Posted in: Comics | Tagged: The Spirit, will eisner

Will Eisner's Rights Are For Sale Including Unpublished Spirit Comic

The rights to Will Eisner's The Spirit and other work are up for sale and includes an unpublished 72 page The Spirit graphic novella

Published Thu, 05 Feb 2026 05:57:09 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

The rights to Will Eisner's The Spirit and all his works are currently up for sale including a hidden gem.
The sale features an unpublished 72-page Spirit graphic novella, The Spirit Returns, from 1996.
The Spirit Returns sees the masked hero face a ruthless vigilante and even includes an Eisner cameo.
The Eisner estate, run by his family, hopes for future movie or animated adaptations with new ownership.

George Gene Gustines reports for the New York Times that the rights to Will Eisner's The Spirit – and indeed all his work – are up for sale and that any deal will include an unpublished 72-page story from 1996 called The Spirit Returns, the last Spirit work created by Eisner, who died in 2005. And somehow, we are only hearing about it now.

"Up for grabs are Eisner's graphic novels, children's books and instruction manuals for creating comics. Also included in the sale are the many characters he created, most notably the Spirit, the influential masked crime fighter who debuted in 1940 and featured in stories that are noteworthy for their moral realism, mature themes, genre fluidity and inventive page design. Eisner's last work featuring the Spirit, a 72-page story from 1996 called The Spirit Returns, was never published. It, too, is up for sale… In it, the Spirit faces off against a superpowered vigilante who fancies himself judge, jury and executioner. The story seems perfect for the time period, when stories of costumed champions often employed a gritty tone. It also features a surprise cameo by Eisner at his drawing table, breaking the fourth wall."

Gustines quotes Eisner's nephew Carl Gropper, and his wife, Nancy Gropper, who have run the estate since but are now in their seventies, and are looking for a buyer. "We expect either a movie or an animated feature, we hope, in the future". While Lloyd Greif of the bank handling the sale commented on the Frank Miller movie of The Spirit, "You need to have a good story that's consistent with the character, and that clearly was not consistent with the essence of the character. And frankly, the story didn't make a whole lot of sense."

: The Spirit Returns by Will Eisner

: The Spirit Returns by Will Eisner

: The Spirit Returns by Will Eisner

: The Spirit Returns by Will Eisner

: The Spirit Returns by Will Eisner

Creator of The Spirit, founder of early comic book studios, and one of the earliest graphic novelists, Eisner popularised the term and lent his name to the Eisner Awards, which remain the premier English-language comic book awards, recognised by the entire entertainment industry, and awarded at San Diego Comic-Con. It was there where I met Will Eisner for the first and only time, on an abandoned table at the awards, and we ended up chatting about the work of then-newcomer Chris Ware. Eisner always had one eye on the future, even now it seems…

Can we get Dave Sim to letter The Spirit Returns? Please??

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