And it's time once again to avoid the way-too-obvious joke about giving someone the finger and make this year's announcement…
SAN DIEGO — Bob Haney and Del Connell have been selected to receive the 2011 Bill Finger Award for Achievement in Comic Book Writing. The choices, made by a blue-ribbon committee chaired by writer/historian Mark Evanier, was unanimous.
The Bill Finger Award was instituted in 2005 at the instigation of comic book legend Jerry Robinson. Each year since then a committee has selected one living and one deceased writer for the award, which is given out during the Eisner Awards ceremony at Comic-Con International: San Diego.
"This award is a corrective of sorts," says Evanier. "Bill Finger never received the recognition or rewards he deserved, so Jerry Robinson proposed an award in his name. It's to recognize and honor other writers who have contributed an impressive body of work but who haven't received the laurels they deserve. Del Connell, for example, wrote and/or edited thousands of comic book stories, and I'm not sure he ever got his name on a single one. Millions of readers enjoyed the work without a clue as to who had created it."
Bob Haney began writing comic books in 1948, freelancing for a wide array of publishers, including Fawcett, Standard, Hillman, Harvey, and St. John. In 1955 he began a long association with DC Comics, where he wrote hundreds of scripts in the genres of war, western, mystery, romance, and of course, superheroes. He is best remembered for his work on The Brave and the Bold, The Unknown Soldier, Teen Titans, Aquaman, World's Finest Comics, and especially Metamorpho, which he co-created with artist Ramona Fradon, and The Doom Patrol, which he co-created with writer Arnold Drake and artist Bruno Premiani. Haney retired from comics in the late 1980s and passed away in 2004.
Del Connell began working as an artist at Disney Studios in 1939 and soon segued into the story department. He contributed to many shorts and features, including The Three Caballeros and Alice in Wonderland. He began writing Dell Comics for Western Publishing Company as a freelancer in 1950 and joined its editorial staff in 1954, though he continued to be the firm's most prolific writer. Among the many comics he originated were Super Goof, Wacky Witch, The Close Shaves of Pauline Peril, and Space Family Robinson, which was adapted into the popular TV series Lost in Space. He eventually became editor-in-chief of the West Coast office of Western Publishing's comic book division until it ceased activity in 1987. For over twenty years, he also wrote both the daily and Sunday editions of the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip. Del, at age 94, will be on hand to accept his award.
The Bill Finger Award honors the memory of William Finger (1914–1974), who was the first and, some say, most important writer of Batman. Many have called him the "unsung hero" of the character and have hailed his work not only on that iconic figure but on dozens of others, primarily for DC Comics.
In addition to Evanier, the selection committee consists of Charles Kochman (executive editor at Harry N. Abrams, book publisher), cartoonist/historian Scott Shaw!, writer Kurt Busiek, and writer/editor Marv Wolfman.
The awards will be presented on the evening of July 22 during the Eisner Awards ceremony at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel. The 2011 awards are underwritten by Comic-Con International. DC Comics is the major sponsor; supporting sponsors are Heritage Auctions and maggiethompson.com.