Bill Finger quotes

Bill Finger was an American comic book writer, best known as the co-creator of Batman. His creative work shaped many of the core elements and characters of the Batman universe. He is now recognized as one of the most influential figures in comic book history. Here are 7 of his quotes:

What was good about Bill was that whenever he wrote a plot, he did a lot of research for it. Whether 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.

Bill Finger

There were other Batman writers throughout the years but they could never capture the style and flavor of Bill's scripts. Bill was the best writer in the business and it seemed that he was destined to write Batman".

Bill Finger

...[Bob 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 a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ... BATMAN.

Bill Finger

He was a terrific writer and was the most responsible for the success and development of Batman. He really was the background for Batman; Bob Kane had ideas while Bill sort of organized them.

Bill Finger

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.

Bill Finger

I knew many homosexuals but I certainly didn't think of Batman in those terms. I thought of it in terms of ... Frank Merriwell and Dick Merriwell, his half-brother, who was the kid he was taking care of. ... In America we always talk about the Western hero and the pioneer kind of man-the Davy Crockett types-as being loners. They're never really. They always have a sidekick. ... Certainly there's no homosexual relationship. It's just part of the American syndrome. ... It was just that the author realized that you've gotta have somebody to talk to. Sherlock Holmes had Watson-were they homosexuals? Baloney. You just can't have your hero walking around thinking aloud all the time. He'd be ready for the men in white coats after a time. So we created a junior Watson and that's all [Robin] was.

Bill Finger