Batman creator, Bill Finger was honored by the city in a street re-naming ceremony attended by some of Batmans most iconic real-life friends. Here are all the details.
The fictitious city of Gotham bares more than just a passing resemblance to our own New York City. Maybe that’s why many of us adopt the Gotham moniker when talking about our city. One of the men responsible for creating Gotham’s caped crusader, Batman, was honored on Friday.
Batman co-creator Bill Finger was immortalized on the streets of The Bronx. On Friday, city councilman Ritchie J. Torres officially re-named E 192nd Street and Grand Concourse Avenue “Bill Finger Way“.
Bill Finger wrote Batman’s original adventures along with the artist, and Batman co-creator Bob Kane.
The similarities between Gotham and NYC aren’t such a coincidence. Finger was at the forefront of a community of New York City-based Jewish comic book creators, including esteemed industry names like Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel (creators of Superman) and Marvel legends Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.
If you were to ask a real fan which actor best portrayed the worlds greatest detective, they’d say Kevin Conroy. He has voiced the iconic hero in Several DC animated features, the legendary “Batman: The Animated Series”, and the “Arkham” video game series. Conry was among the 100 strong crowd at the event, along with Athena Frankin, Bill Fingers granddaughter.
Sadly, Bill Finger died in 1974 alone and destitute. His partner, Bob Kane took all the credit for the creation of the character, a billion dollar industry today, even though it was Finger who created Batman’s origin story, Gotham City and co-created Robin, Catwoman, and the Joker. Thankfully, in death, Bill Finger is getting the recognition he so richly deserved in life.