How did Bob Kane generaly feel about B:TAS?

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

Did he love it? Like it? Hate it? Someone help me out here.

[TimTwoFace]

I...honestly don't know. I've seen plenty of his comments on the four live-action Batman movies (each one apparently being "better than the last", or so the WB twisted his quotes into), but never about the animated series.

I, too, am curious. Does anyone know?

-Tim

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

^There was no way he was happy with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. I'm sure he liked the first two though

[Shadow]

^There was no way he was happy with Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. I'm sure he liked the first two though

I remember him saying he liked George Clooney. Or maybe it was Val Kilmer. But uh, yeah. :P

Really, I wouldn't be too surprised if he liked Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Kane's always credited as being Batman's creator, but a lot of fans believe Bill Finger deserves the credit. He just doesn't get any, because Kane had it ensured that he would always be credited as Batman's sole creator.

[GL2k2]

I remember him saying he liked George Clooney. Or maybe it was Val Kilmer. But uh, yeah. :P

Really, I wouldn't be too surprised if he liked Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Kane's always credited as being Batman's creator, but a lot of fans believe Bill Finger deserves the credit. He just doesn't get any, because Kane had it ensured that he would always be credited as Batman's sole creator.
That's sad, sounds like the Carl Barks syndrome. I would be interested to hear what his thoughts on the series were too. It has to be written somewhere in a magazine or something. But I think if he disliked it, we would have known about it for certain.

[Fone Bone]

That's sad, sounds like the Carl Barks syndrome. I would be interested to hear what his thoughts on the series were too. It has to be written somewhere in a magazine or something. But I think if he disliked it, we would have known about it for certain.
Carl Barks syndrome? Are you implying he DIDN'T create Uncle Scrooge? Or that he did and Disney took all the credit? I disagree with either of these statements. Barks definately gave birth to Scrooge, Gladstone, and Gyro Gearloose and developed Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie considerably from the silly animated shorts. And Disney has shown nothing but respect for Barks, never diminishing his contributions and actually making him the only artist in Disney history to sell his paintings of Disney characters without a license, with their blessings.

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

Bob Kane was the one who drew Batman and presented him to DC, so therefore making him the creator. Back to the topic at hand people

[GL2k2]

Carl Barks syndrome? Are you implying he DIDN'T create Uncle Scrooge? Or that he did and Disney took all the credit? I disagree with either of these statements. Barks definately gave birth to Scrooge, Gladstone, and Gyro Gearloose and developed Donald, Huey, Dewey, and Louie considerably from the silly animated shorts. And Disney has shown nothing but respect for Barks, never diminishing his contributions and actually making him the only artist in Disney history to sell his paintings of Disney characters without a license, with their blessings.
If Carl Barks died happily, then I will renege on my previous statement. And I have deep-rooted hatred for the Disney corporation, so don't mind me.

His creations in the Disney comicbooks were inspirations for George Lucas and Steven Speilberg, especially Indiana Jones with all the booby traps and such. At least this was according to an interview with Speilberg. Pretty much everything we see on Ducktales was of his creation.

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

We are not talking about Disney the topic is how did Kane feel about B:TAS? Not some Disney dude. Geez.

[Daredevil_2003]

Yes, Bill Finger made Batman basically what he is today, but without Bob Kane's idea, Finger wouldn't have had anything. It's still very dissapointing that Finger doesn't get the credit he's due for evolving and fleshing out the idea, but it still stands that Batman is Bob Kane's baby. Anyway, I havent heard Kane's comments on anything except the 89 movie and B&R, I forget what he said about the latter but it was mostly positive, which led me to believe he either A.) is an idiot or B.) hadn't seen the movie, yet. The latter is forgivable, as I had very high expectations myself for B&R before I actually saw it. It's not completely horrible, after all, when looked at as a different interpretation of Batman or as an homage to the 60's series it's really not as bad, but it's still far from good. The only thing that really made me sick was Batgirl, Bane, and those ridiculous suits at the end. Otherwise it was a fairly good film in concept that was horribly flawed in execution. But now I'm rambling about something only remotely related to the topic at hand, so I'll conclude in saying: No, I haven't heard anything about Kane's opinion of BTAS and would really like to. Shame he's dead, or we could email him and find out for ourselves! :sad: R.I.P. Mr. Kane.

