Thread by @Exalted_Speed

So Bob Kane everyone, people who have been reading my twitter know that I have a running gag of Fuck Bob Kane, and I'm often asked what did Bob Kane do get that? Well Let's talk about Bob Kane and why I go say fuck Bob Kane, this was a long time coming.

The reason I didn't feel the need to make this a thread was because of well the fact that there is a doc about it and a book and THOSE ARE FANTASTIC so check them out I always recommend them, if you have HULU go watch it now, or get the book. Either one will give you good info.

But I keep getting asked about it, so this is the thread to help people and spread some of this info, I'm NOT GOING TO COVER EVERY SINGLE THING here but Bob Kane is probably one of the scummiest men to ever exist in comics and well start at the beginning.

Bob Kane if you know him is the guy who is always credited as the creator of Batman but that is very not...true. He came up with the name. As far as I can tell, that's the only thing he contributed. Everything iconic about Batman came from Bill Finger.

Because well Ty Templeton a guy who worked on the Batman adventures comics made this little comic to show WHAT he did contribute and my god it is very little. So little you have to wonder about certain other things.

So yeah all the iconic Batman stuff was created because of Bill Finger, he was a major writer up to INCLUDING HIS ORIGIN. For years Bob Kane said he wrote it himself, but this was later proven false. So again NOT A LOT here is what I'm getting at.

Here's the thing about why Bob Kane Stings harder, he actively HID THIS INFORMATION. Up to making a contract that he would be the ONLY ONE to be identified as sole creator. So no one else can be said to have created Batman, despite Bill Finger being there from DAY ONE.

The reason I recommend seeking out the doc is that they do a MUCH better overview of the Bill Finger situation, Bill worked on Batman for decades and could never be given credit and DIED in obscurity. The guy who created Batman DIED without the general public knowing about it.

But here's the thing, he was not the only creator he screwed over so were going to move on from the Bill stuff and now were going to move over to another set of creators. The guys who made American comics what they are. The creator of Superman Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

Let's get something out of the way Batman fans, I'm sorry to say this, without Superman BATMAN WOULD NOT EXIST! The reason I'm saying this, is that Bob Kane lied about the creation of Batman, and Superman is really why Batman exists at all.

See Bob Kane like to say he created Batman when he was 18 years old that is a lie, a big lie that has been proven false, Batman was created because he was ASKED to make a new Superman, because he got popular and National wanted to expand and so he was asked to make him.

Bill finger was brought in but he created the lie around the time the Bill stuff was getting out and MANY REPORTERS bought it so you will find some history books that say Batman was this character Bob created when he was 18. But he didn't work on till he was asked to.

Look small tangent here, one of the reasons I bring this up is because some Batman disparage Superman like crazy and if you don't like him, I'm fine with that, but please just know that SUPERMAN IS THE REASON WE HAVE BATMAN AT ALL SO GET OVER BEING BUTTHURT ABOUT HIM!..sorry.

let's talk about why I'm even bringing this up see the Superman creator tried to get more rights to Superman and they would have had a case....if Bob Kane didn't SNITCH on them, Bob used this to get higher up in the company and snatched Superman away from his creators.

In the comic history of comics it has a nice overview see he went behind there back and SNITCHED THEM OUT HARD. So Superman fans YOU SHOULD HAVE A REASON TO HATE BOB KANE TOO! Bob was a wheeler and dealer but let's get to the saddest part of this.

He was not a good artist at all. I can say that. For one while people point to the Shadow as the rip off Bob RIPPED OFF MORE THEN THAT! Bob was a notorious tracer. This is also one of the reasons that it's hard proof he did not just create Batman.

Well I should say did not create Batman when he was young, he learned to draw by tracing, this is not a bad way to start, many artists do it, he just never learned to Stop. This gets to another factor, he did not actually DRAW A LOT OF BATMAN EITHER!

See Bob Kane worked on the book but he also had a lot of Ghost Artists, quite a few let's meet the artists of Batman who might have created your favorite character. At one point Bob ALSO STOPPED DRAWING THE BOOK AT ALL! Still taking the credit.

First let's meet Jerry Roninson, he only created with Bill Finger, the Joker, Robin and Alfred PennyWorth character who are VERY OBSCURE right? Yeah Jerry was an early assistant and one of his early ghost artists.

Dick Sprang, who became one of the early FAVS of Bob if you will he only helped create The Riddler, Firefly, Killer Moth, and HELL YEAH KITE MAN!

