Just came across this interesting interview with Frank Foster III about his father’s creation of Batman in 1932!

[BiffPow]

Found this very interesting read. I don’t see this posted anywhere in the archives, but maybe it has been?

The interviewee’s father, Frank Foster II, created a superhero without special powers who fought crime at night. He named the character “Batman” with an alternate name “Night-wing”! He shopped the character around in 1932. They referenced the 1936 Spicy Mystery pulp with a story called “BATMAN” (a copy is currently on eBay for over $19,000), but apparently Mr. Foster’s creation predated even that by four years. I had not been aware of this claim before today. The interview/article also contains a couple of Mr. Foster’s illustrations, at least one purportedly signed and dated 1932 on the back together with the character names inscribed (and a checkmark next to “Batman”).

https://numberonebatfan.wordpress.com/2 ... foster-ii/

[AndyFish]

The date has always been the suspect thing to me with this claim. If we're actually talking 1932 we're four years before the advent of the first costumed super hero character-- The Phantom. Comic Books didn't jump on the superhero bandwagon until 1938 when every failed comic strip artist who was trying to come up with something for comics started throwing ideas around to duplicate the success of Superman.

I would also wonder why Kane, who certainly didn't give much thought to ethics, would have come up with the hoodless costume design if he had seen this first.

[hisyouthfulward]

Plus, it's almost too perfect that the alternate name just happens to be the name first used to give Superman a Kryptonian alternative to "Batman" when he and Jimmy Olsen were fighting crime in the bottled city of Kandor and is now used for Dick Grayson's heroics. I wonder if there's a way to analyze the ink/paper to ascertain the age of the drawing.

[BiffPow]

I wonder if there's a way to analyze the ink/paper to ascertain the age of the drawing.

Yes. Both of those types of forensic exams exist.

[AndyFish]

And I can tell you from experience those tests are expensive.
The age test alone would not give you a 100% certainty either-- you could simply draw on some vintage paper. You'd have to test the inks too, also expensive.

If the date were 1936 or up I'd be a lot more inclined to buy the story-- but no one was thinking superheroes in 1932. In fact when Superman creators Siegel and Shuster were shopping "Superman" around to newspapers in 1933 he was wearing regular clothes.

[hisyouthfulward]

So, I guess the next question is... Andy (and any other artists on the board), does the drawing look like a 1930's artist would have drawn it that way (posing, facial features, clothing details, etc) at that time? What details do you see that would match any pulp artists' styles of that time and are there any details that look like a more modern artist was trying to draw a fight scene with two guys from the 30's. The one thing that caught my eye was the cuff on the pants leg of the criminal. I don't believe that most modern artists would bother with adding a typical 1930's feature for mens' pants, like a cuff.

[BiffPow]

Found another article with a photo that contains a couple of additional sketches:

https://smashpages.net/2017/12/06/comic ... ed-batman/

I could see someone creating a superhero in 1932, perhaps influenced by the pulps or maybe that “Hercules” comic strip character from the early 1900s that predated Superman by 30 years or so. I could even see a costumed superhero perhaps inspired by Buck Rogers characters. BUT, the type of costume depicted does seem a bit ahead of its time, although I noticed the lack of gloves (which does seem to be an early style). That squared off chin. Hmmm. I’m skeptical but, still …

[Chuck Williams]

I'm a "nope" on this.
Andy's observation on the dates and Kane's "habit" of taking the path of least resistance are spot on in my book.

The "art" feels wrong to me because they are not sketches and also not finished panels or presentation art.

Half inked art and multiple inked sketches on one page look like something a non pro artist would think looked "inspired" in my opinion.

The idea that this was shopped around doesn't pass the smell test...

[BiffPow]

I’d be curious to see the “copies of correspondence.”

One more article that states he drew comics in 1937 as, more or less, auditions for various publishers (including DC) and left the artwork with them, but the publishers rejected the work.

It’s a bold claim:



Here’s the text:

“The Forgotten Creator of Batman: The Frank D. Foster II Story

In the vast landscape of comic book history, certain characters shine as beacons of imagination and creativity. Batman, the Dark Knight of Gotham, is undoubtedly one of those iconic figures. Yet, behind the mask and cape lies a lesser-known story, one that revolves around the unsung creator of Batman’s earliest incarnations: Frank D. Foster II.

The year was 1932 when Frank D. Foster II breathed life into the first Batman drawings . Prior to this moment, the name “Batman” had never graced the pages of any publication. It was a creation entirely unique to Foster’s imagination, marking a pivotal moment in comic book history.

Fast forward to 1937, and the Foster family found themselves residing in New York City, mere blocks away from the offices of DC publications. Armed with his illustrations, Frank embarked on a quest to showcase his work to comic book publishers, including the prestigious DC Comics situated at 480 Lexington Avenue.

Frank’s journey was fraught with hope and disappointment. He recalled spending weeks drawing cartoons at Munsey Publications and leaving his work with various publishers, including DC Comics, for evaluation. However, despite his efforts, he received the disheartening news that his drawings couldn’t be used. The exact dates and individuals involved faded into obscurity, but the undeniable fact remained: Frank D. Foster II had presented the world with the first glimpses of Batman.

As the years passed, Frank’s life took various turns. The conclusion of his work on the 1939 World’s Fair in April 1939 left him once again seeking employment. In 1940, the Fosters made the move to Washington, D.C., where Frank found work assisting the curator of the Mellon Art Gallery, now known as the National Gallery of Art.