[Eddie G.]

Bob Kane was the one who drew Batman and presented him to DC, so therefore making him the creator. Back to the topic at hand peopleActually Kane drew Batman as a stiffed winged hero who had a blue and red costume. It was finger who re-designed Kane's vision and came up with the concept that the cape would give the illusion of wings when Batman jumped or ran. You can't take too much away from Kane, but that dark urban legend was Finger and he really should be co-creator. If Finger had been involved with Batman after the comics started than that might be different, but he was involved in the creation of the character... guess what that makes him.

As for Kane's view, I don't really care. It kind of bothers me that he has a problem with The Dark Knight Returns but didn't have a problem with Batman.

[JusticeLeagueLegion]

I remember him saying he liked George Clooney. Or maybe it was Val Kilmer. But uh, yeah. :P

Really, I wouldn't be too surprised if he liked Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. Kane's always credited as being Batman's creator, but a lot of fans believe Bill Finger deserves the credit. He just doesn't get any, because Kane had it ensured that he would always be credited as Batman's sole creator. You know, Bob Kane created Batman and when he did, he was a dark character. That's how he created him in the first place. Bill Finger I think is responsible for Robin, and the '40s were actually way campier than the '30s. I could be wrong, but I know that Bob Kane's Batman was incredibly dark and interesting, whereas in the '40s it was camped up. More along the lines of the last two Bat flicks rather than the first two. From what I understand, the next Batman movie is going to be dark like the Bob Kane Batman. If you haven't already, read Detective Comics #27. (you'd probably better just get a reprint) It's an awesome story, and the Doctor Death story is another excelent Batman story from the '30s. Of course at the time he was "Bat-Man." But anyway, as for Detective Comics #27, it just introduces Batman in such a cool way, you don't even know he's really Bruce Wayne until the end. (Of course I did though) I really think Bob Kane's Batman is closer to the modern Batman than the '40s era Batman. I have heard that Bill Finger expanded on Batman's character, but I never knew just how. If someone could explain this to me I'd appreciate it.

[Shadow]

You know, Bob Kane created Batman and when he did, he was a dark character. That's how he created him in the first place. Bill Finger I think is responsible for Robin, and the '40s were actually way campier than the '30s. I could be wrong, but I know that Bob Kane's Batman was incredibly dark and interesting, whereas in the '40s it was camped up. More along the lines of the last two Bat flicks rather than the first two. From what I understand, the next Batman movie is going to be dark like the Bob Kane Batman. If you haven't already, read Detective Comics #27. (you'd probably better just get a reprint) It's an awesome story, and the Doctor Death story is another excelent Batman story from the '30s. Of course at the time he was "Bat-Man." But anyway, as for Detective Comics #27, it just introduces Batman in such a cool way, you don't even know he's really Bruce Wayne until the end. (Of course I did though) I really think Bob Kane's Batman is closer to the modern Batman than the '40s era Batman. I have heard that Bill Finger expanded on Batman's character, but I never knew just how. If someone could explain this to me I'd appreciate it.

You do realize that they had to make the Batman character up before writing DC #27, right?

The Blue Wolf is dead on. Kane's Batman was pretty goofy originally. It had a red costume, stiff bat wings attached to its arms, and a Robin-style mask. The dark, cape and cowl Batman that we all know is thanks to Bill Finger.

He also wrote many of Batman's early stories and was the one who made him into a detective.

Some other contributions include naming Bruce Wayne, naming Robin, naming Gotham City, and contributing to the creation of Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, and Clayface. He also wrote the first Joker story in Batman #1 (but didn't create him).

I did find an interesting letter from the 1960's (http://www.twomorrows.com/comicbookartist/articles/03kane.html) Kane wrote to try and refute the claims that Finger deserves the amount of credit fans give him, though.

