Bat-Mite is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Bat-Mite is an imp similar to the Superman villain Mister Mxyzptlk . Depicted as a small, childlike man in an ill-fitting copy of Batman's costume, Bat-Mite possesses what appear to be near-infinite magical powers which could be considered nigh-omnipotence , but he actually uses highly advanced technology from the fifth dimension that cannot be understood by humans' limited three-dimensional views. Unlike Mxyzptlk, Bat-Mite idolizes his superhero target and thus he has visited Batman on various occasions, often setting up strange and ridiculous events so that he could see his hero in action. Bat-Mite is more of a nuisance than a supervillain , and often departs of his own accord upon realizing that he has angered his idol.
88-610: Bat-Mite made his first appearance in Detective Comics #267 (May 1959) in a story titled "Batman Meets Bat-Mite", and was created by writer Bill Finger and artist Sheldon Moldoff . Bat-Mite was retired from the comic in 1964, when editor Julius Schwartz instituted a "New Look" Batman that shed some of the sillier elements in the series. Bat-Mite regularly appeared in Batman , Detective Comics , and World's Finest Comics for five years. Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk teamed up four times in
176-595: A Justice League / Justice Society of America crossover in Justice League and in Justice Society of America #78–80 it was revealed that both Mxyzptlk and Thunderbolt come from the Fifth Dimension. Letter columns and writer interviews suggest that Bat-Mite comes from there as well, although this has never been shown thus far in the comic stories themselves. In the post-crisis issue of Superman/Batman #25, it
264-506: A 'back-up' personality manufactured by Bruce himself to keep Batman able to fight in case he was mindwiped, or driven to insanity. Batman #680 reveals that Might is indeed a product of Batman's imagination, representing the last vestiges of Batman's rational mind within the Zur-En-Arrh Batman, although when asked by Batman whether he is an extra-dimensional being or a figment of his imagination, Bat-Mite responds that "the Fifth Dimension
352-504: A 1980s audio interview with his autobiographer that Finger was responsible for "50–75% of all the creativity in Batman," he publicly denied Finger had been anything more than a subcontractor executing Kane's ideas for decades. As a result, Finger died in obscurity and poverty while the Batman brand, and Kane, amassed international fame and wealth. In the 2000s, Finger biographer Marc Tyler Nobleman 's research uncovered previously unknown heirs. At
440-953: A beach in Oregon. The first story of the issue Batman #259 in December 1974 would be dedicated to Finger's memory. Fred Finger had a daughter, Athena, born two years after Bill Finger's death. Fred died of complications from AIDS on January 13, 1992. Athena and her son are his only known living heirs, and her attempts (at the prompting of Nobleman and comics fans, and aided by her attorney half-sister) to restore Bill's legacy resulted in Warner Bros.'s 2015 decision to officially recognize Finger as co-creator of Batman on film and TV projects going forward. Argott, Don and Joyce, Sheena M. (co-directors) (2017). Batman & Bill (Motion picture). United States: 9.14 Pictures and Thruline Entertainment. Comic book letter column A comic book letter column
528-422: A byline on the strip, with Nodell in the earliest issues using the pseudonym "Mart Dellon". According to Nodell, Finger was brought in to write scripts after Nodell had already conceived the character. Nodell recalled in an undated, latter-day interview: When I sent it in, I waited into the second week before I heard the word to come in. I was ushered into Mr. [Max] Gaines ' office, publisher, and after sitting
616-518: A cave in the early stories, to circumvent being too similar to the Phantom and Zorro. Instead Finger indicated that Wayne merely used "underground hangars" on the property to store vehicles. The Batcave first appeared in the 1943 Columbia serial starring Lewis Wilson and the comics followed suit thereafter. Donald Clough Cameron created the concept of Batman having a trophy section in the Batcave. One of
704-408: A comic's letter column usually featured reader responses to issues about three-to-five months prior to the current one. Occasionally, if a story ran too long one month, or there were printer-related problems, a comic's letters page would be omitted that issue. This would often produce an outcry from deprived readers in later letter columns, accompanied by the requisite apologies and explanations. Until
792-528: A company aesthetic in this way was overwhelmingly successful; many Marvel fans would sign off their letters with the phrase, "Make Mine Marvel!" Around 1965, however, the Comics Code Authority — fearful that pornographers might market their wares to comic book readers by acquiring their home addresses from the letters pages — decreed that publishers should no longer print readers' addresses. DC gave in to this edict, while Marvel ignored it, at least for
