What Bill Finger left behind

In a way, it makes sense that the primary creative force behind Batman would be something of a mystery, but Bill Finger took that too far—or rather, circumstances (some but not all beyond his control) took that too far.

When Bill died in 1974, his son Fred took care of what little he had to his name. The fate of most of his personal belongings is lost to time. I’m told Fred offered to donate Bill’s now-legendary gimmick books to DC Comics, but DC declined. (Unbearable.) Presumably, Fred then tossed them. (Again unbearable. But understandable.)

What of Bill’s did survive?

At least three comic book scripts (or perhaps partial scripts, and almost certainly more, somewhere).

source: William Breman Jewish Heritage & Holocaust Museum 

superhero exhibit catalog

source: Alter Ego #20

source: Alter Ego: The Comic Book Artist Collection

A paperweight.

A sculpture of his first wife, Portia. Here is Bill’s longtime friend Charles Sinclair gifting it to Bill’s granddaughter Athena (2014).

A desk (partially obscured; a smaller sliver of it can also be seen in previous photo).

Two signed holiday cards (the first from 1945, the second unknown). Source: Steve Geppi, founder of Diamond Comic Distributors; in 1984 he purchased a warehouse of correspondence and other material from Harvey Publications and has it owned it continuously since. In 2026, he discovered these cards.

A signature (1945).

Another signature (1963).

A letter with signature (1965).

Another letter (1965).

A third letter and another signature (1966).

A book inscription and signature (1968 or 1969).

Photos (more than most people knew about, but still too few).

Most hauntingly, a page in seminal Batman artist Jerry Robinson’s guest book, circa 1942. It is the longest known example of Bill’s handwriting that survives, and it is reproduced on the last page of Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman.

Oh, and, of course, Batman himself.