Bob Kane

American comic book artist, the co-creator of Batman (1915-1998)

Robert "Bob" Kane (October 24, 1915November 3, 1998), born Robert Kahn, was an American comic book writer and artist best known as the originator of the DC Comics character Batman.

I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective.

Quotes

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  • Bill Finger was a contributing force on Batman right from the beginning. He wrote most of the great stories and was influential in setting the style and genre other writers would emulate … I made Batman a superhero-vigilante when I first created him. Bill turned him into a scientific detective.
    • Bob Kane and Tom Andrae (1989). Batman & Me. Forestville, CA: Eclipse Books. pp. 43. 1-56060-017-9. 
  • Bill Finger and I created the Joker. Bill was the writer. Jerry Robinson came to me with a playing card of the Joker. That's the way I sum it up. [The Joker] looks like Conrad Veidt — you know, the actor in The Man Who Laughs, [the 1928 movie based on the novel] by Victor Hugo. … Bill Finger had a book with a photograph of Conrad Veidt and showed it to me and said, 'Here's the Joker'. Jerry Robinson had absolutely nothing to do with it. But he'll always say he created it till he dies. He brought in a playing card, which we used for a couple of issues for him [the Joker] to use as his playing card".

Quotes about Kane

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  • There were other Batman writers throughout the years but they could never capture the style and flavor of Bill's scripts. Bill was the best writer in the business and it seemed that he was destined to write Batman.
    • Tom Andrae, in Bob Kane and Tom Andrae (1989). Batman & Me. Forestville, CA: Eclipse Books. pp. 44. 1-56060-017-9. 
  • Robin was an outgrowth of a conversation I had with Bob. As I said, Batman was a combination of 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 was going to put a boy in the strip to identify with Batman. I thought it was a great idea.
  • A lot of people don't give him [Kane] as much credit for his art, but I thought he had a flair. It was rudimentary, but in a way that worked to his benefit in the strip. He didn't know much about perspective and anatomy, so he had to improvise.
    • Jerry Robinson, "Interview", The Comics Journal 271, October 2005
  • Bob and I got on very well during the years I worked on Batman. He was a mild-mannered individual who made no demands on Jerry [Robinson] and me, and in general, he was terrific to work for.
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  Encyclopedic article on Bob Kane on Wikipedia

Batman
  Creators     Bob Kane · Bill Finger  
  Characters     Anarky · Batgirl · Barbara Gordon · Dick Grayson · The Joker  
  Live‑action television     Batman · Legends of the Superheroes · Birds of Prey · Return to the Batcave: The Misadventures of Adam and Burt · Gotham · The Penguin  
  Live-action  
  serials and films  
  Batman (1943) · Batman and Robin · Batman (1966)  
  1989 film series     Batman (1989) · Batman Returns · Batman Forever · Batman & Robin  
  The Dark Knight Trilogy     Batman Begins · The Dark Knight · The Dark Knight Rises  
  DC Extended Universe     Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice  
  Batman Epic Crime Saga     The Batman (2022)  
  Animated television     The Adventures of Batman · The Batman/Superman Hour · The Batman/Tarzan Adventure Hour · The New Adventures of Batman · Batman: The Animated Series · The  
  New Batman Adventures
· Batman Beyond · The Batman · Batman: The Brave and the Bold · Beware the Batman  
  Animated films     Featuring Batman     Mask of the Phantasm · SubZero · Return of the Joker · Mystery of the Batwoman · The Batman vs. Dracula · Under the Red Hood · Year One ·  
  The Dark Knight Returns · DC Super Heroes Unite · Son of Batman · Assault on Arkham · Batman vs. Robin · Batman: Bad Blood · The Killing Joke · The Lego Batman Movie · Gotham by Gaslight · Death in the Family  
  With other heroes     Justice League: The New Frontier · Superman/Batman: Public Enemies · Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths · Superman/Batman:
  Apocalypse
· Justice League: Doom · Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox · JLA Adventures: Trapped in Time · Justice League: War · The
  Lego Movie
· Justice League: Throne of Atlantis · Batman Unlimited: Animal Instincts · Justice League: Gods and Monsters · Batman Unlimited: Monster Mayhem  
  Animated shorts     Chase Me · Gotham Knight