joyce, Sheena M. (co-directors) (2017). Batman & Bill (Motion picture). United States: 9.14 Pictures and Thruline Entertainment. Bob Kane Robert Kane ( né Kahn / k ɑː n / ; October 24, 1915 – November 3, 1998)
660-663: A breakout hit. Within a year, Kane hired art assistants Jerry Robinson (initially as an inker ) and George Roussos (backgrounds artist and letterer ). Though Robinson and Roussos worked out of Kane's art studio in The New York Times building , Kane himself did all his drawing at home. Shortly afterward, when DC wanted more Batman stories than Kane's studio could deliver, the company assigned Dick Sprang and other in-house pencilers as " ghost artists ", drawing uncredited under Kane's supervision. Future Justice League writer Gardner Fox wrote some early scripts, including
770-420: A byline on the strip, with Nodell in the earliest issues using the pseudonym "Mart Dellon". According to Nodell, Finger was brought in to write scripts after Nodell had already conceived the character. Nodell recalled in an undated, latter-day interview: When I sent it in, I waited into the second week before I heard the word to come in. I was ushered into Mr. [Max] Gaines ' office, publisher, and after sitting
880-528: A cave in the early stories, to circumvent being too similar to the Phantom and Zorro. Instead Finger indicated that Wayne merely used "underground hangars" on the property to store vehicles. The Batcave first appeared in the 1943 Columbia serial starring Lewis Wilson and the comics followed suit thereafter. Donald Clough Cameron created the concept of Batman having a trophy section in the Batcave. One of
990-781: A daughter, Deborah. Kane married his second wife, actress Elizabeth Sanders Kane, in 1987. Kane died November 3, 1998, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, at age 83. He is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills of Los Angeles, California. Kane was a recipient of the Inkpot Award in 1977, was inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1996. He
1100-783: A deal between the Finger family and DC. Finger received his first formal credit as a creator of Batman in the October 2015 comic books Batman and Robin Eternal #3 and Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis #3. The updated acknowledgement for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger". Finger was posthumously inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1999. In 1985, DC Comics named Finger as one of
1210-556: A federal trademark on them, only to start killing the bureaucrats who try to explain to him that obtaining such a claim on a natural resource is legally impossible. Writer Len Wein and Rogers co-created the third version of the supervillain Clayface in Detective Comics #478 (July–Aug. 1978). From issue #481 (Dec. 1978 – Jan. 1979) through #495 (Oct. 1980), the magazine adopted the expanded Dollar Comics format used by
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#17327828791121320-484: A lengthy absence, the backup features returned for issues #746–810. These were more closed-ended stories featuring new and established characters in the Batman mythos. The first was "The Jacobian" in issues #746–757, followed by a one-issue Batman story in #758. The following issues, #759–762, featured Slam Bradley and were a lead-in to the 2002 Catwoman series. Issues #763–772 featured Josephine "Josie Mac" MacDonald,
1430-418: A little tiresome always having him thinking. I found that as I went along Batman needed a Watson to talk to. That's how Robin came to be. Bob called me over and said he was going to put a boy in the strip to identify with Batman. I thought it was a great idea. Kane, who had previously created a sidekick for Peter Pupp, proposed adding a boy named Mercury who would have worn a "super-costume". Robinson suggested
1540-547: A long time and flipping through the pages of my presentation, he announced, "We like it!" And then, "Get to work!" I did the first five pages of an eight-page story, and then they called in Bill Finger to help. We worked on it for seven years [through 1947]. As a screenwriter , Finger wrote or co-wrote the films Death Comes to Planet Aytin , The Green Slime , and Track of the Moon Beast , and contributed scripts to
1650-682: A monthly schedule throughout its run, Detective Comics became a bi-monthly book from issues #435 (June–July 1973) to #445 (Feb.-March 1975). Issues #438 (Dec. 1973-Jan. 1974) to #445 (Feb.–March 1975) of the series were in the 100 Page Super Spectacular format. O'Neil and artist Dick Giordano created the Batman supporting character Leslie Thompkins in the story "There Is No Hope in Crime Alley" appearing in issue #457 (March 1976). Writer Steve Englehart and artist Marshall Rogers produced an acclaimed run of Batman stories in Detective Comics #471–476 (Aug. 1977 – April 1978), and provided one of
1760-485: A new version of Batgirl in a story titled "The Million Dollar Debut of Batgirl!" in issue #359 (Jan. 1967). Mike Friedrich wrote the 30th anniversary Batman story in Detective Comics #387 (May 1969) which was drawn by Bob Brown . Writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams had their first collaboration on Batman on the story "The Secret of the Waiting Graves" in issue #395 (Jan. 1970). The duo, under
1870-541: A normal human, along with the name " Robin ", after Robin Hood books he had read during boyhood, and noting in a 2005 interview he had been inspired by one book's N. C. Wyeth illustrations. The impetus came from Bill's wanting to extend the parameters of the story potential and of the drama. He saw that adding a sidekick would enhance the drama. Also, it enlarged the readership identification. The younger kids could then identify with Robin, which they couldn't with Batman, and
1980-421: A party, and Kane later offered him a job ghost writing the strips Rusty and Clip Carson . He recalled that Kane ...had an idea for a character called 'Batman', and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ... reddish tights, I believe, with boots ... no gloves, no gauntlets ... with a small domino mask , swinging on
