Walt and Skeezix:

An

Appreciation    by Chance Fiveash

    Well, it's finally here. After two years of teasing, Drawn and Quarterly has finally released it's first book of a proposed twenty volume set that will reprint Frank King's sprawling American epic, Gasoline Alley the dailies in their entirety. Starting with the years 1921 and 1922, each hardcover will reprint two years worth of dailies with a publishing schedule of one book per year, so at least we have the next twenty years to live for if nothing else (for all you hopeless chaps).

    Before I go any further, a little Gasoline Alley back story might help.  Gasoline Alley began in 1919 as a one panel gag cartoon about cars that featured four character's that lived next to each other in an alley.  As described in one of the strips, there was "Walt: Plump, unmarried and as to matrimony he'll say he knows when he's well off.", "Avery: A close friend of Walt's-very close.", "Bill: Honest except when trying to get an adjustment on a tire." and "Doc-Advisor to the Alley both as to physical ailments and mechanical ills. His prescriptions more eagerly sought than his advice."  All were married except for Walt, which he would gleefully boast every now and then in a running gag about the other's being henpecked where, in a last panel he would exclaim, "O boy! I'll say I know when I'm well off!" or some variation on the theme.  It turned into a daily strip on January 1, 1921 and is still running to this day under the pen of Jim Scancarelli.  The thing that set this strip apart back in it's day was the fact that the character's aged in (pretty much) real time.  For example: Skeezix, Walt's adopted son introduced as an infant in 1921, actually grew up, went to school, joined the military in 1942 during World War II, married, had children of his own, they grew up and had children and so on.  

    I kid about the publishing schedule, but I have to say on a serious note, it's going to be a long tough wait between volumes. When I first sat down and began reading the first few dailies they really didn't draw me in as much as I would have liked. This was disappointing as I have been waiting many years to read these strips.  I have a great fondness for Dick Moores later version of the strip as well as the King drawn Sunday's from the 30's and 40's that have been reprinted here and there over the years, so I had been anticipating this collection with great enthusiasm.  The few daily strips I had read before were of such poor quality and in small segments that it was difficult to get a "feel" for the strip.  So when I found the first few strips rather mundane in the new collection I was worried that all the hype I had heard over the years as it being the equivalent of "the great American novel" was greatly exaggerated. 

    Now, lest you think the "appreciation" part of the title of this article was in jest, let me continue.  The further along I read in the book the more interesting it became.  King started using continuity more and with better results as he became more comfortable with writing a daily strip.  In fact, things changed drastically on February, 14 1921 when one morning Walt Wallet opened the front door to his house to find a baby on his doorstep.  This day is essentially the beginning of the strip that would become the longest running strip with character's that age in real time.  The characters now had a purpose rather than sitting around talking about cars. They had a new baby in the neighborhood as well as a "confirmed bachelor" doing his best to raise the baby.  For some reason Walt named his new baby boy Skeezix (although he's given a proper name, Allison later), and it works for me.  All through the book the humor is never forced and at times it's so subtle and gentle that you think, "yeah, well, it's not funny, but it's true and I believe it."  Towards the end of 1922 the strips really pick-up when a new single woman moves into the Alley, Mrs. Blossom.  Walt, while resisting the call of marriage, becomes attracted to his new neighbor and vise versa.  They do the romance dance all the while keeping it at the friendship level (They actually marry in 1924).  And that's pretty much where the story ends so far.  By time I read the last strip I was disappointed that I would have to wait another year to read about these characters and their lives.  What I thought was mundane at the beginning was really my unwillingness to let things unravel at a natural and normal rate.  We've become so accustomed to living at such an accelerated pace these days, that we (or "I", at any rate) should take a cue from the past and slow down a little and enjoy the "mundane" things in life. 

THE ART OF FRANK KING

    I don't want to leave here without mentioning Frank King's wonderful art and how effective it is in conveying the slow pace of a small town and the inhabitants of Gasoline Alley.  King has such a wonderful line and knows when to use it sparingly and his careful use of crosshatching is appealing.  In many way's it shares the same characteristics of other strips from the same period, but after reading many strips in a row, it becomes apparent that King's talent for sequential storytelling is superior.  He gets so much out of a line that it's a pleasure to watch him improve over the months.  It's a very "earthy" style that was prevalent in those days that Robert Crumb would later emulate and, over the years, improve upon, refining it for his era. Here are a few examples. These are from a sequence where Walt, Doc and his wife take a road trip to Yellowstone Park, stopping at many places along the way. Each day was a different town. King makes a note where their at at the bottom of the last panel near his signature.