Mirko Ilic of Imprint presents a gallery of hand-drawn 3-D comic book titles, with emphasis on Will Eisner’s amazing Spirit titles.
But everything changed with the appearance of Will Eisner’s “The Spirit” (1940). “The Spirit” was published as a seven-page supplement to the comics section of American Sunday newspapers. As a supplement tucked inside newspapers, “The Spirit” did not depend on being visible on the newsstands. It was not limited by the need for recognizable branding like “Superman”.
Mr. Eisner used that extremely cleverly by going in exactly the opposite direction. Not only did he change the masthead of “The Spirit” for every issue, but very soon, the masthead became an integral part of the scene/set.
Eisner continued to play with the masthead even when “The Spirit” started to be sold on newsstands as an independent booklet.