2090-500: A rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ... BATMAN. Finger said he offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl and scalloped cape instead of wings; adding gloves; leaving the mask's eyeholes blank to connote mystery; and removing the bright red sections of the original costume, suggesting instead a gray-and-black color scheme. Finger additionally said his suggestions were influenced by Lee Falk 's The Phantom ,
2200-441: A small domino mask , swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ... BATMAN. Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl with pointed bat-ears instead of the domino mask, a cape instead of wings, adding gloves, and changing the red sections of the costume to gray. Finger later said his suggestions to have his eyes covered by white lenses
2310-463: A son: Frederick (nicknamed "Fred"). After their divorce, Finger married Edith "Lyn" Simmons in the late 1960s, but they were no longer married when he died in 1974. Finger was last seen alive on January 16, 1974. His friend and longtime writing partner Charles Sinclair found Finger dead at his home on January 18 at the condominium Allen House at 340 East 51st Street in Manhattan. The cause of death
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#17327828791122420-630: A two-issue (#806–807) story about Alfred. The " Manhunter " series that ran as a backup in Detective Comics from 1973 to 1974 won the Shazam Award for "Best Individual Short Story (Dramatic)" in 1974 for the story "Cathedral Perilous" in issue #441, written by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson . In 2009, as part of a planned reorganization of the Batman universe due to the events shown in Batman R.I.P. and Final Crisis , Detective Comics went on hiatus for three months while DC Comics published
2530-706: A variety of different creative teams. Writer Mariko Tamaki began on the series with issue #1034 as part of the Infinite Frontier line-wide relaunch. In April 2022, it was announced that Ram V and Rafael Albuquerque would serve as the new creative team starting with issue #1062. The Detective Comics series has been collected into a number of trade paperbacks and hardback collections. All DC Archive Editions are hardback only and printed on high quality archival paper. The Batman Chronicles series plans to reprint every Batman adventure in color, in chronological order, in affordable trade paperbacks. It
2640-540: Is an American comic book series published by Detective Comics, later shortened to DC Comics . The first volume, published from 1937 to 2011 (and later continued in 2016), is best known for introducing the superhero Batman in Detective Comics #27 ( cover-dated May 1939). A second series of the same title was launched in September 2011, but in 2016, reverted to the original volume numbering. The series
2750-541: Is disputed. Kane's position is that Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a playing card of the Joker. That's the way I sum it up. [The Joker] looks like Conrad Veidt —you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs , [the 1928 movie based on the novel] by Victor Hugo . ... Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's
2860-864: Is not to be confused with the now-finished series of the same name . All Showcase Presents collections are large (over 500 pages), softcover, black and white only reprints. Starting in 2014, DC began releasing character retrospective anthologies, several of which feature issues of Detective Comics These hardcover books reprint issues by particular creators and contain many issues of Detective Comics , as well as other Batman titles. Many of these other editions are anthologies containing comics from titles other than Detective Comics . Titles here are presented as close to chronologically as possible. The New 52 saw every DC Comics series collected in its entirety in trade paperback form. Notably, collected volumes of Detective Comics vol. 2 were published in hardcover editions first, with paperback editions being delayed until
2970-560: Is the source of its publishing company's name, and—along with Action Comics , the series that launched with the debut of Superman —one of the medium 's signature series. Between 1937 and 2011, there were 881 issues of the series. It is the longest-running comic book series in the United States. Detective Comics was the final publication of the entrepreneur Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson , whose comics company, National Allied Publications, would evolve into DC Comics , one of
3080-531: The Battle for the Cowl miniseries. Upon its return, the series featured the newly reintroduced (in 52 ) Batwoman as the new star of the book, as well as a 10-page back-up feature starring Renee Montoya as the new Question. The series returned Batman to a starring role in early 2010. DC Comics relaunched Detective Comics with issue #1 in September 2011, as part of an initiative called The New 52 . The series
3190-546: The Great Depression Louis Finger was forced to close his tailor shop. Finger graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx in 1933. An aspiring writer and a part-time shoe salesman, Finger joined Bob Kane 's nascent studio in 1938 after having met Kane, a fellow DeWitt Clinton alumnus, at a party. Kane later offered him a job ghost writing the strips Rusty and Clip Carson . Early
3300-585: The Green Arrow and Onyx , ran in issues #795–796. "Low", featuring the Riddler and Poison Ivy, ran from issues #797–799. Under the title "Tales of Gotham," Detective Comics #800 had a short Batman back-up story. A four-issue (#801–805) story featuring the Barker entitled "When You're Strange" was next and "Mud" in issue #805. The last back-up was a three-issue (#808–810) story about Killer Croc. It came after
