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Will Eisner Original Spirit Art: The Ball Game pg. 6 (1949)

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Will Eisner Original Spirit Art: The Ball Game pg. 6 (1949)
    Price: $1,450.00
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    (Note, the image above is rather large so that you can see details.  Give it several seconds to load the 3MG file.  Then click the pop-up.)

    WILL
    EISNER (1917-2005) • Original Spirit art
    “The Ball Game,” page 6” (1949)

    A rare incursion of sports in The Spirit. New sidekick Sammy (replacing for a while the controversial Ebony) plays baseball on the Caribbean “Isle of Monabau” (likely alluding to Cuba). As the siesta-loving players gradually fall asleep we cut to The Spirit who is attempting to escape. For those who enjoy the “archaeology” of comic art (digging under the surface) there is a great example in the final panel. The paste-over is now loose, allowing us —and the next owner— to see what Will Eisner originally inked under the gnawing rope panel. In that version the shirtless Spirit is sitting on the lap of the hapless guard, and an eagle-eyed (or dirty minded) editor evidently thought that initial man-on-man composition held a sexual innuendo, so the layout was changed to the characters standing. Note that the Philadelphia Inquirer Photostat at the top shows the wrong date of July 3, 1949. The rubber stamp at the very top is the correct date: July 31, 1949. A paste-over was made in 1949 on the incorrect Inquirer date, but it subsequently fell off, as any serious comics archaeologists knows from the discoloration where the correction was once glued.

    Medium/Size/Condition: Brush, pen and ink on Bristol board measuring 15 inches wide x 22 inches high. Yellowing rubber cement residue where the Photostat at the very bottom is long-missing. The final panel is loose, as described in detail above. Some selective White-out. Very fine 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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