Another major one is Sheldon Moldoff, here are some of the creation he made for Batman. Batwoman, the first Batgirl, Batmite, the redesigned Batmobile, Posion Ivy and a bunch else was created by Sheldon.

There are also plenty of artist who did help, that we are discovering more EVEN NOW.
Lew Sayre Schwartz created the Mad Hatter, Vicki vale and Deadshot.

One discovered very recently is Paul Cooper, he's the guy who created the dinosaur that just happens to be in Batman's cave.

ALSO THERE IS MORE Ray, Jack Burnley, Dick Sprang and Win Mortimer and for all we know MORE, one part about this is Golden Age comics were not credited like they are now but yeah Bob Kane stole the credit for a lot of people.

So yeah there is a possibility there is more then this, the reason we know about this at all is because of fans who tracked it down, interviews none By Bob I should say, and leaks. One big leak in the 60's. one of the first comic cons had a bunch of creator well speak about it.

after that got out Bob doubled down hard but by that point in was in the fandom, but it did not spread far, this became inside baseball knowledge basically you have to be like me who was in the fandom for five years plus maybe to know after a while.

Here's the thing Bob died in 1998, he basically had more time to tell his story and many reporters did not check so the myth about him spread far wider, and now fucks like me on the internet can actually talk about this so people KNOW BETTER!

It was only near the end of his life he gave credit to Bill at all, and now we we are going to dedicate the next POSTS to creators shitting on him.

First up we have Arnold Drake stepping into the ring guy created the Doom Patrol and MAYBE one of the first graphic novels he had a great story about Bob Kane. We shall call it...the clown story.

Bob had gotten to the point where he never drew anything. Never drew anything on the Batman comics, anyway. [Sheldon] Moldoff was ghosting them all and when he didn't, someone else did.

The only thing I think Bob ever drew was when we'd be out somewhere, in a restaurant or someplace, and a pretty girl would come over to him and say, "Are you really the man who draws Batman?"

Then he could whip out a little sketch for her, a big sketch if she was wearing something low-cut and would bend over to watch him draw.

One day I'm over at his house to discuss this newspaper strip idea we had and he's talking about who we might get to draw it

I was going to write it and we were going to get someone else to draw it. I'm not sure what he was going to do on it except sign his name. I said to him, "Bob, isn't it disappointing to you that you don't draw any more? You were once such a great artist."

He wasn't but you had to talk to Bob that way.
He said, "Oh, no. Let me show you something." He took me into a little room in his house. It was his studio. I didn't even know he still had a studio. It was all set up with easels and things and there were paintings, paintings of..

paintings of clowns. You know the kind. Like the ones Red Skelton used to do. Just these insipid portraits of clowns, all signed very large, "Bob Kane." He was so proud of them. He said, "These are the paintings that are going to make me in the world of art.

Batman was a big deal in one world and these paintings will soon be in every gallery in the world." He thought the Louvre was going to take down the Mona Lisa to put up his clown paintings. I didn't have the heart to tell him.

So a few months later, I'm up at DC and I ran into Eddie Herron. Eddie was another writer up there and we got to talking and Bob's name came up. Eddie said, "Did you hear? Bob's getting sued by one of his ghost artists."

I said, "How is that possible? Shelly Moldoff's suing Bob? But they had a clear deal. Shelly knew he wasn't going to get credit or anything…"

Eddie said, "No, not Shelly." Bob was being sued by the person who'd painted the clowns for him…

Our Next story comes form one Jim Steranko despite sounding ridiculous, I believe him. If only because the smug he injects into Bob sounds so on point Jim is one of the most important Silver age creators and also was the basis for Mr. Miracle.

I will leave the image here of the thread he made, but to sum it up GUY SLAPPED THE SHIT OUT OF BOB KANE!

Many Batman creators now know this, and in recent years Bill Finger's name is finally on the credits for Batman, the first time this happens was Batman V Superman but you take your wins folks.

For the record his favorite Batman was Val Kilmer. I didn't know where else to put this before I end this thread, but I'm saying for the record.

So yeah now you know more hopefully, Batman is one of the great money makers at DC, his books are reprinted constantly and it's said that Batman is overexposed. Batman is one of the greats despite his origins and many people have worked on him.

But many people don't look at his past and realize how much those early years by many people are so important to him. Without these stories we would not have DKR, Year One of any of the great Batman stories we have now. the Animated Series owes a huge dept to these creators.

and Bob Kane took the credit from them, and in one case actively hid Bill's contributions. So what else is there to say?

This is his gravestone, even in death he credits god before he does Bill Finger, and with that FUCK BOB KANE!