Goodwin, Lieber get the Finger Award

Comic-Con International, the largest comic book and popular arts event in the United States, is proud to announce that Archie Goodwin and Larry Lieber have been selected to receive the 2008 Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing. The choice was made unanimously by a blue-ribbon committee chaired by writer and historian Mark Evanier.

The Bill Finger Award was instituted in 2005 under the supervision of comic book legend Jerry Robinson. The awards committee is charged each year with selecting two recipients, one living and one deceased.

“With all the writers who seem worthy of this award, you’d think it would be an impossible decision,” Evanier explains. “But this year, two names just jumped off the list of candidates. Much like the late Bill Finger, Larry Lieber and Archie Goodwin did important, groundbreaking work in our field that has not received the recognition it deserves. We’re hoping to rectify that a little with these awards.”

Archie Goodwin did his first work in comics (mystery stories for Harvey, along with assisting Leonard Starr with the newspaper strip On Stage) in the late 1950s. From 1964 to 1967, he produced a body of acclaimed work as writer/editor of Creepy and Eerie, then moved on to work as both a writer and editor for DC Comics and Marvel, writing memorable scripts for Batman, Iron Man, Star Wars, Manhunter, and many others. He also wrote several newspaper strips, including Star Wars, Secret Agent X-9, and Captain Kate. Goodwin passed away in 1998.

Larry Lieber began working in 1950 at the company now known as Marvel, doing artwork under the editorship of his brother, Stan Lee. In the late 1950s, he and Stan comprised the entire writing staff for the company, and Larry’s work on monster comics (including the acclaimed “Fin Fang Foom”) helped lay the groundwork for the Marvel superhero line of the sixties. For that line, Larry scripted the first stories of Thor and Iron Man and many early tales of The Human Torch. He is currently the illustrator of the Spider-Man newspaper strip.

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), comics and animation writer Paul Dini, writer Tony Isabella, and writer/editor Marv Wolfman.

The 2008 awards are part of Comic-Con International with DC Comics as the major sponsor, along with supporting sponsors Comics Buyer’s Guide (CBG) and Heritage Auctions.

The Bill Finger Award will be presented during the 2008 Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards ceremony at this summer’s Comic-Con on Friday, July 25.

Additional information on the Finger Award can be found at www.comic-con.org/cci/cci_finger.shtml