Bill Finger, Michael Uslan, and the inspiration for “Gotham”

The clever Michael Uslan (producer of every movie with Batman in it since 1989) had a brainstorm to hunt for a fun—and pivotal—piece of cultural history. 

Bill Finger named Batman’s city after seeing a phone book listing for “Gotham Jewelers,” and Michael found a February 1938 ad for the company in a digital newspaper archive. Here’s another, from June, from the same Yonkers, NY paper:

Nonfiction picture book narrative trajectory

I didn’t consciously notice this while writing it, but Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman doesn’t follow a traditional nonfiction picture book story arc.

Conventionally it’s this:

• young protagonist finds calling
• slightly older protagonist struggles to pursue calling
• adult protagonist ultimately succeeds

Bill the Boy Wonder rolls this way:

• slightly older protagonist finds calling
• slightly older protagonist struggles to pursue calling
• older protagonist succeeds on one level but dies poor, alone, and unheralded

Described that way, it sure sounds like a bummer of a story. But it has to be, because that is how it really happened. My job is to capture the truth as best as possible, even when that truth is sad. Even when the “hero” loses. For young people, there is, of course, value in that reading about that kind of life trajectory as well. (And there are some fun/inspirational moments throughout.)

Also unusually for a nonfiction picture book, Bill the Boy Wonder ends with the hope (and hint) that the story may not yet be over. I suppose this is what is meant by meta: in doing the book, the real-life “ending” may change.

I’m sure there are other exceptions to the traditional nonfiction picture book narrative arc, though none to come to mind. Do you know any?

Three-minute clip from "Batman at 75" panel at the Paley Center

On 5/5/14, I had the honor of joining Michael Uslan, Chip Kidd, Kevin Smith, and Kevin Conroy on a panel I also had the honor to name (and recap), “Batman at 75: To All a Dark Knight.” 

The Paley does not post complete panels *; here are the only three minutes you may get online:



* 5/23/14 addendum: Except sometimes.

Interview with (another) granddaughter of Wonder Woman’s creator

At a 2013 Virginia school visit, I met Nancy Wykoff, a teacher who is also the granddaughter of William Moulton Marston, the co-creator of Wonder Woman. Marston lived with two women—his wife Elizabeth and another woman with whom he also had an intimate relationship, Olive.

 Olive (in bracelets), Joye Hummel Murchison, 

Elizabeth, William

Nancy is the granddaughter of William and Olive, and she kindly granted me an interview, her first.

As a companion (and sometimes contradictory) piece, Christie Marston, granddaughter of William and Elizabeth and a curator of the Wonder Woman Network, also kindly granted me an interview.

Your grandfather died in 1947 so I presume you never met him?

Correct—he died before I was born.

According to family who knew him, what kind of person was he?

Intelligent, wide open to “outside the box” thinking, and charismatic.

Any funny stories about him? In particular any funny Wonder Woman-related stories?

Really nothing Wonder Woman related, aside from his habit of digging in his heels and refusing to make her something other than his own creation.

Do you know what inspired him to create Wonder Woman?

Sure…my grandmother. Ha! (The story goes that Charlie Gaines suggested, partly in jest, that William Moulton Marston write a comic. WMM went home and spoke with Gram; she said yes, but that it had to be a woman hero as there were already plenty of males. Thus Wonder Woman.)

William and Elizabeth

What amuses me today is that DC seems to have forgotten that Wonder Woman was created by a psychologist hired to help them succeed, not by one of their regular writers. The different perspective resulted in a different type of character, and it was a very successful venture. Yet now they’ve pretty much thrown away all that made Wonder Woman work so well—after paying for that psychological advice. WMM’s DISC theory is still in strong use today, so we know that his psych theories are not outdated…maybe they need to review their thinking a bit?

Do you know about any controversy he had to deal with surrounding Wonder Woman?

Just the ongoing battle to stick to his own creation.

Do you what his opinion of Wonder Woman was?

I believe that he wrote Wonder Woman as his ideal woman/person.

Is Wonder Woman mentioned on his gravestone?