3410-553: The Max Fleischer Studio as a trainee animator in the year of 1934. He entered the comics field two years later, in 1936, freelancing original material to editor Jerry Iger 's comic book Wow, What a Magazine! , including his first pencil and ink work on the serial Hiram Hick . The following year, Kane began to work at Iger's subsequent studio, Eisner & Iger , which was one of the first comic book "packagers" that produced comics on demand for publishers entering
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3520-725: The radio program made its way into the comic books when kryptonite was featured in a story by Finger and Al Plastino in Superman #61 (Nov. 1949). As writer of the Superboy series, Finger created Lana Lang , a love-interest for the teenage superhero. Continuing his Batman work, he and artist Sheldon Moldoff introduced Ace the Bat-Hound in Batman #92 (June 1955), Bat-Mite in Detective Comics #267 (May 1959), Clayface in Detective Comics #298 (December 1961), and Betty Kane ,
3630-570: The " Batman: Year Two " storyline in Detective Comics #575–578 which followed up on Frank Miller's " Batman: Year One ". Writer Alan Grant and artist Norm Breyfogle introduced the Ventriloquist in their first Batman story together and the Ratcatcher in their third (#585). Sam Hamm , who wrote the screenplay for Tim Burton 's Batman , wrote the "Blind Justice" story in Detective Comics issues #598–600. Chuck Dixon became
3740-476: The " hard-boiled detective " genre, with such stars as Ching Lung (a Fu Manchu -style " Yellow Peril " villain); Slam Bradley (created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster before their character Superman saw print two years later); and Speed Saunders , among others. Its first editor, Vin Sullivan , also drew the debut issue's cover. The Crimson Avenger debuted in issue #20 (October 1938). Early issues of
3850-530: The "0" issue. Hurwitz was approached by Daniel to write the "0" issue due to Daniel's busy schedule. To follow up on the Night of the Owls elements in Detective Comics , Daniel wrote Detective Comics Annual #1, which was pencilled by Romano Molenaar and inked by Sandu Florea. Following Daniel's tenure on the series, John Layman became the new writer and Jason Fabok the new artist with James Tynion IV writing
3960-720: The "created by" credit line Kane had been contractually guaranteed in 1939. Bill Finger was born in Denver , Colorado, in 1914 to an Ashkenazi Jewish family. His father, Louis Finger, was born in Austria-Hungary in 1890 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1907. Little is known about his biological mother Rosa Rosenblatt. His stepmother Tessie was born in 1892 in New York City. The family also included two daughters (or possibly nieces raised as daughters), Emily and Gilda. The family moved to The Bronx , New York City , where during
4070-453: The "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger". According to Kane, "Bill Finger was a contributing force on Batman right from the beginning. He wrote most of the great stories and was influential in setting the style and genre other writers would emulate ... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective. The character debuted in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) and proved
4180-407: The 1950s made formal bylines rare in comics, with DC regularly granting credit only to Kane; William Moulton Marston , creator of Wonder Woman , under his pseudonym of Charles Moulton; and to Sheldon Mayer . In 1989, Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation, and wrote, "Now that my long-time friend and collaborator is gone, I must admit that Bill never received
4290-452: The 1960s, he parlayed his Batman status into minor celebrity. He enjoyed a post-comics career in television animation , creating the characters Courageous Cat and Cool McCool , and as a painter showed his work in art galleries , although some of these paintings were produced by ghost artists. DC Comics named Kane in 1985 as one of the honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great . In 1989, Kane published
4400-468: The 2000s, Finger biographer Marc Tyler Nobleman 's research uncovered previously unknown heirs. At the urging of Nobleman, the online comics fan community and others, Finger's granddaughter revived the fight to restore his lost legacy, which continued for years. In 2015, DC Comics's parent company conditionally agreed to recognize Finger's intellectual property claim as co-creator of the Batman characters and mythos, officially adding his name, going forward, to
4510-639: The 75th anniversary of Batman, issue #27 was a larger-sized issue featuring new stories by Brad Meltzer and Bryan Hitch , Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy , Peter Tomasi and Ian Bertram, John Layman and Jason Fabok, Gregg Hurwitz and Neal Adams , Mike W. Barr and Guillem March, and one written and drawn by Francesco Francavilla . In addition, variant covers to the issue were by Greg Capullo , Frank Miller , Chris Burnham , Jim Lee , Jason Fabok, and Tony Daniel . Single page artwork included work by Kelley Jones , Mike Allred , Patrick Gleason , and Jock . In February 2016, DC Comics announced that as part of
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4620-532: The Bat-Man ." Kane said his influences for the character included actor Douglas Fairbanks 's film portrayal of the swashbuckler Zorro ; Leonardo da Vinci 's diagram of the ornithopter , a flying machine with huge bat-like wings; and the 1930 film The Bat Whispers , based on Mary Rinehart 's mystery novel The Circular Staircase (1908). Bill Finger joined Bob Kane's nascent studio in 1938. An aspiring writer and part-time shoe salesperson, he had met Kane at
4730-652: The Bat-gyro/-plane and the Batarang ). Upon his return, Finger is credited with providing the name " Gotham City ". Finger wrote the debut issue of Batman's self-titled comic book series which introduced the Joker and the Catwoman . Among the things that made his stories distinctive were a use of giant-sized props: enlarged pennies, sewing machines, or typewriters. Finger seemed to avoid having Batman operate out of