880-755: A deal between the Finger family and DC. Finger received his first formal credit as a creator of Batman in the October 2015 comic books Batman and Robin Eternal #3 and Batman: Arkham Knight Genesis #3. The updated acknowledgement for the character appeared as "Batman created by Bob Kane with Bill Finger". Finger was posthumously inducted into the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1999. In 1985, DC Comics named Finger as one of
968-541: A letters column as a regular feature was Superman beginning with issue #124 (September 1958). Early versions of the lettercol tended to be simple fan letters, often from young readers. These letters tended to be praise for the previous issue's story and artwork; or simplistic questions about the correct pronunciation of " Mxyzptlk " or where Superman put his Clark Kent clothes when he was in costume; or alternately, obsessive dissections of perceived continuity errors or art mistakes. Letter columns came into their prime in
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#17328696731431056-436: A letters page each month. While popular titles could receive up to 40 or more letters per month, other titles might not receive enough to even fill a page. In desperate circumstances, DC and Marvel lettercol assemblers were even known to write fake letters under assumed names, just to fill out the column. For some time in the 1970s, Marvel editors (and assistant editors, like Mark Gruenwald ) responded to readers' letters in
1144-536: A long time and flipping through the pages of my presentation, he announced, "We like it!" And then, "Get to work!" I did the first five pages of an eight-page story, and then they called in Bill Finger to help. We worked on it for seven years [through 1947]. As a screenwriter , Finger wrote or co-wrote the films Death Comes to Planet Aytin , The Green Slime , and Track of the Moon Beast , and contributed scripts to
1232-461: A means of thought-provoking entertainment, just like the stories themselves. So many letter columns in other books ran non-answers by anonymous staffers; Schwartz, in contrast, always made clear he treated his readers’ opinions with respect. By printing names and addresses of his letter writers, he fostered communication among readers in a time before comics shops or conventions. . . . Moreover, in encouraging his more creative correspondents, Schwartz set
1320-507: A number of cases, readers (including future X-Men artist Dave Cockrum and future Elfquest creators Wendy and Richard Pini ) "met" their future spouses via a comic book letter page. Peter Sanderson writes of Schwartz's letter columns: Julie Schwartz’s letter columns were the best in the business: . . . Schwartz sought and published letters with wit, style and intelligence, that demonstrated genuine, if still budding, critical faculties. . . . Schwartz treated his comics lettercols as
1408-528: A number of them on the path to becoming comics professionals themselves. Quite a number of comics pros made their first appearances in print in 1960s Schwartz lettercols. . . . Similarly, under the guidance of editor-in-chief/publisher Stan Lee , Marvel Comics also decided to print readers' home addresses in the letters. Lee made it a priority to create a community of readers, giving them a sense of personal investment in Marvel and its titles. Lee's ambition to create
1496-613: A one-page story in The Brave and the Bold #200. After the continuity-changing 1985 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths was published, Bat-Mite was mostly removed from the Batman comics canon. Bat-Mite made an appearance in Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight #38, although he may have been the hallucination of a drug-addled criminal named Bob Overdog. This comic states that Bat-Mite
1584-488: A self-titled six-issue miniseries which lasted from June to November 2015. Bat-Mite, as a Fifth Dimensional Imp, has nigh-omnipotence , which is shown as near-infinite magical power. Bat-Mite has powers and skills identical to that of Mister Mxyzptlk (but not his weaknesses), such as the ability to manipulate spacetime . He has access to various bat-weapons like his hero, Batman. In Handbook of Comics and Graphic Narratives , Matt Yockey writes, "Bat-Mite pointedly represents
1672-444: A small domino mask , swinging on a rope. He had two stiff wings that were sticking out, looking like bat wings. And under it was a big sign ... BATMAN. Finger offered such suggestions as giving the character a cowl with pointed bat-ears instead of the domino mask, a cape instead of wings, adding gloves, and changing the red sections of the costume to gray. Finger later said his suggestions to have his eyes covered by white lenses
1760-461: A son: Frederick (nicknamed "Fred"). After their divorce, Finger married Edith "Lyn" Simmons in the late 1960s, but they were no longer married when he died in 1974. Finger was last seen alive on January 16, 1974. His friend and longtime writing partner Charles Sinclair found Finger dead at his home on January 18 at the condominium Allen House at 340 East 51st Street in Manhattan. The cause of death
