By: Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/11/2016
For decades, Bob Kane was the only person credited for the creation of the Batman. However, as Nobleman argued at 92Y, Bill Finger was the man who did most of the work.
.. Superman Fights for Truth! (Dc Comics) by Donald Lemke & Ethen Beavers Picture Window Books 4 Stars .. About the Story: Someone has stolen from the grocer and it is up to Superman to catch the thief and returns the goods. Opening: Superman hears a cry for help. “Titano took my bananas!” yells a …
By: Jerry Beck,
on 7/14/2012
Yesterday, at virtually the same time I was extolling the praises of Sam Singer (the “Ed Wood of Animation“) at my Comic Con presentation of the Worst Cartoons Ever!, Deadline Hollywood broke the news that Evergreen Media Group has made a deal with Telefeatures to acquire rights to the 1960s cartoon series Courageous Cat. According to Deadline’s Mike Fleming:
Evergreen is prepping a contemporary live-action/CGI feature with a new mythology for the character, one of only two properties originated by Batman creator Bob Kane that isn’t owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros. Telefeatures syndicated the original cartoon series, which Kane created as a parody of his earlier Batman work. “For years we resisted overtures for the property,” Telefeatures director Debbie Litt said. “However, because of Tony and Evergreen’s longstanding track record of finding great new takes to reboot classic properties we had a significant comfort level in entrusting them with Courageous Cat.”
The other non-DC property by Bob Kane, referred to the article, is Cool McCool (owned by King Features/Hearst Entertainment). Courageous Cat was probably the best known – and best produced, but that’s not saying much – of Singer’s output, which included such notable productions as Pow Wow The Indian Boy, Bucky and Pepito and the infamous Paddy Pelican.
Courageous Cat was a parody of Kane’s Batman and Robin – done with much less style and wit than the 1966 Adam West show. It’s not funny enough – nor bad enough, I will admit – to be shown in my Worst-Of programs. But boy, Hollywood is really scouring the bottom of the barrel to cash in on the current super-hero craze. What next, Sinbad Jr.?
Cartoon Brew |
Permalink |
No comment |
Post tags: Bob Kane, Courageous Cat, Sam Singer
This was a great article Mr. Lu! Thank you! And thanks to Marc Tyler Nobleman for a great book!
I do have one question though- I had read about and seen the red costume Kane did for Batman and the profound contributions of Bill Finger waaaaaaaay back in 1999 in an article by Arlen Schumer:
http://www.arlenschumer.com/images/stories/history_pdfs/BATMAN_coverstory.pdf
As far as I know that article was the very first mention of just how significant Bill Finger’s contribution had been to the very look and feel of Batman- and it had this great cover clearly illustrating what Batman would have looked like if not for Bill Finger, and an analysis of the whole thing.
In your article you write as if Mr. Nobleman’s book is the first mention of this in 2012- yet if you read Mr. Nobleman’s book it’s clear he took at least some inspiration from this article; most significantly in the red costume design- indeed it seems like Mr. Schumer’s article served as inspiration for Mr. Nobleman’s book.
So I’m curious why there is no mention of this cover image of the red Batman and this article from 1999? You talk about “Bill the Boy Wonder” as if that was the first mention of this in 2012- but I’d been aware of it more than 12 years prior to that book being published?
I’m curious because…in an odd way…it seems like Mr. Schumer got a bit of the “Bill Finger treatment”- no acknowledgment for a significant contribution to the fact that Bill Finger is now getting a credit in the movies and TV…
So my question is: does Mr. Nobleman have any documentation of the Bill Finger contributions to Batman that pre-date Mr. Schumer’s article from 1999?
If not, then doesn’t Mr. Schumer deserve at least a little credit for bringing the significance of Bill Finger’s contributions, and that illustration and analysis of a red Batman, to light for the public to see leading to the Bill Finger credits in other media?
I”m just curious.
Thanks again- it was a fantastic article!