Monday, August 4, 2014

Bill Finger in “The New Yorker” (1965): only press mention in his lifetime

When Bill Finger died in 1974, no obituary ran in the mainstream media; the closest were short pieces in two DC publications, Amazing World of DC Comics #1 (1974) and Famous First Edition: Batman #1 (1975).

It is hard to fathom how the death of the primary creative force behind Batman could go virtually unacknowledged…but alas, at the time, he was not widely known as the the primary creative force behind Batman.

As far as I can determine, Bill’s name appeared in a major publication only once during his lifetime: The New Yorker dated 8/21/65. 



It was a short piece about what is now considered the first “official” comic book convention (owing to the fact that comics professionals attended and spoke at it).

Alter Ego #20 (1/03) covers this convention and it mentions that the esteemed New Yorker did a piece on it. This was a wild little detail hiding in plain sight. Because we know the date of the convention, it was relatively easy (and eminently exciting) for me to track down the article.

An all-too-important but all-too-brief glimpse at a man whom so many now want to get to know, only too late.




Should you wish to reference this, please link to this page. Thank you!

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