1848-412: A tradition to hold a contest for fans to write in with column title ideas, with the winning writer credited in the letters page. Similarly, when a new comic book series was created, readers were asked to submit names for the lettercol title right from the outset. Jerry Bails may have been the first reader to believe he could influence the direction of his favorite comics. In the early 1960s, he bombarded
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#17328696731431936-400: A while. For many fans, having a letter printed was a badge of honor — especially if it was in one of the more high-profile letters pages. The feeling was that if one wrote enough good letters, it was possible to influence the direction of the comic and/or one's favorite characters. And as letters pages became more collaborative in this way, many became forums for long-running discussions among
2024-489: Is imagination". In Superman/Batman #52, Bat-Mite appears, having had a bet with Mr. Mxyzptlk similar to that of World's Funnest . This Bat-Mite appears to admire Batman, and Batman addresses him with familiarity. Bat-Mite appears in the four-part story "Impossible" in World's Finest #26 through #29, June through September 2024. The story also features Superman, Batman, Robin, Jimmy Olsen and Mr. Mxyzptlk. Bat-Mite appeared in
2112-399: Is a section of an American comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns (or lettercols ), letter pages , letters of comment ( LOCs ), or simply letters to the editor . Letter columns appeared early on in the history of comic books themselves, and their growing prevalence — particularly beginning in
2200-664: Is one of the many admirers of superheroes from another dimension. This version of Bat-Mite later returned in Batman: Mitefall — A Legends of the Dark Mite Special , a one-shot book which was both part of, and a parody of, the Batman storyline Knightfall (with Overdog briefly in the Jean-Paul Valley role). In #6 of the 1999 Batman and Superman: World's Finest miniseries, Mr. Mxyzptlk encounters Bat-Mite, shortly after being mistaken for him by Overdog. While in this story,
2288-405: Is that letters pages allow for a more in-depth discussion than most online forums. In 2015, writer David Harper published his list of the top back matter /letter columns then running: As standardized by the big mainstream American companies, the letter column was typically overseen by one of the comic's staff members, often the book's editor (or later on, the assistant editor), and occasionally
2376-738: The Fantastic Four initially had a letter column; it thus served as the editorial information/reader comment source for all of Marvel's superhero titles — until they too got their own dedicated letter columns. By the 1970s, nearly all mainstream comics included letter pages. Historian Matthew J. Pustz describes the different approaches of the two major publishers, DC and Marvel: In many DC comics, letters were shortened, excerpted, or compiled into lists of suggested guest stars. Marvel letters pages, conversely, often contained very long letters in which fans praised, criticized, or offered detailed suggestions. Unlike DC editors, who referred to readers as 'them,'
2464-682: The DC Animated Universe . As an Elseworlds story itself, World's Funnest has no impact on continuity, as inferred from The Dark Knight Returns and Kingdom Come being introduced to the official DC multiverse as a result of the maxiseries 52 . Apart from World's Funnest , there has been no direct connection between Bat-Mite and Mr. Mxyzptlk. In the Bizarro Comics anthology, Mxyzptlk's native Fifth Dimension seemed to include beings similar to Bat-Mite and Johnny Thunder 's Thunderbolt. Neither of these comics are considered canonical, but in
2552-535: The Great Depression Louis Finger was forced to close his tailor shop. Finger graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx in 1933. An aspiring writer and a part-time shoe salesman, Finger joined Bob Kane 's nascent studio in 1938 after having met Kane, a fellow DeWitt Clinton alumnus, at a party. Kane later offered him a job ghost writing the strips Rusty and Clip Carson . Early
2640-663: The radio program made its way into the comic books when kryptonite was featured in a story by Finger and Al Plastino in Superman #61 (Nov. 1949). As writer of the Superboy series, Finger created Lana Lang , a love-interest for the teenage superhero. Continuing his Batman work, he and artist Sheldon Moldoff introduced Ace the Bat-Hound in Batman #92 (June 1955), Bat-Mite in Detective Comics #267 (May 1959), Clayface in Detective Comics #298 (December 1961), and Betty Kane ,
2728-407: The 1950s made formal bylines rare in comics, with DC regularly granting credit only to Kane; William Moulton Marston , creator of Wonder Woman , under his pseudonym of Charles Moulton; and to Sheldon Mayer . In 1989, Kane acknowledged Finger as "a contributing force" in the character's creation, and wrote, "Now that my long-time friend and collaborator is gone, I must admit that Bill never received
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2816-431: The 1960s — helped create and legitimatize comics fandom . As the forum developed, the volume and tenor of letters became a reliable gauge of overall reader response to developments in the comics themselves. Letter columns remained a regular feature of most comic books until the early years of the 21st century, when they began being phased out in favor of the growing prevalence of email and Internet forums . Despite this,