4840-429: The Batman category. Scott West of Sciencefiction.com gave the series' third arc a positive review, stating that "After last month's disappointing 'Night of the Owls' tie-in issue, it's nice to see 'Detective Comics' getting back to where it should be...good detective stories." The relaunched Detective Comics received the award for "Best Series" at the 2012 Stan Lee Awards. The series' first collected edition would reach
4950-500: The Batman stories, the title has had numerous back-up strips. The Boy Commandos by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby debuted in Detective Comics #64 (June 1942) and were then soon spun off into their own title. The character Roy Raymond first appeared in issue #153 (Nov. 1949). The Martian Manhunter was created by writer Joseph Samachson and artist Joe Certa in the back-up story "The Strange Experiment of Dr. Erdel" in Detective Comics #225 (Nov. 1955). After issue #326 (April 1964),
5060-564: The Joker! Finger also asserted that the creation of Penguin was fully his in the same interview, outright refuting Kane's claims: Oh, he never came off a package of Kools ...I happened to be looking at an old copy of the old Saturday Evening Post that had an article on the Emperor Penguin . It had photographs of Emperor Penguins waddling about. To me they looked exactly like portly Englishmen on their way to their private clubs. Naturally when you think of an Englishman, you think of
5170-559: The Joker'. Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it. But he'll always say he created it till he dies. He brought in a playing card , which we used for a couple of issues for him [the Joker] to use as his playing card. Robinson, whose original Joker playing card was on public display in the exhibition "Masters of American Comics" at the Jewish Museum in New York City, New York, from September 16, 2006 to January 28, 2007, and
5280-531: The Martian Manhunter was moved to House of Mystery and in issue #327 the Elongated Man and his wife, now remodeled after Dashiell Hammett 's Nick and Nora Charles , took over. The characters crossed over with Batman three times. The Elongated Man run lasted until issue #383 (Jan. 1969) and his feature returned sporadically 15 times until issue #572, which celebrated the 50th anniversary of
5390-544: The Riddler. Additionally, Finger did receive credit for his work for National's sister company, All-American Publications , during that time. For example, the first Wildcat story, in Sensation Comics #1 (Jan. 1942), has the byline "by Irwin Hasen and Bill Finger", and the first Green Lantern story (see above) is credited to "Mart Dellon and Bill Finger". National later absorbed All-American. National's practice in
5500-474: The TV series' Hawaiian Eye and 77 Sunset Strip . He and Charles Sinclair wrote the two-part episode "The Clock King 's Crazy Crimes / The Clock King Gets Crowned", airing October 12–13, 1966, in season two of the live-action Batman TV series. It was his first public credit for any Batman story. Artist Bob Kane negotiated a contract with National Comics (the future DC Comics ) that signed away ownership of
5610-804: The William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum in Atlanta , Georgia from October 24, 2004 to August 28, 2005, has countered that: Bill Finger knew of Conrad Veidt because Bill had been to a lot of the foreign films. Veidt ... had this clown makeup with the frozen smile on his face (classic). When Bill saw the first drawing of the Joker, he said, 'That reminds me of Conrad Veidt in The Man Who Laughs .' He said he would bring in some shots of that movie to show me. That's how that came about. I think in Bill's mind, he fleshed out
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#17327828791125720-420: The autobiography Batman and Me , with an updated edition Batman and Me: The Saga Continues , in 1996. Kane worked as a consultant on the 1989 film Batman and its three sequels with directors Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher . Stan Lee interviewed Kane in the documentary series The Comic Book Greats . Kane married his first wife, Beverly, in the 1940s, and the two divorced in 1957. They had
5830-505: The backup features and Syzmon Kudranski remaining as artist for Tynion's first feature. With issue #19 of Detective Comics vol. 2, released on April 3, 2013, the series reached 900 issues as combined with the first volume of the series, and was a special oversized celebratory issue. Under Layman, the series featured its first crossover, Gothtopia after which Layman and Fabok moved to the Batman Eternal series and Detective Comics
5940-403: The beginning ... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective." Nobleman said, "Bob [Kane] showed Bat-Man to [editor] Vin [Sullivan]—without Bill. Vin promptly wanted to run Bat-Man, and Bob negotiated a deal—without including Bill." Finger wrote both the initial script for Batman's debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) and
6050-591: The beginning, said, "[Bill] had more to do with the molding of Batman than Bob. He just did so many things at the beginning, ... creating almost all the other characters, ... the whole persona, the whole temper." Batman inker George Roussos , another contemporary, said, "Bob Kane had rough ideas, but Bill was the man behind Batman." A DC Comics press release in 2007 said, "Kane, along with writer Bill Finger, had just created Batman for DC predecessor National Comics ." Likewise, DC editor Paul Levitz wrote, "The Darknight [sic] Detective debuted in [ Detective ] #27,
6160-458: The canceled Batman Family , adding solo features including "Robin: the Teen Wonder", "Batgirl", the " Human Target " and the anthology "Tales of Gotham City ", which featured stories of the city's ordinary people. Julius Schwartz, who had edited the title for most of its run since 1964, left the series as of issue #484 (June–July 1979) The original Katherine Kane also known as "Batwoman"
