Friday, February 8, 2013

Bill, the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman

Nobleman, Marc Tyler.  2012.  BILL, THE BOY WONDER: SECRET CO-CREATER OF BATMAN.  Ill. By Templeton, Ty.  Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge. ISBN 9781580892896  [Suggested Grade Levels 4 - 8]

 REVIEW
“Every Batman story is marked with the words ‘Batman created by Bob Kane’… A Finger had a hand in it, too.”

For many years Bob Kane took credit for the iconic characters, images and stories of the Batman comics.  This narrative non-fiction tells the story of Bill Finger, an un-credited influence behind the scenes. 

Bill, the Boy Wonder helps to feed the craving from librarians, educators, and students for engaging expository text.  The case is made throughout the book that Bill Finger created many of the stories, images, and ideas that are essential to the Batman comics, including the menacing tone, the mask, and many of the villains. Between 1939 and 1965 Finger created a number of Batman comics, without credit.

Nobleman tells the story of a humble man that the comic world almost forgot, but Templeton’s illustrations are the strength of the book.  They pay homage to comic books and the style of Bill Finger.  The full-page illustrations include comic book panes and strong outlines characteristic of comic books.  Close-ups and dramatic juxtaposition of images provide an appropriate backdrop to Finger’s story, and ensure its popularity in any library.

CONNECTIONS
First of all, a reading of Bill the Boy Wonder could lead into a discussion or debate about where credit is due.  In addition, for almost a century comic books and super heroes have had a large impact on pop-culture.  The stories and history surrounding these comics are fascinating.  Bill the Boy Wonder can easily inspire deeper research into these stories. 

RELATED BOOKS
Other books about comic creaters:
Gherman, Beverly. SPARKY: THE LIFE AND ART OF CHARLES SCHULZ.
Nobleman, Marc Tyler. BOYS OF STEEL: THE CREATORS OF SUPERMAN.

By Emily Fultz

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