[JusticeLeagueLegion]

You do realize that they had to make the Batman character up before writing DC #27, right?

The Blue Wolf is dead on. Kane's Batman was pretty goofy originally. It had a red costume, stiff bat wings attached to its arms, and a Robin-style mask. The dark, cape and cowl Batman that we all know is thanks to Bill Finger.

He also wrote many of Batman's early stories and was the one who made him into a detective.

Some other contributions include naming Bruce Wayne, naming Robin, naming Gotham City, and contributing to the creation of Catwoman, Penguin, Riddler, Two-Face, and Clayface. He also wrote the first Joker story in Batman #1 (but didn't create him).
No, I thought that Batman must have been created after Detective Comics #27. Do I sound like an idiot? I didn't know that Bill Finger was there from the get-go. As I stated, I thought he was responsible for the campier Batman of the '40s. And from what I heard, Bob Kane named Bruce Wayne. I read that Bob Kane named him Bruce Wayne because that name is so similar to his. He wanted to be Batman. Whether what I read was true or not, I'm not sure. But I read it in some book. I am familiar with the Batman costume you mentioned. But I didn't know that Bill Finger created the cape and cowl. I figured that Bob Kane decided to change his design later on. So who created Joker anyway?

[Shadow]

No, I thought that Batman must have been created after Detective Comics #27. Do I sound like an idiot? I didn't know that Bill Finger was there from the get-go. As I stated, I thought he was responsible for the campier Batman of the '40s. And from what I heard, Bob Kane named Bruce Wayne. I read that Bob Kane named him Bruce Wayne because that name is so similar to his. He wanted to be Batman. Whether what I read was true or not, I'm not sure. But I read it in some book. I am familiar with the Batman costume you mentioned. But I didn't know that Bill Finger created the cape and cowl. I figured that Bob Kane decided to change his design later on. So who created Joker anyway?

I heard the Wayne/Kane thing on the radio the morning he died, actually. It doesn't necessarily mean that Kane named him, though. Finger probably could have suggested it.

I'm pretty sure that Kane created The Joker. I've read that nobody's too sure about that anymore, though.

To be honest, there's a lot of controversey over who created who, considering it was about 65 years ago. It's hard to find conclusive evidence about who contributed what at this point, but it's an interesting thing to note nonetheless.

[JusticeLeagueLegion]

I heard the Wayne/Kane thing on the radio the morning he died, actually. It doesn't necessarily mean that Kane named him, though. Finger could probably have suggested it.

I think Kane created The Joker, but Finger wrote stories for him.

To be honest, there's a lot of controversey over who created who, considering it was about 65 years ago. It's hard to find conclusive evidence about who created who at this point, but it's an interesting thing to note nonetheless.
Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster both created Superman. Joe Schuster designed Superman, whereas Jerry wrote his story. Both are huge contributions. I wonder why they didn't just credit Batman's creator as "Bob Kane and Bill Finger." It sounds like Bill Finger put more into this than Bob Kane did. At least that's how I understand it. If that's the case, that would be like Joe Schuster credited as the creator of Superman. Even though Jerry did all the story work. That wouldn't be right. They both made their contributions. Oh well. Who knows. It was over 60 years ago like you said.

[Shadow]

Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster both created Superman. Joe Schuster designed Superman, whereas Jerry wrote his story. Both are huge contributions. I wonder why they didn't just credit Batman's creator as "Bob Kane and Bill Finger." It sounds like Bill Finger put more into this than Bob Kane did. At least that's how I understand it. If that's the case, that would be like Joe Schuster credited as the creator of Superman. Even though Jerry did all the story work. That wouldn't be right. They both made their contributions. Oh well. Who knows. It was over 60 years ago like you said.

Kane worked some legal mumbo jumbo (I don't know the specifics) to ensure that he'd be credited as the sole creator of Batman.

Hence his lone name in the byline.

[Ty the Guy]

Just tossing my two cents in.