6270-438: The character in exchange for, among other compensations, a sole mandatory byline on all Batman comics (and adaptations thereof). Finger's name, in contrast, did not appear as an official credit on Batman stories or films until 2015. Finger began receiving limited acknowledgment for his writing work in the 1960s; the letters page of Batman #169 (Feb. 1965), for example, features editor Julius Schwartz naming Finger as creator of
6380-422: The character's second appearance in Detective Comics #28 (June 1939), while Kane provided art. Batman proved a breakout hit, and Finger went on to write many of the early Batman stories, including making major contributions to the Joker character. Batman background artist and letterer George Roussos recalled: What was good about Bill was that whenever he wrote a plot, he did a lot of research for it. Whether
6490-415: The comic books but, unknown to DC, had hired his own personal ghosts, including Lew Schwartz and Sheldon Moldoff from 1953 to 1967. Bill Finger recalled that Robin was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of [Douglas] Fairbanks and Sherlock Holmes. Holmes had his Watson. The thing that bothered me was that Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got
6600-462: The company's continuity relaunch called DC Rebirth , Detective Comics would resume its original numbering system with June 2016's issue #934. The 52 issues of Detective Comics volume 2 (2011–2016) were added to the original count of 881 issues from Detective Comics volume 1 (1937–2011), making Detective Comics #934 the premier issue following the end of the DC Rebirth initiative. The series
6710-502: The concept of the character. Robinson added, however, "If you read the Batman historian [E. Nelson] Bridwell , he had one interview where he interviewed Bill Finger and he said no, the Joker was created by me—an acknowledgement. He can be credited and Bob himself, we all played a role in it. ... He wrote the script of that, so he really was co-creator, and Bob and I did the visuals, so Bob was also." According to comics historian Les Daniels , "nearly everyone seems to agree that Two-Face
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#17327828791126820-485: The creation of Bob Kane and Bill Finger." Writer John Broome and penciler Gil Kane created the comic-book villain William Hand, a.k.a. Black Hand , as a tribute to Finger, on whom the character's name and likeness were based. In September 2015, DC Entertainment announced Finger would receive credit on the 2016 superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the second season of Gotham , following
6930-514: The creative team as of issue #742 (March 2000) and created the Sasha Bordeaux character in issue #751 (Dec. 2000). Issue #800 (Jan. 2005) was written by Andersen Gabrych and drawn by Pete Woods . Paul Dini became the writer of the series as of issue #821 (Sept. 2006) and created a new version of the Ventriloquist in #827 (March 2007). Scott Snyder became the writer of Detective Comics with issue #871 (Jan. 2011). In addition to
7040-438: The definitive interpretations that influenced the 1989 Batman film and would be adapted for the 1990s animated series . The Englehart and Rogers pairing, was described in 2009 by comics writer and historian Robert Greenberger as "one of the greatest" creative teams to work on the Batman character. In their story "The Laughing Fish", the Joker is brazen enough to disfigure fish with a rictus grin, then expects to be granted
7150-402: The direction of Schwartz, would revitalize the character with a series of noteworthy stories reestablishing Batman's dark, brooding nature and taking the books away from the campy look and feel of the 1966–68 ABC TV series . Comics historian Les Daniels observed that "O'Neil's interpretation of Batman as a vengeful obsessive-compulsive, which he modestly describes as a return to the roots,
7260-495: The end of each book's monthly story that would be resolved in the other title of that month. A single writer handled both books during that time beginning with Gerry Conway and followed up by Doug Moench . The supervillain Killer Croc made a shadowy cameo in issue #523 (Feb. 1983). Noted author Harlan Ellison wrote the Batman story in issue #567. Writer Mike W. Barr and artists Alan Davis and Todd McFarlane crafted
7370-410: The fame and recognition he deserved. He was an unsung hero ... I often tell my wife, if I could go back fifteen years, before he died, I would like to say. 'I'll put your name on it now. You deserve it. ' " Comics historian Ron Goulart referred to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger". Finger's contemporary, artist and writer Jerry Robinson , who worked with Kane from
7480-502: The family formula had proven very successful for the Superman franchise, editor Jack Schiff suggested to Batman co-creator Bob Kane that he create one for the Batman. A female was chosen first, to offset the charges made by Fredric Wertham that Batman and Robin were homosexual. Writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff introduced Bat-Mite in issue #267 (May 1959) and Clayface in #298 (Dec. 1961). In 1964, Julius Schwartz
7590-558: The first script for Detective Comics #66 (Aug. 1942). The Riddler was created by Finger and designed by Dick Sprang in issue #140 (Oct. 1948). The Calendar Man was another villain created by Finger without input from Kane. Finger collaborated with artist and character creator Martin Nodell on the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott , who debuted in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). Both writer and artist received
7700-565: The following year, National Comics' success with the seminal superhero Superman in Action Comics prompted editors to scramble for similar heroes. In response, Kane conceived the "Bat-Man". Finger recalled Kane ... had an idea for a character called 'Batman', and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ... reddish tights, I believe, with boots ... no gloves, no gauntlets ... with
