Credit where it's due?

[Paul (ral)]

I have been reading a lot of Batman comics lately - mostly Englehart's Dark Detective 1 and 2.

Some of his comments and things that been brought up through various articles on the site have had me thinking...

...should comics book writers get credit when it comes to the movies? I know they are writing for DC and DC hold the rights but wouldn't an acknowledgement in the movie credits be nice. Something like...

Story by Johan Nolan. Based on stories appearing in DC Comics by Steve Englehart and Denny O'Neil, etc.

[gordonblu]

I would include them somehow.

[Grissom]

I agree, there name should be mentioned somehow, either in the credits or also by giving characters similar names to the writers. That has been done in movies before. The source material is so rich, with great writers and we should really give credit to their creativity.

[phantom stranger]

Certainly, if I was making the film I'd give credit to all the writers and artists who inspired the work. So far the only credits I've seen are for the officially-recognized creators of the superheroes. Bob Kane gets a mention, but not Jerry Robinson or Bill Finger. Although Robinson was listed as a "consultant" on the Dark Knight.

The creators of villains, like Poison Ivy (Robert Kanigher and Sheldon Moldoff) and Ra's Al Ghul (Denny O'Neil and Neil Adams) never receive credit.

I suppose at a certain point, the question is whether to give credit to someone whose story merely inspired the movie. For example, Nolan freely stated that Long Halloween and Killing Joke were inspirations for Dark Knight. But, having read both, it's clear that he just borrowed themes and a few story elements from the books. And the story elements were changed dramatically. Still, I would've given them credit, if for no other reason than to encourage people to pick up the books!

[Kamdan]

I always thought that's what the "Based Upon Characters Appearing In Magazines Published By DC Comics, Inc." was kind of for.

[Azrael]

But it says "Batman characters created by Bob Kane and published in DC Comics" or something, which is kind of inaccurate even for those that know just the basics of Batman's creation. Bill Finger's name should be there alongside Kane.

[gordonblu]

Even Bob Kane felt bad that Finger didn't get the credit he deserved.

[Kamdan]

But it says "Batman characters created by Bob Kane and published in DC Comics" or something, which is kind of inaccurate even for those that know just the basics of Batman's creation. Bill Finger's name should be there alongside Kane.

No, there was a separate credit after the main title that said what I said in my first post. Kane's credit for creating Batman came before the screenwriting credits.