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WILL EISNER
(1917-2005) • Original Spirit art
May 28, 1950. Page 6 from “The
Good Old Days” (Baseball story).
JULES FEIFFER & TEX
BLAISDELL (Will Eisner editor/publisher in this
instance) • THE SPIRIT • May 28,
1950 (actually 1948*). Page 6 from “The Good Old Days”
(and page 4 from Baseball Comics #2).
As a framing device, Commissioner
Dolan is at a ballpark telling Sammy about
a legendary baseball game pitting the dominant American
League teams of 1907: the Detroit Tigers and
the Philadelphia Athletics, featuring
superstars of the era like Ty Cobb, Sam
Crawford, Rube Waddell, and others. This
page features a crazy umpire call as a soaring fly ball
hits a cop on the head and a fight ensues among players.
For the full understanding of this story’s unusual
history read the back-story below:
*Back-story: The bulk
of the 7-page “Good Old Days” Spirit story
(minus the splash and 2nd page) was
originally created in 1948 for Baseball
Comics #2. Jules
Feiffer wrote the story and Tex
Blaisdell drew it. Will
Eisner had briefly started his own comic
book line that year, publishing Kewpies and Baseball
Comics #1, with John
Law #1 (a solo Eisner creation)
and Baseball Comics #2
poised to be printed, when he quickly pulled the plug.
The comic book market was congested in
1948 and the initial sales numbers did not look
promising for a start-up imprint, so Eisner shelved the
unpublished titles. A portion of the John
Law #1 contents was famously
converted by Eisner into what became an all-time Spirit classic:
the 2-part “Sand Saref” story published in January 1950.
Five months after that conversion, probably spurred by a
deadline crisis, a 6-page story created for Baseball
Comics #2 became this “Good Old
Days” Spirit story.
Medium/Size/Condition: Brush,
pen, and ink on Bristol board measuring 13.75 x 22
inches (34.9 x 52.8 cm. White tape at top and bottom,
applied by Eisner to cover up yellowing from original
1948 Baseball Comics rubber cement.
Some scattered White-Out. Excellent condition.
Further reference: Much other Eisner
art, plus out-of-print graphic novels, Spirit comic books
and magazines,
signed serigraphs,
his Famous
Cartoonist Button, and numerous other Eisner-related
items are accessible from our sister store Steve
Krupp’s Curio Shoppe. Just type his name (or The
Spirit) into our search bar.
Provenance: The Will Eisner estate is
exclusively represented by the Denis Kitchen Art Agency,
an affiliate of Steve Krupp’s Curio Shoppe and Gallery.
This drawing is warranted to be an authentic original
created by Will Eisner, and sold on behalf of his estate.
Note: Image is © Will Eisner Studios, Inc. Reproduction
for commercial purposes requires permission. |