7810-576: The honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great . In his honor, Comic-Con International established in 2005 the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing , which is given annually to "two recipients — one living and one deceased — who have produced a significant body of work in the comics field". Finger posthumously received an Inkpot Award in 2014. On December 8, 2017,
7920-533: The humor features "Ginger Snap" in More Fun Comics , "Oscar the Gumshoe" for Detective Comics , and "Professor Doolittle" for Adventure Comics . For that last title he went on to do his first adventure strip, "Rusty and his Pals". In early 1939, DC's success with the seminal superhero Superman in Action Comics prompted editors to scramble for more such heroes. In response, Bob Kane conceived "
8030-519: The initial concept: I got a call from Bob Kane ... He had a new villain. When I arrived he was holding a playing card. Apparently Jerry Robinson or Bob, I don't recall who, looked at the card and they had an idea for a character ... the Joker. Bob made a rough sketch of it. At first it didn't look much like the Joker. It looked more like a clown. But I remembered that Grosset & Dunlap formerly issued very cheap editions of classics by Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo ... The volume I had
8140-446: The magazine distributorship Independent News . Wheeler-Nicholson took Donenfeld on as a partner in order to publish Detective Comics #1 through the newly formed Detective Comics, Inc., with Wheeler-Nicholson and Jack S. Liebowitz , Donenfeld's accountant , listed as owners. Wheeler-Nicholson was forced out a year later. Originally an anthology comic , in the manner of the times, Detective Comics #1 (March 1937) featured stories in
8250-477: The new medium during its late-1930s and 1940s Golden Age . Among his work there was the talking animal feature "Peter Pupp"—which belied its look with overtones of "mystery and menace" —published in the U.K. comic magazine Wags and reprinted in Fiction House 's Jumbo Comics . Kane also produced work through Eisner & Iger for two of the companies that would later merge to form DC Comics, including
8360-537: The number 1 spot on The New York Times Best Seller list in the category of "Hardcover Graphic Books". Daniel wrote and penciled the series until the Night of the Owls crossover, at which point Ed Benes , Julio Ferreira , and Eduardo Pansica began drawing the series for a three-issue arc. The price of Detective Comics was increased due to the addition of a backup feature starring Batman villain Two-Face , which
8470-509: The older ones with Batman. It extended the appeal on a lot of levels. The new character, an orphaned circus performer named Dick Grayson , came to live with Bruce Wayne as his young ward in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940) and would inspire many similar sidekicks throughout the Golden Age of comic books. Batman's nemesis the Joker was introduced near that same time, in Batman #1 (Spring 1940). Credit for that character's creation
8580-547: The original Bat-Girl in Batman #139 (April 1961). Finger wrote for other companies, including Fawcett Comics , Quality Comics and Marvel Comics ' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics . Finger created the All-Winners Squad in All Winners Comics #19 (Fall 1946) for Timely. Finger provided an account on the creation of Joker in 1966, though admittedly unsure if it was Robinson or Kane who initiated
8690-432: The original Green Lantern , Alan Scott . While Kane privately admitted in a 1980s audio interview with his autobiographer that Finger was responsible for "50–75% of all the creativity in Batman," he publicly denied Finger had been anything more than a subcontractor executing Kane's ideas for decades. As a result, Finger died in obscurity and poverty while the Batman brand, and Kane, amassed international fame and wealth. In
8800-527: The original incarnation of Clayface . According to Kane, he drew the Penguin after being inspired by the then advertising mascot of Kool cigarettes—a penguin with a top hat and cane. Finger, however, claimed that he created the villain as a caricature of the aristocratic type, because "stuffy English gentlemen" reminded him of emperor penguins . In 1966, Kane retired from DC Comics, choosing to focus on fine art . As Kane's comic-book work tapered off in
8910-533: The perpetual umbrella. So, I decided to make a character who...well, it can't be just an umbrella. I decided to gimmick them. I gave him a tophat, make him looking like the Englishman, and gave him a thousand umbrellas, gimmicked. Alas, we have the Penguin. Finger created the Scarecrow and it is believed that Kane penciled his first appearance. Kane created Two-Face and Finger expanded his characterization in
9020-482: The prevalently featured trophies in Batman's Batcave, the giant replica of a Lincoln penny , was introduced in a story written by Finger. He was one of the writers of the syndicated Batman comic strip from 1943 to 1946. Eventually, Finger left Kane's studio to work directly for DC Comics, where he supplied scripts for characters including Batman and Superman . A part of the Superman mythos which had originated on
9130-421: The release of the next hardcover volume. Material from Detective Comics vol. 2 was also included in several collections of crossover events, each printed in both hardcover and softcover. In each case, the material consisted of tie-ins to the main event. Volumes 1–5 were published with DC Rebirth trade dress on the cover. This was dropped from volume 6 onwards, coinciding with the end of "DC Rebirth" branding on
9240-480: The series have been criticized for their racism and xenophobia. Detective Comics #27 (March 1939 with a printed date of May 1939) marked the first appearance of Batman . This superhero would eventually become the star of the title, the cover logo of which is often written as "Detective Comics featuring Batman". Because of its significance, issue #27 is widely considered one of the most valuable comic books in existence, with one copy selling for $ 1,075,000 in
