Bill Finger

Milton "Bill" Finger was born on February 8, 1914, and died around January 18, 1974. An American comic book writer, he is now officially recognized as the co-creator of Batman alongside artist Bob Kane — a credit that eluded him for the better part of his lifetime.

Finger came up as a writer in the late 1930s, joining the emerging comic book industry at its foundational moment. His work across titles including Batman, Detective Comics, Superman, World's Finest Comics, All-American Comics, and Star Spangled Comics demonstrated a remarkable range, and he accumulated credits on more than 600 issues over his career. Beyond Batman, he also contributed to the creation of the original Green Lantern. His strengths lay in world-building, plot architecture, and the kind of mythos-shaping that gives superhero universes their texture and internal logic.

Despite those contributions, Finger spent decades without formal recognition. Bob Kane received a contractually guaranteed "created by" credit as far back as 1939, while Finger was effectively treated as a ghostwriter. Kane later privately acknowledged that Finger was responsible for the majority of Batman's creative DNA, yet publicly denied it during his lifetime. Finger died in poverty and relative obscurity.

The effort to restore his legacy gathered momentum in the 2000s through the research of biographer Marc Tyler Nobleman, whose work helped locate Finger's previously unknown heirs. By 2015, DC Comics's parent company agreed to add Finger's name to Batman's official "created by" credit going forward.