Ty Templeton

Bill the Boy Wonder is an odd book. It sort of promises to be a biography of Bill Finger, the man who created Batman along with Bill Kane and wrote many, many of his early stories. But it seems that we don't really know all that much about Bill Finger. Much of the book ends up focusing on the credit dispute between Finger and Kane-- if "dispute" is the right word, given that Kane always asserted that he solely created Batman and Finger rarely said anything to contradict that. It's appalling show more the extent to which Bill Finger's role in the creation of the Bat-Man has been elided, but I don't know if a children's picture book is the place for that dispute to be played out.

It's immaculately researched, though, as the Author's Note at the end makes clear, and it seems unlikely that we'll ever known enough about Finger to create a full-length biography of the man. So this is a nice little tribute, and I'm glad I read it, even if I'm uncertain as to what to do with it beyond that. Ty Templeton's illustrations are great. I've only encountered his art sporadically, but I've always liked it when I've seen it. show less

Bill the Boy Wonder, written by Marc Tyler Nobleman and illustrated by Ty Templeton, is a fantastic picture book biography of Bill Fingerman, the “secret co-creator of Batman.” Templeton’s illustrations are diverse enough to capture both historical accounts and colorful recreations from classic comics. It’s a handsomely produced work, with its text captions and blocking resembling comic book panels. This is truly an all-ages book in that adults interested in comic book history are show more likely to get more out to the book from kids, but it’s still enjoyable and engaging enough for younger readers.

This is a well-researched book, too, with an extensive author’s note at the end detailing all the research that went into writing it. While a great emphasis of the book is about how Fingerman was cheated out of receiving credit for his role in Batman, it also covers his inspirations and creative process, and it‘s fascinating to think of all the things that culminated in some of pop-culture‘s most famous images.

The book is actually more positive towards Bob Kane than other books I’ve read, and it really emphasizes more on the positive of Fingerman‘s life, which I think is the better approach to make. The authorship of comics, especially in terms of who created a creator, is complicated because it often involves a team working for a company, and it is likely that the company holds the creative control over the character. This can lead to many writers, artists, or their heirs not seeing a cent of the millions a company makes from comics, merchandise, and movies featuring their characters and storylines. I hope with books like this and researchers like Marc Tyler Nobleman, creators will get the recognition they’ve earned for helping shape our culture and imaginations. show less

I received Bill the Boy Wonder through Librarything's Early Readers program that gives members the chance to win a free book before publication in return for a review.
Honestly I was surprised when this arrived as I thought I'd won it because the website's program chose me based on the books in my library on pulp and comic book history. It turns out that this is really a kids picture book.
I'm sure that this is the sort of book that I'd have devoured at the age of six or seven.
While the show more book is mainly about how Bill Finger was really the main writer and creator of Batman and how Bob Kane took all the credit for himself, there's lots of material about the creation of Batman and Robin and the development of those characters in the golden and silver ages.
For the grown up me, however, the best part of the book was the author's note at the end. It is essentially a terrific fanzine article about his search for information about Finger and what he found.
He also includes many never-before-seen photos. Or at least all the ones he was able to find.
This author's note is packed with new and interesting information.
Nobleman should also be thanked for finding Finger's granddaughter and helping to see that Finger's residuals from DC Comics were redirected to her.
I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the whole package though. It's half kids picture book and half serious comic book scholarship for adults.
I think that this would have been a better project if it were split into a kids picture book about the entire history and development of Batman and all the folks who helped create it and a lengthy book for adults detailing the creative side of DC comics over the years.
Nobleman obviously has the research chops to do justice to a still-shrouded part of comic book history.
His author's note was so interesting that I'd love to see what he could do with a chapter on Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nickolson, one on Donenfeld and Liebowitz, a look at the Siegel and Schuster story, Marsten, and all the other creators, particularly the less well-known or recognized ones, the hook-up between National and All-American, and the Captain Marvel and Wonder Man lawsuits. There has to be a lot more buried stories and Nobleman seems to have a knack for digging them up. It'd be nice to see him try. show less

Un buen resumen de la participación de Bill (Milton) Figer en la creación de Batman, pero un poco breve. Lo más interesante son las seis páginas finales (en prosa) en las que el autor habla de su investigación y de su contacto con la familia de Figer.