9350-428: The series with issue #994, published December 2018. Tomasi's run as writer continued for two years until issue #1033, published December 2020. On March 27, 2019, DC Comics released the series' 1,000th issue, marking the second American comic book in history to reach that milestone after Action Comics in 2018. The issue, which coincided with Batman's 80th anniversary, is an anthology featuring several stories from
9460-565: The setting was a railroad station or a factory, he would find a photo reference, usually from National Geographic , and give Bob all the research to draw from. He was very orderly and methodical. His only problem was that he couldn't sustain the work ... he couldn't produce material regularly enough. Robin was introduced as Batman's sidekick in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940). When Kane wanted Robin's origin to parallel Batman's, Finger made Robin's parents circus performers murdered while performing their trapeze act. Finger recalled: Robin
9570-565: The southeast corner of East 192nd Street and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx was named "Bill Finger Way". The corner was chosen for its proximity to Poe Park , where Finger and Kane used to meet to discuss their Batman character. Finger is the subject of the Hulu original documentary, Batman & Bill , which premiered in 2017. Finger married twice. He and his first wife, Portia, had
9680-574: The subsequent increase in sales of the book soon led to the trend of superheroes and young sidekicks that characterize the era that fans and historians call the " Golden Age of Comic Books ." Several of Batman's best known villains debuted in the pages of Detective Comics during this era, including the Penguin in issue #58, Two-Face in issue #66, and the Riddler in issue #140. Batwoman first appeared in Detective Comics #233 (July 1956). Since
9790-573: The team as a guest star in several issues. This status quo ended with the conclusion of Tynion's run on the series in issue #981, published May 2018. During the interim period without a permanent writer, Bryan Edward Hill wrote the story arc "On the Outside" starring Batman, Orphan, Signal , Katana and Black Lightning over issues #983–987 as a prelude to his ongoing series Batman and the Outsiders . The next regular writer, Peter Tomasi , began on
9900-489: The title by teaming him up with Batman, Robin, Slam Bradley and Sherlock Holmes against Edgar Moriarty, the great-grandnephew of Professor Moriarty . After the Elongated Man back-up feature ended, Batgirl held the role until issue #424. She returned from issues 481–519 after being moved to Batman Family. Jason Bard appeared as the backup feature in the odd-numbered issues of Detective from #425–435. The Manhunter
10010-486: The two-part story "The Monk" that introduced some of The Batman's first "Bat-" equipment. In 1943, Kane left the Batman comic books to focus on penciling the daily Batman newspaper comic strip . DC Comics artists ghosting the comic-book stories now included Jack Burnley and Win Mortimer , with Robinson moving up as penciler and Fred Ray contributing some covers. After the strip finished in 1946, Kane returned to
10120-569: The world's two largest comic book publishers, though long after its founder had left it. Wheeler-Nicholson's first two titles were the landmark New Fun: The Big Comic-Magazine #1 ( cover-dated Feb. 1935), colloquially called New Fun Comics #1 and the first such early comic book to contain all-original content, rather than a mix of newspaper comic strips and comic-strip-style new material. His second effort, New Comics #1, would be retitled twice to become Adventure Comics , another seminal series that ran for decades until issue #503 in 1983, and
10230-492: The writer of the series with issue #644 (May 1992). He and Tom Lyle co-created the Electrocutioner in Detective Comics #644 (May 1992) and Stephanie Brown in Detective Comics #647 (August 1992). The " Batman: Legacy " storyline began in issue #700 (August 1996). The " No Man's Land " storyline crossed over into Detective Comics in issues #730–741. Writer Greg Rucka and artist Shawn Martinbrough became
10340-401: Was The Man Who Laughs — his face had been permanently operated on so that he will always have this perpetual grin. And it looked absolutely weird. I cut the picture out of the book and gave it to Bob, who drew the profile and gave it a more sinister aspect. Then he worked on the face; made him look a little clown-like, which accounted for his white face, red lips, green hair. And that was
10450-401: Was occlusive coronary atherosclerosis . His death was not widely reported at the time. Finger had suffered three heart attacks, in 1963, 1970, and 1973. Although it was long believed by Sinclair and others, that Finger was buried in an unmarked potter's field grave , his body was actually claimed by his son, Fred, who honored his wish to be cremated, and spread his ashes in the shape of a bat on
10560-458: Was Kane's brainchild exclusively". Catwoman , originally introduced by Kane with no costume as "the Cat", was partially inspired by his cousin, Ruth Steel. Kane, a frequent moviegoer, mentioned that Jean Harlow was a model for the design and added that "I always felt that women were feline". Kane created the Scarecrow and drew his first appearance, which was scripted by Finger. Kane also created
10670-585: Was actually an act of creative imagination that has influenced every subsequent version of the Dark Knight." Adams introduced the Man-Bat with writer Frank Robbins in Detective Comics #400 (June 1970). O'Neil and artist Bob Brown crafted Batman's first encounter with the League of Assassins in Detective Comics #405 (Nov. 1970) and created Talia al Ghul in issue #411 (May 1971). After publishing on
10780-600: Was added to the National Comics Awards ' Roll of Honour in 1999. On October 21, 2015, for his work in motion pictures, he posthumously received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame , at 6764 Hollywood Boulevard . Kane's work is housed in collections in New York City's Museum of Modern Art , Whitney Museum of American Art , and St. John's University . Detective Comics Detective Comics (later retitled as Batman Detective Comics )
