Continuing to seek comic-book work, Sprang submitted art samples to DC Comics editor Whitney Ellsworth, who assigned him a "Batman" story in 1941. Anticipating that Batman creator Bob Kane would be drafted to serve in World War II, DC inventoried Sprang's work to safeguard against delays. Sprang's first published Batman work was the Batman and Robin figures on the cover of "Batman" #18 (Aug.-Sept. 1943), reproduced from the art for page 13 of the later-published "Detective Comics" #84 (Feb. 1944). Sprang's first original published Batman work, and first interior-story work, appeared in "Batman" #19 (Oct.-Nov. 1943), for which he penciled and inked the cover and the first three Batman stories, and penciled the fourth Batman story, inked by Norm Fallon. Like all Batman artists of the time, Sprang went uncredited as a ghost artist for Kane. In May of 1944, Sprang married commercial artist and photographer Lora Ann Neusiis in New York City. The couple moved west to Sedona, Arizona, in 1946. They were divorced in 1951 and Lora returned to New York City.