I’ve never seen his gravestone (Gram was very sorry that she caved and allowed him to be buried rather than cremated; certainly wasn’t into hanging out graveside), but I cannot imagine even a slim possibility that Wonder Woman would be mentioned. [NOTE: It appears he has no gravestone.]

What do you do for a living?

At this moment in time, I get to play with Wonder Woman! (Okay, so it’s not exactly a living, but it is what I do.)

My father started collecting Wonder Woman memorabilia about 14 years ago and amassed so much that [he] needed a museum to house the collection. I’ve spent the past five years organizing and displaying all the fun Wonder Woman goodies! I was astounded by the volume and variety of Wonder Woman stuff.

Due to my quirks, I couldn’t just put things on shelves; I had to know what everything was and when/where it came from. Naturally, the more I learned, the more I knew what was missing… (Dad likely rues the day he got me involved!)

Dad also wanted a website to show his museum, so I’ve learned a little about website building as well. And since it is really about Wonder Woman, I couldn’t possibly just let it be pics of memorabilia… (Uh huh, that one rollerballed too!)

What is the oldest piece of Wonder Woman memorabilia you own?

Harry Peter sketches from the early 1940s, which amused me enough to have hung them on my living room wall for about 30 years. Aside from that, I have a giant Wonder Woman clock from 1978 and a watch from 1977; Gram had received them as sample Wonder Woman merchandise from DC and thought—correctly—that I would enjoy them.

I was told that your family still owns Wonder Woman. Does that mean that DC Comics needs the family’s approval for all Wonder Woman stories and products?

No, DC/Warner Bros. has full artistic control. The Marston family has zero input. Since Gram died in 1993, DC has been delighted with the silence from the family… (Hahaha—you’ve hit on one of my pet peeves! I would most certainly not be quiet if I had the choice; that decision, however, is not mine to make.)

Elizabeth

Do you pay attention to the narrative changes DC has made to the character?

I gave up comics for novels when I was six or seven. I picked up a Wonder Woman comic in the early 1970s, burst out laughing at what she had become, and did not repeat the experience all too frequently.

Since returning to the Wonder Woman world, I have—primarily from my very well-versed Wonder Woman friends—learned much of what happened over the years. Some I’ve read, some I’ve glossed over.

Strangely, though, I am a big fan of a few Wonder Woman writers and artists; people who clearly grasp the “real” Wonder Woman. For me, that would be Wonder Woman from the original comics. (When I was three, we would go visit Gram in NYC; after hellos, I ran for the bookcase holding the bound comics and spent the entire time immersed in those books. To me, Gram and Wonder Woman are pretty much the same person. Not surprisingly, I get annoyed when I see Wonder Woman mired in angst and anger and petty thinking…that’s not the real Wonder Woman!)

Tim Hanley’s new book Wonder Woman Unbound gives a great evolution of Wonder Woman’s character over the years, and relates it to the mood of the moment very well. (That was the book I needed five years ago!)

Who would you like to see play Wonder Woman in a movie?

Honestly, I’m pretty useless in the celebrity knowledge department. I couldn’t possibly speak with any authority on known actresses.

The actress needs to look the part, of course, but what matters most to me is her attitude. Nobody—regardless of how skilled—can “act” ethics. They either have ‘em or don’t. Wonder Woman requires a person who has integrity, intelligence, and a sense of humor—and actually cares about the world and its inhabitants. Attitude always leaks through.

Were you ever Wonder Woman for Halloween?

No.

What do the kids in the family think of the family’s connection to Wonder Woman?

Fun!

What is your relationship with Nancy Wykoff, granddaughter of Olive?

Nancy is my cousin. I met her only a couple of times but of course “knew” her through Gram. Gram and Dots (Nancy’s grandmother) kept the family connected. I can say, however, that I wish I did live closer because I was totally taken with her intelligence and sense of humor when we last met (which matches entirely with the story Gram related of Nancy’s junior high principal having fits about the essay Nancy wrote concerning a very popular religious story…).

Have you been interviewed before about this?

I have. 

Anything you’d like to add?