Kane's original design (the red one with the stiff wings based on the DaVinci flying apparatus) was merely one of a few preliminary designs, and was discarded and redesigned by Kane after comments by Finger and others. Taking advice from someone doesn't take away your creator status. Every creator solicits and accepts advice from friends.

Kane created Batman, of that, there is no argument.

Bill Finger WROTE 'Tec 27 (as well as about 2/3 of the scripts for the first years of the title), but he did it as an assignment, not as a co-creator.

Jerry Robinson (the team's first art assistant, and last surviving member of the original trio of Batman "creators") has said in a few places that he designed Joker and Robin, also claiming to have named Robin after himself. He claims he designed Joker based on a character that adorns a fun house entrance in Coney Island. I've seen the fun house Robinson refers to, and damned if the character from Coney Island doesn't EXACTLY resemble the Joker, the way Jerry Robinson drew him...

HOWEVER...

Kane claimed the Joker was based on the film "The Man Who Laughed" starring Conrad Veidt (a silent film, the date of which currently escapes me). The look of the character played by Conrad Veidt looks EXACTLY the way Kane drew the Joker. So who's right?

They both are. Perhaps Kane's Joker was based on the film, and Robinson's Joker was based on the fun house ride. But Kane's Joker saw print a few months before Robinson drew him, so I'm going with Kane's memory on that one as the original "creator" of the Joker. I think Finger wrote the first Joker story based on Kane's drawing. Again...though Finger came up with Joker's dialogue and motivations in that story, Kane designed the look, which is really what sets Joker apart. (The Joker of today behaves very little like the Joker of the early scripts, so one could easily argue that Finger's contribution to Joker got left behind.)

Robin, according to Finger, was based on "ROBIN HOOD" (although, oddly enough, Robin is dressed like Will Scarlet, one of the merrie men, and not Robin, himself). I'm willing to believe Jerry either designed or helped to design Robin, though the first issue containing Robin (tec 38) sports Kane art. History trumps memory.

While Finger and Robinson clearly helped define the early days of Batman, (adding minor characters and major ones as they plugged away at their jobs)
it is silly to consider that Bob Kane did not "create" Batman, and neither Bill, Jerry or Bob has ever said different as far as I know.

You could argue that Whitney Ellseworth, Mort Weisenger and Julie Schwartz did more to "create" the Superman you and I know than Seigel and Shuster did, since the aforementioned editors created Kandor, Supergirl, Krypto, Kryptonite, Superman's power of flight, Jimmy Olsen, Lana Lang, Ma and Pa Kent, the Fortress, the Legion, the Phantom Zone, etc. etc. etc....

But no one would seriously consider that Seigel and Shuster didn't create Superman (lifting ideas liberally from Lester Dent's DOC SAVAGE and Phillip Wylie's THE GLADIATOR, by the way).

So enough sillies. Kane created Batman. Finger and Robinson (and a host of others, myself included) have contributed our bits and pieces, but it doesn't re-write history. Finger contributed more than any of us, (except possibly, Denny O'Neil), but he didn't "create" Bat-Man.

Let's call Robinson and Finger the midwives, but not the parent.

Ty the Guy.

PS: I'm not sure what Kane thought of TBAS, but I assume he loved the attention his character was getting, and the attention to detail that Timm and Dini and team brought. He was proud of every version of Batman to make it to the screen intact with one exception: the Columbia Batmam and Robin serial from '43. He complained it lacked so many of the "Batman" details, like the cave, the car, the signal, etc.... and since it's so relentlessly bad, who could blame him?).


Again Ty.

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

*Takes Ty's two cents ;) *

Ty since your here I think I'll ask you since you were involved in the early issues of The Batman Adventures. Did Bob Kane have any involvement with the series or did he just comment on it?

[Fone Bone]

If Carl Barks died happily, then I will renege on my previous statement. And I have deep-rooted hatred for the Disney corporation, so don't mind me.

