Orlando-based Coliseum of Comics has announced that they will be hosting an appearance by actress and author Karen Whitfield, and Athena Finger, mathematics professor and Heiress to the Dark Knight, at their Kissimmee location on Sunday, September 8th.
Whitfield began appearing as the Bronze Age Batgirl alongside actors Adam West and Bruce Ward (the stars of the 1966 Batman TV program) in 1978 to promote Hanna-Barbera’s The New Adventures of Batman cartoon (which aired on CBS Saturday mornings) – and then went on to travel with the pair for appearances through 1985. Her book about her travels with the Dynamic Duo – Batdriven West – was published in 2019.
Finger is the granddaughter of writer Bill Finger, the co-creator of Batman (with artist Bob Kane), as well as pivotal parts of the Batman mythos such as Robin, The Joker, Catwoman, Gotham City, The Riddler, Commission Gordon, the Batmobile, and the original Golden Age Green Lantern.
Due to contracts made just after the creation of Batman, Bill Finger was denied official credit for his part in the Dark Knight’s origins; Athena Finger spent many years campaigning for her grandfather to receive that credit – efforts detailed in the Hulu documentary BATMAN & BILL and the book Bill the Boy Wonder: The Secret Co-Creator of Batman by Marc Tyler Nobleman.
Finger finally received recognition for his part in developing the Dark Knight in 2015, with his first official credits appearing on the second season of Fox TV’s Gotham and Warner Brothers feature film Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