2904-569: The 1960s, when readers' letters became longer and the discussions more sophisticated. For example, in the mid-1960s longtime letter writer (and future comics historian) Peter Sanderson 's lengthy, well-reasoned, and impressively erudite missives forced DC editor Julie Schwartz to expand the lettercols in his books to a second, separate page (such as "Flash-Grams — Extra", "Letters To the Batcave — Extra", and "JLA Mailroom — Special Peter Sanderson Edition") to facilitate Sanderson's sharp analysis. Of Marvel Comics ' Silver Age superhero titles, only
2992-550: The 1980s The Question series, written by Dennis O'Neil , whose letters pages included a reading recommendation with each issue to complement the philosophical points illustrated in the feature story. The typical letters page had its own title, which was usually a reference to the book's hero or heroes. "Cape and Cowl Comments" ( World's Finest Comics ), "JLA Mailroom" ( Justice League of America ), "Legion Outpost" ( Legion of Super-Heroes ), "Metropolis Mailbag," ( Superman ), "Avengers Assemble!" ( Avengers ), "Letters to
3080-415: The 1980s) the most esteemed letterhacks were occasionally solicited to send letters based on early preview copies, thus helping to build a fan-base for a new title. And in a few cases, low-selling titles were saved from cancellation by groups of dedicated fans writing in to the company's editor-in-chief or publisher. Fans whose letters were published regularly — "letterhacks" — became well known throughout
3168-631: The 2010s saw a renaissance of comic book letter columns, and many comics titles still print them. When Hugo Gernsback published the first science fiction magazine , Amazing Stories in 1926, he allowed for a large letter column which printed reader's addresses. By 1927 readers, often young adults, would write to each other, bypassing the magazine. Science fiction fanzines had their beginnings in Serious & Constructive (later shortened to sercon ) correspondence. The fans would start up clubs to ease finding others with their same interests. Gernsback founded
3256-637: The Bat-gyro/-plane and the Batarang ). Upon his return, Finger is credited with providing the name " Gotham City ". Finger wrote the debut issue of Batman's self-titled comic book series which introduced the Joker and the Catwoman . Among the things that made his stories distinctive were a use of giant-sized props: enlarged pennies, sewing machines, or typewriters. Finger seemed to avoid having Batman operate out of
3344-611: The DC offices with suggestions for new superhero revivals such as was already happening with the Flash, the Justice League, and so on. For instance, in Justice League of America #4, the letters page is filled with missives from Bails under different pen names. He did everything he could to fool editor Julius Schwartz, including mailing the letters from all across the country. Later on, during
3432-464: The Fifth Dimension). Only Batman sees him. As Batman is having an increasingly difficult time keeping his grip on reality during this period, Might may be a mental delusion. In Batman #678, after Batman transforms himself into "the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh ", Might reappears on the last page with him, commenting "Uh-oh" regarding Batman's increasing delusions. He then counsels the Zur-En-Arrh Batman,
3520-606: The Joker! Finger also asserted that the creation of Penguin was fully his in the same interview, outright refuting Kane's claims: Oh, he never came off a package of Kools ...I happened to be looking at an old copy of the old Saturday Evening Post that had an article on the Emperor Penguin . It had photographs of Emperor Penguins waddling about. To me they looked exactly like portly Englishmen on their way to their private clubs. Naturally when you think of an Englishman, you think of
3608-493: The Joker. The first Post- Infinite Crisis appearance of Bat-Mite was in Batman #672, written by Grant Morrison . Batman is confronted with Bat-Mite (or "Might") after being shot in the chest and suffering a heart attack. Might, who bears a green insectoid creature on his back, claims to have come from "Space B at the Fivefold Expansion of Zrfff" (at times, Zrfff has been used as the name of Mr. Mxyzptlk's home planet in
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3696-619: The Living Legend," ( Captain America ), "The Spider's Web" ( The Amazing Spider-Man ), and "X-Mail," ( Uncanny X-Men ) are just a few examples of this tradition. Suicide Squad faced difficulties in this aspect, as the United States Postal Service objected to delivering what were labeled as "Suicide Notes." Some books had trouble sticking with a lettercol title, and changed them on a more or less regular basis. It soon became
3784-701: The Post- Crisis Bat-Mite encounters Batman for the first time, Superman and Batman subsequently concluded that Mxyzptlk had created him, inspired by Overdog's ravings. Bat-Mite also appeared in the 2000 one-shot Elseworlds comic special World's Funnest , in which he battles Mr. Mxyzptlk, destroying the Pre- Crisis multiverse and the Post- Crisis DC Universe, as well as the Elseworlds of Kingdom Come , Batman: The Dark Knight Returns , and
3872-584: The Riddler. Additionally, Finger did receive credit for his work for National's sister company, All-American Publications , during that time. For example, the first Wildcat story, in Sensation Comics #1 (Jan. 1942), has the byline "by Irwin Hasen and Bill Finger", and the first Green Lantern story (see above) is credited to "Mart Dellon and Bill Finger". National later absorbed All-American. National's practice in
3960-527: The Science Fiction League in 1934, where these clubs could advertise for more users. The first recorded comic book letter column appeared in Target Comics #6, published by Novelty Press in 1940. (The page in question also has an early mention of comic book collecting.) The first DC Comics comic to include a letters column was Real Fact Comics #3 (July-August 1946). The first DC title with
4048-475: The TV series' Hawaiian Eye and 77 Sunset Strip . He and Charles Sinclair wrote the two-part episode "The Clock King 's Crazy Crimes / The Clock King Gets Crowned", airing October 12–13, 1966, in season two of the live-action Batman TV series. It was his first public credit for any Batman story. Artist Bob Kane negotiated a contract with National Comics (the future DC Comics ) that signed away ownership of
4136-462: The beginning ... I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective." Nobleman said, "Bob [Kane] showed Bat-Man to [editor] Vin [Sullivan]—without Bill. Vin promptly wanted to run Bat-Man, and Bob negotiated a deal—without including Bill." Finger wrote both the initial script for Batman's debut in Detective Comics #27 (May 1939) and
4224-594: The beginning, said, "[Bill] had more to do with the molding of Batman than Bob. He just did so many things at the beginning, ... creating almost all the other characters, ... the whole persona, the whole temper." Batman inker George Roussos , another contemporary, said, "Bob Kane had rough ideas, but Bill was the man behind Batman." A DC Comics press release in 2007 said, "Kane, along with writer Bill Finger, had just created Batman for DC predecessor National Comics ." Likewise, DC editor Paul Levitz wrote, "The Darknight [sic] Detective debuted in [ Detective ] #27,
4312-402: The book's writer(s). The letters page was often used as a soapbox, where in addition to responding to reader comments, the editor would provide behind-the-scenes details about the comics world, announce changes to the title or the creative team, plea for more (or better) letters, needle the competition, and otherwise communicate with readers. Due to the monthly (or longer) lag between issues,
4400-439: The character in exchange for, among other compensations, a sole mandatory byline on all Batman comics (and adaptations thereof). Finger's name, in contrast, did not appear as an official credit on Batman stories or films until 2015. Finger began receiving limited acknowledgment for his writing work in the 1960s; the letters page of Batman #169 (Feb. 1965), for example, features editor Julius Schwartz naming Finger as creator of
4488-426: The character's second appearance in Detective Comics #28 (June 1939), while Kane provided art. Batman proved a breakout hit, and Finger went on to write many of the early Batman stories, including making major contributions to the Joker character. Batman background artist and letterer George Roussos recalled: What was good about Bill was that whenever he wrote a plot, he did a lot of research for it. Whether
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#17328696731434576-482: The creation of Bob Kane and Bill Finger." Writer John Broome and penciler Gil Kane created the comic-book villain William Hand, a.k.a. Black Hand , as a tribute to Finger, on whom the character's name and likeness were based. In September 2015, DC Entertainment announced Finger would receive credit on the 2016 superhero film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and the second season of Gotham , following
4664-456: The direction of the series, plot points, etc.; which were often answered (or evaded) by the writer or editor point-by-point. By the first few years of the 21st century, as comics-related forums sprang up all over the Internet, many letter columns were gradually replaced by advertisements or in-house promotions. This, combined with a growing sentiment that letters pages were increasingly bringing out
4752-465: The editors and readers, with topics ranging from what defined a "mutant" to real-world issues such as religion, racism, feminism, gay rights, and the rights of the disabled. Cerebus creator Dave Sim 's comments about women, for example, became the source of a particularly long-running and bitter debate in the pages of "Aardvark Comment". In certain circumstances, it was practice for Marvel and DC to solicit letters for titles that had trouble filling
4840-553: The editors of Marvel's letters pages frequently directly addressed their fans, often using the inclusive 'we' or 'us.' . . . Negative letters were common, but the criticism often differed. While Marvel fans' criticism could be very pointed, focusing on the work of particular writers and artists or even the company's whole output, negative letters from DC fans were usually mild. . . . By the early 1980s, though, DC letter columns began to become more like Marvel's, with longer letters that privileged content and commentary over simple reaction. By
4928-412: The fame and recognition he deserved. He was an unsung hero ... I often tell my wife, if I could go back fifteen years, before he died, I would like to say. 'I'll put your name on it now. You deserve it. ' " Comics historian Ron Goulart referred to Batman as the "creation of artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger". Finger's contemporary, artist and writer Jerry Robinson , who worked with Kane from
5016-550: The first script for Detective Comics #66 (Aug. 1942). The Riddler was created by Finger and designed by Dick Sprang in issue #140 (Oct. 1948). The Calendar Man was another villain created by Finger without input from Kane. Finger collaborated with artist and character creator Martin Nodell on the original Green Lantern, Alan Scott , who debuted in All-American Comics #16 (July 1940). Both writer and artist received
5104-559: The following year, National Comics' success with the seminal superhero Superman in Action Comics prompted editors to scramble for similar heroes. In response, Kane conceived the "Bat-Man". Finger recalled Kane ... had an idea for a character called 'Batman', and he'd like me to see the drawings. I went over to Kane's, and he had drawn a character who looked very much like Superman with kind of ... reddish tights, I believe, with boots ... no gloves, no gauntlets ... with
5192-530: The guise of a "friendly armadillo". Beginning in 1980, under new editor-in-chief Jim Shooter , Marvel instituted new letter column policies. One change was to let writers of certain titles (rather than the book's editor) manage the letters pages. The other was to eliminate the conceit of the "armadillo" and have the books' editors or writers respond to letters under the own names. In later years, some DC Comics letters pages — like those in Lobo and Ambush Bug — used
5280-563: The honorees in the company's 50th anniversary publication Fifty Who Made DC Great . In his honor, Comic-Con International established in 2005 the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing , which is given annually to "two recipients — one living and one deceased — who have produced a significant body of work in the comics field". Finger posthumously received an Inkpot Award in 2014. On December 8, 2017,
5368-406: The humorous device of having the main character "respond" to letters. Marvel's Deadpool , as part of his regular practice of breaking the " fourth wall ," also answered his own letters. The letters page also functioned as another form of " house ad ," a place to promote the book, other books in the same line, or the comic book publishing company in general. Some had additional purposes such as in
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#17328696731435456-565: The imp visits the DC Comics offices and insists that he be given his own feature in a Batman comic. This story featured protestors with picket signs shouting "We want Bat-Mite!" outside the Tishman Building (where DC's editorial offices were located at the time), and was accompanied by an editorial comment that this story was published specifically to acknowledge the actual requests of fans for this character's revival. Later Bat-Mite appeared in
5544-461: The industry by virtue of their letters. Writer Mark Engblom describes the phenomenon this way: Chosen by the title's editor (or, in some cases, the writer), a few lucky fans would get the opportunity to share their opinion with not only the creators, but a captive audience of fellow fans as well. In fact, some of the most prolific fans had letters printed almost every month in a variety of titles, becoming minor celebrities in their own right. Some of
5632-519: The initial concept: I got a call from Bob Kane ... He had a new villain. When I arrived he was holding a playing card. Apparently Jerry Robinson or Bob, I don't recall who, looked at the card and they had an idea for a character ... the Joker. Bob made a rough sketch of it. At first it didn't look much like the Joker. It looked more like a clown. But I remembered that Grosset & Dunlap formerly issued very cheap editions of classics by Alexandre Dumas and Victor Hugo ... The volume I had
5720-500: The intersection of utopia and trauma in the superhero genre and he signals that the mastery over trauma is an essential step toward realizing a utopian ideal. His home in the 'fifth dimension' and his magical powers locate Bat-Mite in the utopian realm, yet he turns to Batman as his ideal, suggesting that contact with trauma is in fact indispensable to the expression of a utopian desire." Bill Finger Milton " Bill " Finger (February 8, 1914 – c. January 18, 1974 )
