Monday, July 21, 2008

"New" Bill Finger photo 1 of 9

In honor of...

a) the imminent release of Boys of Steel: The Creators of Superman (7/22/08—tomorrow!)
b) the imminent start of Comic-Con 2008
c) the success of The Dark Knight (a term Bill Finger first used for Batman)

...I am making good on a commitment I made soon after I started this blog in February 2008. I posted a "new" but murky image of Bill Finger
(uncredited co-creator of Batman), saying that around now I would begin to post the nine better "new" photos of him I found while researching a book. Only three photos of Finger have previously been published, one only once, in 1941.

Here's the deal: linking to these images is more than appreciated but please do not re-post or use any of them in any way without permission. If anyone breaks the deal, no more photos! Given the subject is Bill Finger, I'm sure the unspoken parallel is clear.

First, to wade in slow, a photo of one of Finger's aunts and his mother on a beach in the 1940s:


photo courtesy of Bill Finger's first cousin

Now "new" Bill Finger photo 1 of 9
(I don't officially count the one from that previous post since it's virtually unrecognizable), also on a beach and also probably from the 1940s:

photo courtesy of Bill Finger's granddaughter

That's Portia, his first wife, with him. The scene gives a wee look at a side of Finger's personality that hasn't been seen; they are hamming for the camera.

And yes, the second Finger photo I've shown is also the second in which he's topless. (I actually have a third topless Finger shot, which happens to be the best of all the "new" photos, topless or otherwise.)

No comments: