"Batman & Bill" documentary: the public response, part 1

On 5/6/17, Hulu premiered Batman & Bill, its first original documentary and the first-ever documentary based on a nonfiction book for young readers—Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman (the first biography of Bill Finger).

The outpouring of love, gratitude, enthusiasm, and other positives from the public has been ongoing and overwhelming. Among the thousands of tweets and posts, some recurring themes emerged. A sampling of just under 100 of the most moving or otherwise notable that I saw...

The "best":

Here come the waterworks:

Shout-out to the breakout star...my daughter:

Humbling associations:

Even for non-superhero fans:

No hero but humbled:

Journalism:

Public figures:

DC Comics talent:

Funny:

Roller coaster:

Others that touched me:

Comic Book Resources called the Bill Finger story a "game-changer":

#3 comic biography on Amazon (behind two friends!):

I was honored by many kind posts from industry friends; here are two that especially melted me:

Lastly, a classy post from the woman at the heart of the story:

Part 2.

Part 3.

Part 4.

"Batman & Bill" advanced screening 5/3/17

Morning: first presentation focusing on The Chupacabra Ate the Candelabra, which was also my first appearance at legendary DC bookstore Politics & Prose. 

Afternoon: trained to Philadelphia.

Evening: first public screening of Batman & Bill, which was held at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute, where my college friend Andrew Douglas is the Director of Education. After the 90-minute film, I joined the directors Don Argott and Sheena Joyce for a Q&A.

 Sheena and Don

 Andrew

Documenting the crowd.

The directors and I all teared up during the movie even though we already knew where this thing was headed. It speaks to the human collective, the power of seeing a film in a theater with strangers and feeding off their unseen emotions—the original, pure cinema experience. 

A highlight: one audience member said "That was the best Batman movie I've ever seen."

A higherlight: he then posted the same online:

Thank you to Andrew and the BMFI for hosting this special event. Thanks to Hulu, Don, and Sheena for agreeing to do it. Thanks to friends (Rachel Loonin) and brothers-of-friends-who-are-now-friends (Peter Decherney) for coming out.

Andrew, me, Rachel

And thanks to the aforementioned strangers who showed up to pay tribute in a new way to the man behind the mask.

Donald Trump and…Bill Finger

The White House proclaimed May 2017 as Jewish American Heritage Month.

Look who is name-dropped in the 4/28/17 press release:

The achievements of American Jews are felt throughout American society and culture, in every field and in every profession. American Jews have built institutions of higher learning, hospitals, and manifold cultural and philanthropic organizations. American Jews have even brought us our greatest superheroes—Captain America, Superman, and Batman. American Jews have composed some of our defining national hymns like "God Bless America," timeless musicals like The Sound of Music, and even famous Christmas songs. From Admiral Hyman G. Rickover to Albert Einstein, Richard Rodgers to Irving Berlin, Jerry Siegel to Bill Finger, Mel Brooks to Don Rickles, and Levi Strauss to Elie Wiesel, American Jews have transformed all aspects of American life and continue to enrich the American spirit.

A few years ago, even some hardcore Batman fans had not heard of Bill Finger. Now he's mentioned in a presidential statement as if he's a household name.

Plus no mention of Bob Kane. Who shares qualities with a certain current high-ranking elected official.

Finally, something I like about this administration.