5808-446: The late 1980s and early 1990s, Marvel letter pages had lost much of their critical edge, with DC lettercols taking up the slack. As the letter column became a longstanding tradition in the mainstream comic book industry, it even became a feature of underground , independent , and alternative comics of the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1990s, a trend in letter writing developed in which readers would send in specific, bulleted questions about
5896-431: The late-1970s, letter columns were usually found in the middle of the book, when they mostly moved to the book's second-to-last page (the last page tending to be an advertisement). Toward the end of 1960 — thanks in no small part to the urging of motivated readers like Jerry Bails (later to be known as the "father of comics fandom") and Roy Thomas — DC editor Julius Schwartz decided to print readers' home addresses in
5984-493: The letter column. See further discussion below .) Many 1970s Marvel lettercols stressed the importance of reader feedback, such as this one from Power Man #24 (April 1975): "We don't score hits with every issue. Sometimes a story has flaws or just doesn't come up to snuff. Which is why your letters are so valuable to us in producing these comments. . . . So don't let anybody tell you your letters aren't important, people. They are vital to these magazines." Similarly, (beginning in
6072-459: The lettercol heyday of the 1970s and 1980s, many comics actively encouraged reader participation. Fans were asked to weigh in on a character's uniform changes, or in some cases, submit their own uniform designs, with the winning entry actually becoming the character's new costume. Readers of Tomb of Dracula and The Vision and the Scarlet Witch limited series were asked to suggest names for
6160-499: The letters, a custom of long standing in science fiction magazines and one which helped originate science fiction fandom (where Schwartz himself got his start in publishing). The first letters page with the letter writers' full addresses appeared in The Brave and the Bold #35 (May 1961). Because of this practice, many readers connected with each other, becoming penpals , and starting communities of fans and/or publishing fanzines . In
6248-454: The main characters' babies. (Winners of contests like these were often awarded with original artwork from the book in question.) For team books like The Avengers , Justice League , or the Legion of Super-Heroes , fans were polled as to which characters should become permanent members, team leaders, or conversely, excised from the team. (Readers were also asked to suggest or vote on the title of
6336-607: The most prolific "LOCers" or "letterhacks" include Jerry Bails , T. M. Maple (who published over 3,000 letters), Augie De Blieck Jr. (who claims to have published over 400 letters), Bill Schelly (now a comic book historian), Peter Sanderson (ditto), and Irene Vartanoff (an omnipresent 1960s letterhack who ended up working behind the scenes for Marvel in the 1970s and 1980s). As discussed above, some letterhacks gained entry into an actual career in comics because of their letter-writing expertise. For instance, Bob Rozakis parlayed his frequent published letters to DC comics during
6424-534: The original Bat-Girl in Batman #139 (April 1961). Finger wrote for other companies, including Fawcett Comics , Quality Comics and Marvel Comics ' 1940s predecessor, Timely Comics . Finger created the All-Winners Squad in All Winners Comics #19 (Fall 1946) for Timely. Finger provided an account on the creation of Joker in 1966, though admittedly unsure if it was Robinson or Kane who initiated
6512-677: The pages of World's Finest Comics to plague Superman and Batman together, as well. In 1964, however, when the Batman titles were revamped under new editor Julius Schwartz , Bat-Mite vanished along with other members of the Batman extended family, such as Batwoman , Bat-Girl , and Ace the Bat-Hound . After this, only three more Bat-Mite stories were published in the pre- Crisis DC Universe: two more Bat-Mite/Mr. Mxyzptlk team ups in World's Finest Comics #152 (August 1965) and #169 (September 1967) (which were not edited by Schwartz, but by Mort Weisinger ), and "Bat-Mite's New York Adventure" from Detective Comics #482 (February–March 1979), in which
6600-574: The perpetual umbrella. So, I decided to make a character who...well, it can't be just an umbrella. I decided to gimmick them. I gave him a tophat, make him looking like the Englishman, and gave him a thousand umbrellas, gimmicked. Alas, we have the Penguin. Finger created the Scarecrow and it is believed that Kane penciled his first appearance. Kane created Two-Face and Finger expanded his characterization in
6688-479: The prevalently featured trophies in Batman's Batcave, the giant replica of a Lincoln penny , was introduced in a story written by Finger. He was one of the writers of the syndicated Batman comic strip from 1943 to 1946. Eventually, Finger left Kane's studio to work directly for DC Comics, where he supplied scripts for characters including Batman and Superman . A part of the Superman mythos which had originated on