It was in Washington that Frank’s encounter with Batman’s comics on newsstands sparked a bitter realization. Seeing his creation in print without acknowledgment, he exclaimed to his wife, “Will you look at that! They stole Batman!” Yet, faced with financial constraints and a lack of legal guidance, Frank found himself powerless to pursue any recourse.
The story of Frank D. Foster II serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities and injustices within the comic book industry. Despite being the true visionary behind Batman’s inception, his contributions were overshadowed and forgotten, relegated to the annals of history.

As fans continue to celebrate Batman’s enduring legacy, let us not forget the man whose imagination first brought the Caped Crusader to life. Frank D. Foster II may have been denied the recognition he deserved, but his legacy as the forgotten creator of Batman remains a testament to the resilience of creativity in the face of adversity.”

[BiffPow]

And there’s this website, complete with a video from his widow (being interviewed in her 90s) who says he showed the drawings to DC in the spring of 1939. The son keeps mistaking Dell for National Periodical Publications (DC) in the interview.

At around 35:50, the widow says that “they”(the company who ultimately published Batman, which would be NPP) kept his finished work and didn’t return it, which could address Chuck’s concern about shopping just those few sketches out. Earlier in the interview she said her husband worked a couple of weeks for a different publishing company (the son identified the publisher and I took it to mean that this was where he created finished comic stories) but the work was rejected and returned to him. Then he shopped it around to others, presumably DC included, the last of which did not return the artwork.

While it does look like a “2,” I wonder if that was supposed to be “1937” with a hook on the “7”? If he created the character in late 1937, tried to sell the idea for the next year and into the spring of ‘39, that might better explain the timing and costume, being post “the Phantom.”

Anyway, here’s the website:

http://www.originalbatman.com/batman/

And the YouTube interview with the widow is on the website but you can also view it here:



She says he went to art school with Al Capp who asked her husband to work with him but, at the time, Capp was just starting and her husband decided against it.

From what I can tell from her statements as to where they lived, they did live in New York probably near enough to DC’s then office. She confirmed that, after he took his work to DC, he painted murals for the New York World’s Fair in 1939. They then moved to Washington DC in 1940 and it was there that they saw Batman in a comic book. They were unaware of Batman’s existence until 1940.

Despite her age and inability to recall some details, her mind is surprisingly spry, and she seems genuine in her certainty about the Batman character.

Whether it’s accurate or not, it’s an interesting story. If you draw lines from the Foster masked face from the sides all the way to the nose, covering the tip of the nose, redefine the ears so that they run to the cheeks, and color the mask all black, it does look a lot like DC’s 1939 announcement image of Batman.

[BiffPow]

And 13th Dimension prints an excerpt from “Alter Ego” which covered this story in greater depth! Anyone have a copy of the article?

https://13thdimension.com/the-first-dar ... n-of-1932/

[Scott Sebring]

On another note of speculation and skepticism, I find the omission of the word "The" being used for Batman or Nightwing not in keeping with the names of the day including "The Batman", The Bat-Man", The Specter, The Phantom, The Flash, The Super-man and so on. If the sketches were not returned by NPP then where did these come from? Even if I might believe these drawings could have happened around 1938 or shortly after The Batman's debut, I don't believe the writing on the paper at all. I would be curious to see more examples or Foster's other known work. And of course, I completely agree with Chuck and Andy's observations.

[BiffPow]

I understood the other information about working at another publisher together with his widow’s interview to mean that the proposed finished art he worked on for a couple of weeks and shopped around were not returned, not these early sketches.

The “Alter Ego” excerpt on 13th Dimension does say this:

“The art is unmistakably faithful to the period, and the Strathmore board and ink have been authenticated as pre-World War II. The Batman drawings are rendered on the “tooth” side of the board, indicating the art dates back to at least 1932, if not before.”

So it looks like both the board and the ink have been tested and found to be authentic to the period prior to World War II. I’m not sure what “rendering on the tooth side of the board” does to prove the age as “at least 1932,” though.

[Chuck Williams]

At best, he may have thought of the name "Batman" before the character we know.
That is a trademark issue. No trademark or registration, he doesn't own squat.

The drawings he made would be copyrighted. Again, if not registered, it limits any claim.
Even if authentic "pre-WW2" , those drawings are no real claim to the "Batman" we know.
A familiar name on an old piece of paper doesn't make you a character "creator" unless you can show a lot more dated evidence.

The art doesn't look anything like a "BAT" man.
Again, AT BEST, it seems like "monday morning quarterbacking" of what could have been on the families part.

[AndyFish]

Great observations here, Scott is 100% they would have used "The" which was the norm.
As for artistic observations-- in 1932 artists who wanted to get into adventure storytelling had the golden goal of Newspaper Strips-- they were the pinnacle of success-- and in '32 there are some dramatic strips running. Most of the time artists would borrow from some of those artists poses but this one looks way too much like a comic book drawing-- so again they'd be way ahead of their time. Back in the mid-30s the guys who worked in comics or pulps were working for pennies on the dollar and couldn't make it in newspaper strips.

But I think at the end of the day the widow sinks the story-- if DC Comics (who were originally known as National Allied Publications and founded in 1934) somehow took possession of these concept sketches and didn't give them back-- they would have been destroyed along with all the rest of the golden age original art-- so how did she get these back?

I read the story in Alter Ego many years ago-- there's a great deal of in-depth examination on the subject none of which I remember but at the time I found it very interesting. You can buy digital copies of Alter Ego cheap from TwoMorrows Publishing. Issue #162 has the story;

ALTERNATE BATMAN by FRANK FOSTER