10890-744: Was an American comic book writer, animator and artist who co-created Batman (with Bill Finger ) and most early related characters for DC Comics . He was inducted into the comic book industry's Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1993 and into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 1996. Robert Kahn was born in New York City , New York . His parents, Augusta and Herman Kahn, an engraver, were of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. A high school friend of fellow cartoonist and future Spirit creator Will Eisner , Robert Kahn graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School and then legally changed his name to Robert Kane. He studied art at Cooper Union before joining
11000-410: Was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of Douglas Fairbanks and Sherlock Holmes . Holmes had his Watson. The thing that bothered me was that Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking. I found that as I went along Batman needed a Watson to talk to. That's how Robin came to be. Bob called me over and said he
11110-503: Was going to put a boy in the strip to identify with Batman. I thought it was a great idea". Comics historian Jim Steranko wrote in 1970 that Finger's slowness as a writer led Batman editor Whitney Ellsworth to suggest Kane replace him, a claim reflected in Joe Desris' description of Finger as "notoriously tardy". During Finger's absence, Gardner Fox contributed scripts that introduced Batman's early "Bat-" arsenal (the utility belt,
11220-637: Was influenced by Lee Falk 's popular The Phantom , a syndicated newspaper comic strip character with which Kane was also familiar, and that he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the character's secret identity. Finger said, "Bruce Wayne's first name came from Robert Bruce , the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry . I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock ... then I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne ." Kane decades later in his autobiography described Finger as "a contributing force on Batman right from
11330-515: Was killed in the lead story in issue #485 (Aug.–Sept. 1979) by the League of Assassins . The title's 500th issue (March 1981) featured stories by several well-known creators including television writer Alan Brennert and Walter B. Gibson best known for his work on the pulp fiction character The Shadow . Also used during the 1980s was the use of serialization of the main Batman story, with stories from Detective Comics and Batman directly flowing from one book to another, with cliffhangers at
11440-411: Was later revived in 2009. The third and final title published under his aegis would be Detective Comics , advertised with a cover illustration dated December 1936, but eventually premiering three months later, with a March 1937 cover date. Wheeler-Nicholson was in debt to printing-plant owner and magazine distributor Harry Donenfeld , who was, as well, a pulp-magazine publisher and a principal in
11550-547: Was made responsible for reviving the fading Batman titles. Writer John Broome and artist Carmine Infantino jettisoned the sillier aspects that had crept into the franchise, such as Ace the Bathound and Bat-Mite and gave the character a "New Look" that premiered in Detective Comics #327 (May 1964). Schwartz, Gardner Fox , and Infantino introduced, from the William Dozier produced TV series, Barbara Gordon as
11660-620: Was published twice-monthly. The creative team beginning with issue #934 included writer James Tynion IV and artists Eddy Barrows and Alvaro Martinez. The series featured a team led by Batman and Batwoman (Kate Kane), operating out of a secondary base in the heart of Gotham known as the Belfry. Team members initially included Red Robin ( Tim Drake ), Spoiler ( Stephanie Brown ), Orphan ( Cassandra Cain ) and Clayface (Basil Karlo), with Batwing (Luke Fox) and Azrael (Jean-Paul Valley) later recruited as new members. Zatanna also briefly joins
11770-528: Was resurrected in a story by Archie Goodwin and Walt Simonson in issue #437 (Oct.-Nov. 1973). With the last episode of the series, Manhunter moved to the front of the book in a full-length team-up with Batman. The Green Arrow became the back-up feature starting with issue #521 (Dec. 1982) and running until #567 (Oct. 1986). The Black Canary received a new costume in the back-up story in issue #554 (Sept. 1985). DC Comics Bonus Book s were included in issues #589 (August 1988) and 595 (Jan. 1989). After
11880-458: Was taken over by Brain Buccalleto and Francis Manapul . In commemoration of the second anniversary of The New 52, DC Comics announced " Villains Month " with Detective Comics getting four issues. The issues starred Poison Ivy , Harley Quinn , the Scarecrow , and the Man-Bat , and, respectively, being numbered #23.1, #23.2, #23.3, and #23.4, by an ensemble of writers and artists. For
11990-405: Was written and drawn by Tony Daniel until the 12th issue, with the team of John Layman and Jason Fabok beginning with issue #13. The first issue of the relaunched Detective Comics has received six printings, second only to the relaunched Justice League which had seven printings. The series' 7th issue was also DC Comic's 6th highest selling digital comic, ranking above many other series in
12100-468: Was written by Daniel and illustrated by Syzmon Kudranski, this followed a similar backup featuring Professor Hugo Strange . Daniel left the series with issue #12 being his last as writer and the "0" issue his last as penciller. DC celebrated the first anniversary of The New 52 in September 2012 by publishing a number "0" of each original New 52 title which act as prequels to the series and reveal previously unexplained plot elements. Gregg Hurwitz wrote
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