His creations in the Disney comicbooks were inspirations for George Lucas and Steven Speilberg, especially Indiana Jones with all the booby traps and such. At least this was according to an interview with Speilberg. Pretty much everything we see on Ducktales was of his creation.Carl Barks lived to be about a hundred give or take a year and he died happy with Disney's full support and love. Tributes to him were numerous and Disney NEVER downplayed his contributions. I have my problems with Disney too but they treated Barks with nothing but respect. He died of I think it was leukemia but lived a full life.

I remember reading a few years back that Kane DID like BTAS. Couldn't point you to the article but I'm pretty sure he thought it was neat.

[Ty the Guy]

*Takes Ty's two cents ;) *

Ty since your here I think I'll ask you since you were involved in the early issues of The Batman Adventures. Did Bob Kane have any involvement with the series or did he just comment on it?

As far as I know, Kane had no involvement, beyond appreciating his creation being treated well. Sadly, Kane is one of the great towering figures of my pantheon that I never got to meet. I hope he got to saw what we did with his Batman in the comic version. I like to think he would have been okay with it.

Ty the Guy.

[b.t.]

the one time i met bob kane was when he visited the B:TAS production office VERY early in our pre-production phase, way before we had any actual animated footage to show him...we showed him the character designs and background designs/paintings, and he seemed to be generally pleased....i remember he was impressed that i had several color xerox blow-ups of "the shadow" pulp covers hanging over my desk, as he cited the shadow as one of his own primary inspirations for batman....what he thought of the finished product, sadly, i couldn't tell you....

i DID have the great good fortune to talk with the legendary dick sprang at the san diego con around '94 or '95...he was VERY effusive in his praise for B:TAS, which just about made me burst with pride....several years later, he sent me a warmly appreciative note in response to the "sprang tribute" vignette in the "legends of the dark knight" episode...

[batmanbeyond13]

I believe he would have enjoyed it and to b.t. if you are who I think you are, thank you. And thank warner bros. for the Batman dvd set and Superfriends dvd set. please keep them coming. the DC universe rocks!!!:D :cool:

[batmanbeyond13]

One more thing i wanted to say that the three biggest animators to me are Walt Disney, Chuck Jones, and Mr.Bruce Timm. I know it is off topic but I just felt like letting you all know. There is no doubt Bob Kane loved the B:TAS as much as we did.

[BatKid]

I see that some of you fans are still uninformed about the Kane/Finger situation and who really shaped the character. Let me point you to 2 articles that explain it very well. If anything, Link 2 is the most important:

Link 1 (http://www.geocities.com/Athens/8580/billfing.html)
Link 2 (http://thebatsquad.net/batman/finger.htm)

[Batman's Biggest Fan]

Hey people as long as we have Batman, that's all that counts. So, BT I'm generally surprised Kane wasn't involved more in B:TAS, I mean I would think he would try to make sure you didn't mess up his baby. (Which you didn't) Speaking of which BT, since you're talking about early productions of B:TAS who did you originally cast as the Joker as you mentioned in the Heart of Ice commentary on the Batman Vol 1. DVD before casting Mark?

[punkrockgirl]

Yep, I remember reading an article back in 1992 that said Tim Curry was going to be Joker. I have been wondering for years what he sounded like in the
role. Are there any sound clips of Tim Curry doing the Joker's voice?

I'm kinda surprised Curry never got re-cast as another major villain in the show! He still did some incidental character voices in BTAS but no big villain roles.

PunkRockGirl

[Marvel_Knight]

Tim Curry. You can find tons of good stuff like that in the Batman: Animated book. I suggest you give it a look.
You reralize that rhymes. Of course, that is of no importance. The "Raise the Finger" thing I read awhile ago and it was VERY informative (props to Snipe) . Finger should have gotten as much recognition as Kane. Kane however, I heard from many people, he had a big ego and wanted money. He liked all the Batman films, he's sure to love the AS. He (and Finger) would love Begins.

[Greg Method]

Are there any sound clips of Tim Curry doing the Joker's voice?I may be completely misremembering it, but I could have sworn that one of the very first Fox Kids promos that season used Tim's Joker voice. It was one of the ads in which the characters from the various shows are saying "It's on Fox!"

I just remember the voice didn't really sound like Mark's Joker, and I do recall when I first saw it that it had a sort of European inflection to it.

[HelloKittyKat]

I bet Kane would've been pleased that his character finally had a cartoon to stand side-by-side with the classic Fleischer Superman serials.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,

One bit about Kane/Finger, and who's the creator of Batman...

I think Finger should get at least as much credit for creating Batman as Steve Ditko does for creating Spider-Man. It wasn't until the first movie that Ditko's name showed up at all attached to Spidey, and I remember it being a really big deal at the time in comic book circles. I think Stan even talked about it briefly in one of the docus in the DVD set.

Of course, my opinion on Kane & Finger is all based on secondhand sources and the unvarnished truth is unlikely to ever come out now, since all the primaries involved are dead or can't remember. I don't really care if Finger gets co-creator credit (it's not like that greatly helps Kane's estate, and I don't think Ditko was getting a dime for co-creator credit), but the fact that sites like this bring up the issue with the fans makes me generally happy.

-- Ed/Ace

[creepers keeper]

I think Finger should get at least as much credit for creating Batman as Steve Ditko does for creating Spider-Man. It wasn't until the first movie that Ditko's name showed up at all attached to Spidey, and I remember it being a really big deal at the time in comic book circles. I think Stan even talked about it briefly in one of the docus in the DVD set.

Of course, my opinion on Kane & Finger is all based on secondhand sources and the unvarnished truth is unlikely to ever come out now, since all the primaries involved are dead or can't remember. I don't really care if Finger gets co-creator credit (it's not like that greatly helps Kane's estate, and I don't think Ditko was getting a dime for co-creator credit), but the fact that sites like this bring up the issue with the fans makes me generally happy.

-- Ed/AceBut the damage is already done. When people think spider man they think Stan Lee, not Ditko. If they introduce Ditko, or mention him. people will be like ok, but it will not leave as much an impression because it changes what people know. Same with Kane/Finger. If they put created by Bob Kane/Bill Finger. People will say I know Bob Kane, but who is this Finger Character? I really hope everyone that worked on anything Batman was proud of the animated series. They Should be!

[GL2k2]

But the damage is already done. When people think spider man they think Stan Lee, not Ditko. If they introduce Ditko, or mention him. people will be like ok, but it will not leave as much an impression because it changes what people know. Same with Kane/Finger. If they put created by Bob Kane/Bill Finger. People will say I know Bob Kane, but who is this Finger Character? I really hope everyone that worked on anything Batman was proud of the animated series. They Should be!
Actually, I know some kids who educated themselves about who created who. And some of them know that Spider-Man was created by Lee and Ditko. Of course they know nothing about Ditko, but it's the thought that counts. This is thanks to Spider-Man having his name as big as day. If Batman Begins has created by Bob Kane and Bill Finger, the name finger is going to stick out like a sore thumb and people will take notice and know.

I had some kid tell me that William Moulston created Wonder Woman, and that he is also the inventor of the lie detector. I asked him how he knew that, and he saw it on the documentary about superheroes that aired on cable last year. I patted him on the head and said good job, the future is only secure if the education is there.

[Toddman]

...the name finger is going to stick out like a sore thumb ...:rolleyes: That's pretty funny.

Speaking of Kane's ego, I remember back in '89, when the first Batman movie was released, every interview/news article about the history of Batman and Bob Kane stated that Kane created the character in 1939 when he was only 18 years old.

At the time, I knew I had seen older articles about the creation of Batman that said Kane was 22 when he created Batman. I thought it was kinda funny that he was telling everyone that he was 68 years old instead of 72, his actual age. From 20/20 to USA Today, nobody corrected the inaccuracy (or happened to even mention the name Bill Finger, by the way).

It wasn't until Bob Kane passed away a few years ago that his date of birth was pushed back to its true year.

