Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Batman, Batman & Bill, bill finger, Ed Brisson, fanboy rampage, fred van lente, gabriel hardman, Marc Nobleman, ron marz

Fanboy Rampage: Gabriel Hardman Vs. Marc Nobleman Over Hulu's Bill Finger Documentary, Batman & Bill

Published Tue, 06 Jun 2017 18:25:39 -0500

by Jude Terror

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Invisible Republic writer Gabriel Hardman found himself on an unusual side of a creator/fan interaction Tuesday when he criticized Hulu's Bill Finger documentary, Batman & Bill. The documentary's description reads:

For years, Bob Kane has been credited as Batman's creator. As time passed, rumors swirled that the Caped Crusader had another father. Who was this man? Batman & Bill tells the story of the uncredited creator of Batman, and a crusade to bring him justice.

Hardman had a problem with the way the doc focused on Marc Nobleman's contributions to that crusade, tweeting:

So this filmmaker set out to tell the real story of Bill Finger's contribution to Batman by making himself the most important character.

— Gabriel Hardman (@gabrielhardman) June 6, 2017

Not saying there's nothing of value in the doc, just that the framing is dubious.

— Gabriel Hardman (@gabrielhardman) June 6, 2017

Some fellow comic book creators agreed:

https://twitter.com/edbrisson/status/872166967041335296

https://twitter.com/edbrisson/status/872168713360875521

While others offered some counterpoints:

Fair enough. The decision is still a real problem for the film.

— Gabriel Hardman (@gabrielhardman) June 6, 2017

Don't disagree, all of that is good. The fact that it's about giving credit yet framed by him taking credit is tone deaf for me.

— Gabriel Hardman (@gabrielhardman) June 6, 2017

I don't think the problem is framing it as his investigation. It's more about certain choices they make along the way that don't play well.

— Gabriel Hardman (@gabrielhardman) June 6, 2017

But things became a little bit confrontational when Nobleman himself joined the fray uninvited, even though he wasn't tagged in the discussion. Where would Nobleman have ever gotten the idea that this was okay?! In any case, it must have been uncomfortable for all involved:

Batman & Bill? Darn, I was looking forward to watching that.

— Matt Singer (@mattsinger) June 6, 2017

1 of 2 Thx for watching. With no known footage of Bill, the focus had to be the 10-year fight to restore his legacy. It's ALL about credit.

— Marc Tyler Nobleman (@MarcTNobleman) June 6, 2017

I'm not arguing nor am I the filmmaker. As I said, thanks for watching!

— Marc Tyler Nobleman (@MarcTNobleman) June 6, 2017

Nobleman also debated with others in Hardman's thread:

"Look at what I uncovered" sorta stuff? Ugh.

— Ron Marz (@ronmarz) June 6, 2017

That's not who I am.

— Marc Tyler Nobleman (@MarcTNobleman) June 6, 2017

Even tagging in Bill Finger's granddaughter, Athena Finger:

Everything I did was to help the family. How is that exploiting? @AthenaFinger

— Marc Tyler Nobleman (@MarcTNobleman) June 6, 2017

And thanking those who agreed with him:

Thanks Dan.

— Marc Tyler Nobleman (@MarcTNobleman) June 6, 2017

The experience didn't sit well with Hardman:

Ugh.

— Gabriel Hardman (@gabrielhardman) June 6, 2017

Who offered some advice that many could stand to learn from:

Twitter searching your movie then arguing with somebody who had problems with it: the height of class.

— Gabriel Hardman (@gabrielhardman) June 6, 2017

Fanboy Rampage was a blog by Graeme McMillan dedicated to the funniest, most ludicrous and most inappropriate comic book back-and-forths online. McMillan has moved on now, becoming a proper journalist but he gave permission to Bleeding Cool to revive his great creation.

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