Bill Finger (1914-1974) is the co-creator of Batman, along with Bob Kane. Kane provided an original sketch of the character, to which Finger offered such suggestions as giving Batman a cowl instead of a simple domino mask, giving him a cape instead of wings, giving him gloves, and removing bright red sections of the original costume. Finger wrote the first Batman story, while Kane provided art. Because Kane had already submitted the proposal for a Batman character to his editors at DC Comics, Kane was the only person given official credit for the creation of Batman.

Finger went on to write many of the early Batman stories, including making major contributions to the character of The Joker, as well as other major Batman villains. He is also credited with the invention of the Batmobile, and with providing a name for Gotham City. Among the things that made his stories particularly distinctive was a use of giant-sized props -- enlarged pennies, sewing machines, or typewriters.

Due to DC's editorial practices at the time, all Batman stories were published as being by Bob Kane, as he was the official creator of the character, meaning that Finger did not receive a byline credit for any of his work. At the time of his death in 1974, he had never received official recognition for his work on the Batman stories. Since then, in the comic book industry being "Fingered" has become slang for being denied credit for your contributions to a story.

Posthumously, Finger has been named to the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame and Jack Kirby Hall of Fame.