Yes. A little side note on why Wonder Woman matters.

Due to some very out-of-character depictions of Wonder Woman a few years ago, I got together with some Wonder Woman friends and started Share the Wonder, a project to collect messages from Wonder Woman fans worldwide telling why Wonder Woman holds a special place in their hearts. The results have been amazingly consistent, despite the enormous diversity of her fans.

My summary thoughts after reading the Wonder Woman messages:

What makes Wonder Woman unique? And why is she still “alive”?

She’s real to people. A hero. A comfort. A friend. An inspiration. A role model who actually does make the world a better place.

The true life stories that I’ve been reading are mind-blowing. [They are from] very different people; very diverse. Age, gender, politics, race, religious preference, sexual orientation, education, economic and social class all go by the wayside.

The common theme to almost all can be summed up simply [this]: human values. People want and need someone in their lives who represents and upholds values which are dear to them. People are sick of war and misery and lies and suffering; sickened by all of man’s inhumanity to man. People want a role model who points the way to a better life.

Wonder Woman has been that someone for generations. She has inspired individuals to be their best. She has solaced and encouraged. She has helped people make that extra effort.

Wonder Woman may have started out as pen and ink on a comic page, but she has become a very real—and very valuable—part of our world.

Bill Finger’s name in “Gotham,” the city he named?

On 5/5/14, Fox announced its series order for Gotham, a TV show about Bruce Wayne’s city before he became Batman, debuting fall 2014.

Without Bill Finger, the show—let alone the city—would have no name.

According to The Steranko History of Comics, Volume 1 (page 45), and as repeated in Batman & Me, Bob Kane’s autobiography (page 44), Bill Finger said

Originally, I was going to call Gotham City ‘Civic City.’ Then I tried Capital City, then Coast City. Then, I flipped through the phone book and spotted the name Gotham Jewelers and said, ‘That’s it,’ Gotham City.

As alluded to here before, I understand that until any changes are legally made to the agreement Bob Kane made with DC Comics, subjective terms (namely “creator” or “co-creator”) are off limits, so for the Gotham credits I propose a simple statement of fact:

“Batman’s city was first called ‘Gotham’ in a story written by Bill Finger published in Batman #4, 1940.”

Several times since the announcement, I have tweeted about this. Of course, it’ll take more than tweets to get Bill’s name in the show’s credits, but if you do, please keep it similarly simple/non-inflammatory, and please use hashtag #FingerInGotham.

Justice has no expiration date.

“Batman at 75” panel at the Paley Center

In December 2012, I began a conversation with David Bushman, Curator of Television at the Paley Center in New York City that culminated in “Batman at 75: To All a Dark Knight,” a five-person panel on 5/5/14 that drew a sold-out crowd, buzzed along fast from 6:30 to 8 p.m., and was followed by a book signing that went past 9:30.

(More photos below.)

The lineup:

• Kevin Conroy, Voice of Batman, Batman: The Animated Series; The New Batman Adventures; Batman Beyond
• Chip Kidd, Designer, Batman: The Complete History; Author, Batman: Death by Design
• Kevin Smith, Filmmaker; Writer, Batman comic books; Host, Fat Man on Batman podcast
• Michael Uslan, Executive Producer, The Dark Knight film trilogy; Author, The Boy Who Loved Batman
• me
• Moderator: Whitney Matheson, Columnist, USA Today’s “Pop Candy”

 
From where I sat, for fans of the bat, it was all that.
 
I found my four fellow panelists (only one of whom—Michael Uslan—I’d met before) to be articulate and funny—expert storytellers all. Each shared an almost poetic reflection on the Dark Knight.

Whitney asked thoughtful questions and kept things moving nicely (no easy feat with any panel); at one point, she charmingly directed another question to me because I needed to talk more (usually not a problem with me, but this was an extroverted group). During the Q&A, I laughed when she called on an audience member by saying “The one in the Batman hat.” (That description matched a dude in what seemed like every other row.)

