Swipes of Bob Kane

[TELLE]

Interesting discussion about Bob Kane and his "inspiration".

Much has been written about Bob Kane's use of ghosts in the early Batman strips and Kane is often dismissed as an artist who did little or no actual drawing himself (he was perhaps more skilled as a "funny" cartoonist).  Now the source for one of Kane's most famous images, the panel from the Batman origin story in which Bruce Wayne meditates on the cowardly and superstitious criminals he must terrorize.  It seems the the drawing of Bruce in his smoking jacket, hand on chin, was swiped wholesale (a not uncommon practice for cartoonists then and now) from an illustration by Henry Valley that appeared in the Gang Busters in Action Big Little Book, published in 1938.

Mark Evanier discusses the news here:
http://www.newsfromme.com/archives/2006_06_05.html#011593

The original image is here:
http://henryvallely.blogspot.com/2006/05/gang-busters.html

And Eddie Campbell talks about Kane as an artist here:
http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubb/Forum1/HTML/011678.html

[Klar Ken T5477]

Darn link dont work

Lets try this one:

http://henryvallely.blogspot.com/

its on the upper left and the story is a scroll down

[Super Monkey]

However, Bob Kane didn't swipe it, since Bob Kane never ever drew ANY Batman comic ever in his life.

He also didn't actually create a darn thing, but just ask to create something by DC Comics, what he came up with was terrible, his Bat-Man sucked, he said so himself! So he got Bill Finger to fix it up.

If Bob Kane was anything he was a great producer and promoter, since he got his army of ghost artists to draw and design everything and his ghost writers to write and come up with all the ideas, while he sat back and got famous.

Bob Kane finally at long last gave Bill Finger his just credit, after Bill Finger died of course, in his book:

See belove for Bob Kane quotes of him finally coming clean with the truth:

http://www.thebatsquad.net/finger.htm

[TELLE]

Evanier begs to differ on the Kane drawing thing.  And Kane at least came up with the name "Batman," didn't he?

[Super Monkey]

Evanier begs to differ on the Kane drawing thing.  And Kane at least came up with the name "Batman," didn't he?

not really, he was asked to create a Superman type of hero,

thus the Man in the name.

The Bat part came from an old film called, now get this THE BAT!

here is the plot: Plot Outline: A masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer. The title character, the `Bat,' is a master criminal with a flair for the gymnastic; a thief who swoops and swirls, rappels down the sides of tall buildings and skitters across broad skylights.

it was released in 1926.

[TELLE]

Yes, I've heard all of this history before.  Nevertheless, he took the Bat and he took the Man and made Batman.  Then he hired a bunch of artists and writers to help with the rest.

[Uncle Mxy]

Yes, I've heard all of this history before.  Nevertheless, he took the Bat and he took the Man and made Batman.  Then he hired a bunch of artists and writers to help with the rest.

Bob Kane's original innovation was called Bird-Man, and Bill Finger came up with the Bat idea and they both expanded on it, per:

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14931-1649234,00.html

[Great Rao]

Boy, people really like to shoot down Bob Kane!  He may have his faults, but without him, there would be no Batman.  You really have to give Bob Kane and Bill Finger co-creator credit.