Monday, November 22, 2010

Bill Finger as told by those who knew him well

Early Batman artist/ambassador of comics Jerry Robinson on Bill: “Very soft, kind. Naïve, as most of us were. Not outgoing. Reserved but very easy to get to know. We became fast friends. He actually became my cultural mentor.”

“Father of Fandom” Jerry Bails on Bill: “Bill was an avid reader and fan of good fiction, popular fiction, and action movies. He surrounded himself with artifacts and books he loved. He was not a braggart, but was clearly pleased to talk about his creations. He appeared to be more like most comics fans in terms of personality. He lived more in his imagination than in the world of hard knocks. He was not a joke-maker, but he enjoyed telling stories about how he worked. He was very dedicated to his craft. He was not shy, but he would defer to others in conversations. I’d call him considerate and the opposite of overbearing. I had no trouble believing everything he told me.”

Bill’s second wife on Bill: “Very, very warm, very sincere, very hard-working, even though he had problems meeting deadlines. He had a good sense of humor. He was very interested in the theater, and ballet, and classical music. He wouldn’t write any violent comic books. He gave an awful lot of thought to writing.”

Longtime writing partner Charles Sinclair on Bill: “He was the opposite of a sourpuss. Without being wildly jovial, he was a funny guy. Great sense of humor. Liked to joke. He was extremely well read. He deserved a lot better than he got. I enjoyed knowing him, and I miss him.”

Me on Bill: “I miss him, too, even though I never met him. 

Most of these recollections are culled from personal interviews I conducted. The last two lines of Charles’s comments are paraphrased from Alter Ego #84, 3/09.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Bill Finger's personality sounds very similar to the Batman character that he created with artist Bob Kane. Too bad, Bob didn't acknowledge that Bill was the writer.