The panel was recorded. Among the many highlights:

• Kevin Conroy taking to the stage booming “I am vengeance. I am the night. I am Batman!” to thunderous applause
• Chip Kidd following him dryly saying “I am the day”
• Class act Michael Uslan asking for my blessing to introduce Athena Finger, granddaughter of Bill
• Kevin Smith telling the story of Kevin Conroy volunteering in New York during 9/11 (suggesting he modify his signature line to “I am vengeance. I am the night chef. I am Batman!”)
• Piggybacking on Kevin Smith expounding on Batman’s appeal, I said that we don’t relate to Batman because he has no powers. We relate because he has no parents. We have empathy for him, which allows us to believe in his mission.

Other memorable moments:

Question: your first Batman? Mine was from Super Friends. (Hey, you can’t control when you’re born.)

Question: coolest Batman memorabilia you own? I followed Chip, who has the original art of the cover of Kingdom Come #3. I joked that I can’t remember which of the Kingdom Come covers I own, then told the story of Charles Sinclair giving me Bill Finger’s paperweight.

I added that when my daughter was about seven, she said if we ever had a fire and she could grab only one thing, she’d go for Bill’s paperweight, to which I said “If we ever have a fire, sweet pea, just get out. *I* will grab the paperweight.”

Question from the audience: your biggest discovery when researching Bill Finger? His lone and previously unknown grandchild, Athena, who was in attendance (and showered with attention for it; she even signed at least one copy of my book for a fan).

While Whitney looked for people to call on during the Q&A, I pointed out the lone woman raising her hand (not the lone woman in attendance, though females were, unsurprisingly, the minority).

A boy of about 13—whom Kevin Smith didn’t notice till he asked a question, prompting Kevin to apologize for some colorful language he had used—bore a fitting resemblance to Charles Roskilly, who portrayed young Bruce Wayne in Michael’s 1989 Batman.

Before we wrapped, Kevin Conroy paid tribute to Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., who had died a few days earlier; Zimbalist voiced Alfred in Batman: The Animated Series and appeared on 77 Sunset Strip…which Bill Finger wrote for.

Then I acknowledged my partner in organizing the event by saying “From Batman to Bushman…thanks to David Bushman for taking a chance on this vision.”

When signing books, not one but two guys asked Michael and Kevin Conroy to sign their credit cards. I normally sign only books I have written, but it was something of a in-a-good-way free-for-all so we all signed each other’s a few times.

I learned that after Bill and his first wife Portia divorced, she sought solace (we are left to read into that) from Wildcat co-creator Irwin Hasen; of the Golden Agers I interviewed for Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman, he is the last one living.

All but the Kevins and Whitney retired to Chip’s apartment for a nightcap; the place is a paradise of superhero memorabilia, including, of course, original art.

A stellar experience, equal parts humbling, entertaining, and exhilarating. Thank you again to all who participated and attended and said nice things afterward.

To all a Dark Knight, forevermore.

The start of the line to get in.

Kevin Conroy and Danielle Ward of JHU Comic Books

The Justice League of A Kind convenes: 

Chip, a DC Comics representative, Whitney, Travis Langley, Michael

Waiting to move into the next waiting area.

Half of the rest of the panel and me.

 The other half of the rest of the panel and me.

Batselfie.

Waiting in the (bat)wings.

View from the panel.

After Athena Finger, granddaughter of Bill, was acknowledged.

Signing books, bags, tickets, and even credit cards. 

Upcoming book. Can you spot the notable first?

Susan Eisenberg voiced Wonder Woman in 

Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

Three people I interviewed who get a lot of attention

Of the numerous beloved people from pop culture (books, movies, TV, music) I’ve interviewed over the last few years, three seem to generate more engagement than the rest (by which I mean more comments on the blog and more emails to me):

• Danny Janssen (Scooby-Doo)
• Mick Smiley (Ghostbusters)
• Edward Ormondroyd (David and the Phoenix)

An unlikely trio!

This time sans guns and smokes

In the early 2000s, upon learning that I was a cartoonist as well as writer, my Scholastic editor Virginia Dooley proposed an update to a 1960s book that used cartoons to teach vocabulary. She (postal) mailed me samples from the book. The cartoons included pistols, cigarettes, and other elements you would not see in a children’s book today.

The book may not have been aimed at young people.

In any case, the idea was to create 180 cartoons, one for every day of the school year—new words, new gags. It seemed like a fun challenge.

Vocabulary Cartoon of the Day (grades 4-6) came out in 2005.

A keynoter at a SCBWI conference I’d attended sometime before then said that in 1945, the average schoolchild’s vocabulary consisted of 10,000 words…and now, only 2,500. 

At professional development seminars where I spoke, I would tell the audience that, if nothing else, this book would help increase that number to 2,680.

After repeated requests at those professional development seminars, we did a second one for a younger age range (illustrated by the total pro Mike Moran). It came out in 2010.

In late 2013, I went looking for those cartoons Virginia sent me more than a decade ago. I didn’t remember that they were not sent digitally. But when I didn’t find them either on my computer or in my file, I asked Virginia. She also could not find or remember the source but did not think it was Scholastic.

So I took to Google. But it turns out my searches for books with “vocabulary” and “cartoon” in the title were for naught.

The title of the book, I believe, was Word-a-Day, by Mickey Bach. It came out in 1964, and it does appear that it was indeed published by Scholastic (or at least one edition was).

Apparently, Mickey Bach (1909-1994) churned out these illustrated vocab builders (they were not called vocabulary cartoons) from the 1940s to the mid-1980s.

Here are a few demonstrating why the plan was redo rather than reissue:

Guns.

Smoking.

Boozing.

Beating.

Heaps of thanks to the kind and resourceful Rebecca Knab of Loganberry Books for solving this mystery, especially with so little to go on.

The kindness of students

For the second year in a row, I was invited to speak at Gregory-Portland Intermediate School in Portland, TX. And for the second year in a row, my kind host Cati Partridge sent me a thick stack of thank you letters from the students who were forced to listen to me for an hour. And for the second year in a row, I was struck by many of them. Here are some comments that stood out:

• “It takes a real man to look up that much information! If it were my opinion, you actually made history!”
• “Out of all the guest speakers, you were the best…and the most hilarious. You have inspired me to follow through with all of my dreams and goals. My first goal is to make varsity soccer and my second is to become an open heart surgeon. I think you helped a lot with making them come true.”
• “I honestly thought it was going to be another boring author, but you turned out to be really interesting! Superheroes aren’t real but I can certainly see one in you!”
• “I think your dedication to your writing is very inspiring and many other authors could learn from you. You’re a funny, awesome, and a nobleman [sic].”
• “Now you’re famous and you inspired many people in my school, including me. You are the best person I know that has good speeching [sic] skills.”
• “In Language class, we’re doing a project where we pick an author and research them. I wish I would’ve known about your books!”
• “What is it like to be a superhero…writer?”
• “I want to do what you do—investigate and look for stuff people don’t even know about. Mr. Nobleman, is all of this you do worth it?”
• “If only Bill Finger or Batman could see you now.”
• “I was stunned when my teachers told us that an author was coming to our school. I thought that our little town was finally getting recognized by people. But then I remembered that you came last year and we were already on the map thanks to you.”
• “Thank you, not just for coming to our school but for taking time out of your life to find these things out. To give credit to those who were given none and to shine light on those who were put in darkness. To me, however insignificant this letter may be, you are a hero.”
• “When my dad picked me up from school, I told him everything [you said]! He said I’ve never said I liked something at school.”
• “Halloween would have been much more boring without [Bill Finger]!”
• “You are a loyal, great, hard-working fan of superheroes. It’s almost like you’re their hero.”

Similarities between Bill Finger and me

As they research and write, some biographers develop a sense of identification with their subjects.

Bill Finger and I were nearly three generations apart—I remember how jarring it was when I asked someone if Bill liked the Beatles and was told he probably didn’t listen to any rock and roll—yet at times I saw myself in him, or vice versa:

• not fond of driving (Bill never had a license, I waited for six months after turning 16 to get my license)
• fond of extensive research and reference clipping
• finance management not strongest suit
• like Batman