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Will Eisner Original Spirit Art: The Good Ole Days p.7 (1950)


Will Eisner Original Spirit Art: The Good Ole Days p.7 (1950)
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    WILL EISNER (1917-2005) • Original Spirit art

    May 28, 1950. Page 7 from “The Good Old Days” (Baseball story).

    WILL EISNER, JULES FEIFFER & TEX BLAISDELL • THE SPIRIT • May 28, 1950 (and 1948*). Page 7 from “The Good Old Days” (and page 5 or 6 from Baseball Comics #2).

    As a framing device, Commissioner Dolan is at a Central City 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 concluding page tells how the game ended in a tie, paving the way for the Tigers to win the 1907 AL pennant. And, of course, younf Sammy, who is not especially interested in a game played over four decades earlier, is sound asleep in an empty stadium. 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congested in 1948 and the initial sales numbers did not look promising for a start-up imprint, so Eisner shelved the unpublished titles.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. Eisner finished the story himself to complete the conversion.

    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. Considerable White-Out in the opening panel and a smattering elsewhere. Oddly enough, given the history recited above, there are no paste-ups, which strongly indicates that Eisner drew the entire page himself, loosely emulating Blaisdell’s style in the first four panels, for internal consistency. 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.



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