6776-568: The setting was a railroad station or a factory, he would find a photo reference, usually from National Geographic , and give Bob all the research to draw from. He was very orderly and methodical. His only problem was that he couldn't sustain the work ... he couldn't produce material regularly enough. Robin was introduced as Batman's sidekick in Detective Comics #38 (April 1940). When Kane wanted Robin's origin to parallel Batman's, Finger made Robin's parents circus performers murdered while performing their trapeze act. Finger recalled: Robin
6864-554: The southeast corner of East 192nd Street and the Grand Concourse in the Bronx was named "Bill Finger Way". The corner was chosen for its proximity to Poe Park , where Finger and Kane used to meet to discuss their Batman character. Finger is the subject of the Hulu original documentary, Batman & Bill , which premiered in 2017. Finger married twice. He and his first wife, Portia, had
6952-459: The urging of Nobleman, the online comics fan community and others, Finger's granddaughter revived the fight to restore his lost legacy, which continued for years. In 2015, DC Comics's parent company conditionally agreed to recognize Finger's intellectual property claim as co-creator of the Batman characters and mythos, officially adding his name, going forward, to the "created by" credit line Kane had been contractually guaranteed in 1939. Bill Finger
7040-433: The worst in readers, led to their continued decline. In 2002, DC officially ended the practice of the letter page. Almost a decade, later, however, in 2011 DC brought back the practice. In addition, many titles not published by Marvel or DC — most notably Image Comics ' titles — still feature letters pages. One reason for the persistence of the form, even in the face of other outlets for publisher-creator communication,
7128-401: Was The Man Who Laughs — his face had been permanently operated on so that he will always have this perpetual grin. And it looked absolutely weird. I cut the picture out of the book and gave it to Bob, who drew the profile and gave it a more sinister aspect. Then he worked on the face; made him look a little clown-like, which accounted for his white face, red lips, green hair. And that was
7216-402: Was occlusive coronary atherosclerosis . His death was not widely reported at the time. Finger had suffered three heart attacks, in 1963, 1970, and 1973. Although it was long believed by Sinclair and others, that Finger was buried in an unmarked potter's field grave , his body was actually claimed by his son, Fred, who honored his wish to be cremated, and spread his ashes in the shape of a bat on
7304-522: Was an American comic book writer who was the co-creator (with Bob Kane ) of the DC Comics character Batman . Despite making major (sometimes, signature) contributions as an innovative writer, visionary mythos/world builder and illustration architect, Finger (like other creators of his era) was often relegated to ghostwriter status on many comics—including those featuring Batman, and the original Green Lantern , Alan Scott . While Kane privately admitted in
7392-410: Was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of Douglas Fairbanks and Sherlock Holmes . Holmes had his Watson. The thing that bothered me was that Batman didn't have anyone to talk to, and it got a little tiresome always having him thinking. I found that as I went along Batman needed a Watson to talk to. That's how Robin came to be. Bob called me over and said he
7480-616: Was born in Denver , Colorado, in 1914 to an Ashkenazi Jewish family. His father, Louis Finger, was born in Austria-Hungary in 1890 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1907. Little is known about his biological mother Rosa Rosenblatt. His stepmother Tessie was born in 1892 in New York City. The family also included two daughters (or possibly nieces raised as daughters), Emily and Gilda. The family moved to The Bronx , New York City , where during
7568-500: Was going to put a boy in the strip to identify with Batman. I thought it was a great idea". Comics historian Jim Steranko wrote in 1970 that Finger's slowness as a writer led Batman editor Whitney Ellsworth to suggest Kane replace him, a claim reflected in Joe Desris' description of Finger as "notoriously tardy". During Finger's absence, Gardner Fox contributed scripts that introduced Batman's early "Bat-" arsenal (the utility belt,
7656-634: Was influenced by Lee Falk 's popular The Phantom , a syndicated newspaper comic strip character with which Kane was also familiar, and that he devised the name Bruce Wayne for the character's secret identity. Finger said, "Bruce Wayne's first name came from Robert Bruce , the Scottish patriot. Wayne, being a playboy, was a man of gentry . I searched for a name that would suggest colonialism. I tried Adams, Hancock ... then I thought of Mad Anthony Wayne ." Kane decades later in his autobiography described Finger as "a contributing force on Batman right from
7744-418: Was revealed that the Joker had gained fifth-dimensional powers by maintaining the essence of Mr. Mxyzptlk from the earlier "Emperor Joker" storyline; at the end, Bizarro was able to extract this latent magical essence from the Joker, which manifested in a form recognizable as Bat-Mite. As such, a Bat-Mite has been fully reestablished into the current continuity as an outgrowth of Mr. Mxyzptlk, incubated within
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