Chris K. :: SPIRIT, THE

Eisner, Will - The Spirit, 4-30-1950, page 2

Artist: Will Eisner (Penciller)

5 Comments - 1,606 Views - 1 Like

Eisner, Will - The Spirit, 4-30-1950, page 2 Comic Art

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Artwork Details

Title:	Eisner, Will - The Spirit, 4-30-1950, page 2
Artist:	Will Eisner (Penciller)
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	1,606
Likes on CAF:	1 2
Comments:	5
Added to Site:	8/14/2013
Comic Art Archive:

Description

A beautifully rendered page two from the April 30, 1950 ‘The Spirit’ storyline “Wanted: Dangerous Job”. This page comes from the outer edge of Eisner’s peak creative period that ran from mid-1947 to mid-1950 on the series.

William Erwin "Will" Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was one of the earliest creators to work in the American comic book industry. While best known creatively and artistically for his series, ‘The Spirit’ (June 2, 1940 – October 5, 1952), Eisner was an unusually adept entrepreneur and businessman – particularly for an artist.

His focus on the business side of comics was born of his Depression-era upbringing. After watching his father, and by extension his family, suffer through the Great Depression, Eisner was not going to pursue his chosen craft without ensuring that financial security would come with it. At a very early age, he recognized that artists were plentiful – the key to success was the story. To be needed by publishers, he knew the key was new ideas and content. With those fundamental tenets in mind, he founded Eisner & Iger with partner Jerry Iger in late 1936 (amazingly, at the age of 19!).

By 1938, Eisner & Iger had become a full-blown comic production studio, employing some of the biggest names in cartooning at the time…and to come – Lou Fine, Bob Powell, Mort Meskin, Bob Kane, George Tuska, Reed Crandall, Nick Cardy, Chuck Mazoujian and Jack Kirby, among them. Ironically, some of the biggest names in the comic industry’s future would start in a production shop whose head (Eisner) had a personal aversion to costumed superheroes. To that effect, one of Eisner’s signature miscues as a businessperson was the 1938 rejection of Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s ‘Superman’ – which he did on the basis of it not being up to the quality of what was coming out of his studio at the time (probably true).

However, the subsequent enormous popularity of Superman and Action Comics would propel the industry to new levels. In the fall of 1939, Eisner would be approached by Henry Martin (publisher of the Des Moines Register & Tribune Syndicate) and Everett ‘Busy’ Arnold (publisher of Quality Comics) to create a weekly comic book supplement for newspapers featuring a hero - which, while only 22 years old, he managed to negotiate retention of the rights to (largely attributable to the fact he was negotiating with a newspaper publisher, not a comic publisher). He ended up selling Eisner & Iger to Jerry Iger and agreed to a new partnership with Martin & Arnold while taking key artists Fine, Powell and Mazoujian with him. For the hero, Eisner wanted someone that would blend into the world within which he existed, but strong and singular enough to make readers want to read about him weekly. The first result was the character Denny Colt, who Eisner described as ‘strong & capable and yet very vulnerable…and even a little bit clownish’. As the character was being developed, Arnold pushed Eisner to make the character more like a superhero – and even gave the character his ‘superhero’ name - The Spirit. But, Eisner would only take the superhero concept so far – again, more focused on the character and story – and settled on The Spirit’s ‘costume’ being a matching blue suit and mask to hide his identity. He threw in a blue fedora just like the one Busy Arnold wore as an inside gag.

From there, ‘The Spirit’ made his first weekly comic magazine appearance on June 2, 1940. The story featured and 8-page Spirit story and two 4-page stories featuring the characters Mr. Mystic and Lady Luck. The early stories reflected Eisner’s experimentation and dabbling with the character. In May 1942, Eisner entered the Army for WWII and he would continue to manage the character utilizing ghost writers an artists until he was discharged. The first post-war Spirit feature (with Eisner back at the helm) was published on December 23, 1945. It was after the war that Eisner hit his creative peak on ‘The Spirit’, a period that would last from mid-1947 to his marriage in June of 1950. Prior to his marriage, Eisner’s only muse was work and his favorite mistress was…more work. Then, in September of 1949, he would meet Ann Weingarten who he would make Mrs. Will Eisner on June 15, 1950. By the date of his wedding he was losing interest in ‘The Spirit’ and was more focused on his commercial publication business, American Visuals, which he had founded in 1948. According to Cat Yronwode’s ‘The Art of Will Eisner’, with few exceptions Eisner would write, pencil and/or ink The Spirit weekly until August 12, 1951, at which time he relinquished it to his assistants.

The last installment of ‘The Spirit’ was published on October 5, 1952, ending a run of 645 installments over almost 12 years. It was a foundational run in the Golden Age of comics that would speak to the many things the medium would, and eventually did, become.

A special thanks to Mr. Sonenthal for the assist on these pages!

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	Chris K. Premium Gallery Owner
Joined:	August 2008
Last Login:	September 2025
Country:	UNITED STATES
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Comments on this Artwork

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Benno Rothschild
Member Since 2003

Posted on 8/14/2013

It really isn't possible to go wrong with an Eisner Spirit page from the post war period and this is another proof of that.

Ron S
Member Since 2007

Posted on 8/14/2013

Just a great page. Awesome write up!

Aaron N.
Member Since 2009

Posted on 8/14/2013

Heh. Briget Doon. Eisner sure new how to introduce a new lady character.

frank x townsondecker
Member Since 2006

Posted on 8/14/2013

Nice!

Gene Park
Member Since 2004

Posted on 8/15/2013

Wow, if Ron is the Nikki Sixx of the hobby, you are rapidly becoming Tommy Lee! Congrats on a great pick-up!

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