Editing Bill Finger (section)

==Credit==
Artist [[Bob Kane]] negotiated a contract with National Comics (the future [[DC Comics]]) that signed away ownership of the character in exchange for, among other compensations, a sole mandatory [[byline]] on all Batman comics (and adaptations thereof). Finger's name, in contrast, did not appear as an official credit on Batman stories or films until 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/robsalkowitz/2015/09/19/batmans-co-creator-bill-finger-finally-receives-recognition/?sh=73154a9287e3 |title=Batman's Co-Creator Bill Finger Finally Receives Recognition |last=Salkowitz |first=Rob |author-link=Robert Salkowitz |date=September 19, 2015 |website=[[Forbes]] |access-date=September 19, 2015}}</ref> Finger began receiving limited acknowledgment for his writing work in the 1960s; the letters page of ''Batman'' #169 (Feb. 1965), for example, features editor [[Julius Schwartz]] naming Finger as creator of the Riddler.<ref>{{cite book |editor-last1=O'Neil |editor-first1=Dennis |editor-link1=Dennis O'Neil |editor-last2=Wilson |editor-first2=Leah |date=2009 |title=Batman Unauthorized: Vigilantes, Jokers, and Heroes in Gotham City |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VydBDR_aTgoC&pg=PA95 |location=Dallas, Texas |publisher=[[BenBella Books]] |page=95 |isbn=978-1-933771-30-4}}</ref>

Additionally, Finger did receive credit for his work for National's sister company, [[All-American Publications]], during that time. For example, the first [[Wildcat (DC Comics)|Wildcat]] story, in ''[[Sensation Comics]]'' #1 (Jan. 1942), has the byline "by Irwin Hasen and Bill Finger",<ref>Wallace "1940s" in Dolan, p. 41: "Writer Bill Finger and artist Irwin Hasen's Wildcat was Ted Grant, a boxer accused of murdering his opponent in the ring."</ref> and the first Green Lantern story (see above) is credited to "Mart Dellon and Bill Finger". National later absorbed All-American. National's practice in the 1950s made formal bylines rare in comics, with DC regularly granting credit only to Kane; [[William Moulton Marston]], creator of [[Wonder Woman]], under his pseudonym of Charles Moulton; and to [[Sheldon Mayer]].

In 1989, Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation, and wrote, "Now that my long-time friend and collaborator is gone, I must admit that Bill never received the fame and recognition he deserved. He was an unsung hero&nbsp;... I often tell my wife, if I could go back fifteen years, before he died, I would like to say. 'I'll put your name on it now. You deserve it.{{'"}}<ref name="me">{{Cite book |first=Bob |last=Kane |author2=Tom Andrae |title=Batman & Me |publisher=[[Eclipse Books]] |location=[[Forestville, California]] |year=1989 |isbn=1-56060-017-9 |page=44}}</ref> Comics historian [[Ron Goulart]] referred to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger".<ref>{{Cite book | author-link=Ron Goulart | last=Goulart | first=Ron | title=Comic Book Encyclopedia | publisher=[[HarperCollins|Harper Entertainment]] | location=New York | year=2004 | page=[https://archive.org/details/comicbookencyclo00goul/page/ '''???'''] | isbn=0-06-053816-3 | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/comicbookencyclo00goul/page/ }}</ref>

Finger's contemporary, artist and writer [[Jerry Robinson]], who worked with Kane from the beginning, said, "[Bill] had more to do with the molding of Batman than Bob. He just did so many things at the beginning,&nbsp;... creating almost all the other characters,&nbsp;... the whole persona, the whole temper."<ref name= noblemanp-june19-2013>{{Cite web|title= Jerry Robinson Previously Unpublished Interview, 6/9/06|url= http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/06/jerry-robinson-previously-unpublished_19.html|publisher= Noblemania| date= June 19, 2013|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140309200319/http://noblemania.blogspot.com/2013/06/jerry-robinson-previously-unpublished_19.html|archive-date= March 9, 2014|url-status= live|access-date= June 19, 2013}}</ref> Batman [[inker]] [[George Roussos]], another contemporary, said, "Bob Kane had rough ideas, but Bill was the man behind Batman."<ref>{{Cite book|title=''Comic Book Artist'' #17|chapter= CBA Interview: The Great "Inky" Roussos|publisher= TwoMorrows|year= 1997|pages=66–67}}</ref> A DC Comics press release in 2007 said, "Kane, along with writer Bill Finger, had just created Batman for DC predecessor [[DC Comics|National Comics]]."<ref>{{Cite press release | url=http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134320 | title=DC Comics Names Jerry Robinson Creative Consultant | publisher=DC Comics via Newsarama.com | date=October 26, 2007 | access-date=December 29, 2010 | archive-date=October 28, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071028024304/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=134320}}</ref> Likewise, DC editor [[Paul Levitz]] wrote, "The Darknight [sic] Detective debuted in [''Detective''] #27, the creation of Bob Kane and Bill Finger."<ref>Levitz, Paul. Retrospective, inside back cover of ''Detective Comics'' #500 (March 1981).</ref>

Writer [[John Broome (writer)|John Broome]] and penciler [[Gil Kane]] created the comic-book villain William Hand, a.k.a. [[Black Hand (comics)|Black Hand]], as a tribute to Finger, on whom the character's name and likeness were based.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Comic Book Legends Revealed #298|url=http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/02/02/comic-book-legends-revealed-298/|website=[[Comic Book Resources]] | first= Brian | last= Cronin| date =February 2, 2011 | access-date= July 9, 2015| archive-date= April 18, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418165209/http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2011/02/02/comic-book-legends-revealed-298/ | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbr.com/green-lantern-black-hand-batman-creator-bill-finger/ |title=The Green Lantern Villain Based on Batman's Co-Creator |last=Cronin |first=Brian |date=March 15, 2017 |website=Comic Book Resources |access-date=March 15, 2017}}</ref>

In September 2015, [[DC Entertainment]] announced Finger would receive credit on the 2016 superhero film ''[[Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice]]'' and the second season of ''[[Gotham (TV series)|Gotham]]'', following a deal between the Finger family and DC.<ref name=thr-sept2015 /> Finger received his first formal credit as a creator of Batman in the October 2015 comic books ''[[Batman and Robin Eternal]]'' #3 and ''Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis'' #3. The updated acknowledgement for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://comicsalliance.com/bill-finger-batman-comics-credit/ |title=Bill Finger Has A Creator Credit On This Week's Batman Comics |last=Sims |first=Chris |date=October 21, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304114836/http://comicsalliance.com/bill-finger-batman-comics-credit/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |url-status=dead |access-date=October 21, 2015}}</ref>