Toddman

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,


And some of them know that Spider-Man was created by Lee and Ditko. Of course they know nothing about Ditko, but it's the thought that counts.
Well, part of that falls squarely on Ditko himself, who has a reputation of being extremely reclusive and private. To this day, Stan Lee claims he still isn't entirely sure why Ditko quit drawing Spider-Man, and Ditko ain't talking.

Then again, if I understand it correctly, Ditko would have left Peter Parker in high school forever, making him the Archie Andrews of the superhero set. Everybody's entitled to an off day, I suppose.

To a degree, I think Bill Finger had the same problem -- Kane was mostly better at self-promotion (not a value judgment as much as a statement of fact) and Finger didn't seek the spotlight as actively. I don't think the efforts amongst the pros to get recognition for Bill Finger started up until after both he and Kane had passed away.

-- Ed/Ace

[guinaevere]

several color xerox blow-ups of "the shadow" pulp covers hanging over my desk, as he cited the shadow as one of his own primary inspirations for batman....<SNIP>Can I just say, that reading this, I pulled the mental equilivant of smacking myself on the forehead? I may? Thank you... though there doesn't seem much point in repeating what I've just said.

In all the years of searching for and listening to the old radio series, I never once drew a single parallel between Lamont Cranston (I have to say it, "wealthy, young, man about town") and Bruce. Now that you've pointed it out, it's so darn obvious, and there are so many parallels, that I feel a complete dolt for never noticing.

[HelloKittyKat]

Can I just say, that reading this, I pulled the mental equilivant of smacking myself on the forehead? I may? Thank you... though there doesn't seem much point in repeating what I've just said.

In all the years of searching for and listening to the old radio series, I never once drew a single parallel between Lamont Cranston (I have to say it, "wealthy, young, man about town") and Bruce. Now that you've pointed it out, it's so darn obvious, and there are so many parallels, that I feel a complete dolt for never noticing.
Really, when you think about it, The Shadow + Zorro + detective skills = Batman.

Then again, that's what Kane and Finger intended.

[GL2k2]

Just a blurb on Batnews. Did anyone catch the A&E Biography of Catwoman on Wednesday? They didn't mention Finger at all, predictably, but they said Kane based Catwoman on Heddy Lamarr, some hot busty model from the 30's or 40's (can't remember her and I definitely should), and his girlfriend. The only comic name other than Kane that comes up in these shows is Frank Miller.

[Ed Liu]

Howdy,



< S N I P >
but they said Kane based Catwoman on Heddy Lamarr, some hot busty model from the 30's or 40's (can't remember her and I definitely should), Hedy Lamarr (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001443/), film star of the early 1930's, and one of the earliest sex symbols of Hollywood. Some of her racy scenes (some of which are supposedly still pretty pulse-raising today) contributed to the creation of the Hollywood Production Code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_Code), which was the early forerunner of the MPAA Ratings system.

On a side note, she also developed spread-spectrum radio frequency hopping (http://www.ncafe.com/chris/pat2/index.html), which allows a radio signal to be transmitted through interference. It was used by the American Navy during World War II to guide torpedoes and is now the foundation for almost all wireless communication today. A pretty facinating person all around, and I can totally see her as the basis for Catwoman.

-- Ed/Ace

[GL2k2]

Howdy,

Hedy Lamarr (http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0001443/), film star of the early 1930's, and one of the earliest sex symbols of Hollywood. Some of her racy scenes (some of which are supposedly still pretty pulse-raising today) contributed to the creation of the Hollywood Production Code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Production_Code), which was the early forerunner of the MPAA Ratings system.

On a side note, she also developed spread-spectrum radio frequency hopping (http://www.ncafe.com/chris/pat2/index.html), which allows a radio signal to be transmitted through interference. It was used by the American Navy during World War II to guide torpedoes and is now the foundation for almost all wireless communication today. A pretty facinating person all around, and I can totally see her as the basis for Catwoman.

-- Ed/AceWow, I have a newfound respect for Ms. Lamarr. Also, just remembered the other female inspiration, Ms. Jane Russell.