Gasoline Alley 160103 222475420 2008-06-29T15:18:17Z GVnayR 651076 added Tribune Company template {{otheruses1|the comic strip}} {{Unreferenced|date=June 2007}} {{Infobox comic strip |title= Gasoline Alley |image= [[Image:Skeezixwest.jpg|250px]] |caption= Frank King's ''Skeezix Out West'' (Reilly & Lee Co., 1928) |author= [[Frank King (cartoonist)|Frank King]] (1918-1959)<br>[[Dick Moores]] (1956-1986)<br>[[Jim Scancarelli]] (1986-present) |url= http://www.comicspage.com/gasoline/gasolinealley.html |rss= |atom= |status= Active |syndicate= [[Tribune Media Services]] |publisher= |first= [[November 24]], [[1918]] |last= |genre= |rating= |preceded by= |followed by= }} '''''Gasoline Alley''''' is a long-running classic [[comic strip]], created by [[Frank King (cartoonist)|Frank King]], that was first published on [[November 24]], [[1918]]. Widely recognized as a pioneering comic strip, ''Gasoline Alley'' was especially notable for being perhaps the first comic to depict its characters aging as the years progressed. ==Early years== The strip's origins lie in the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'', which ran a Sunday page, ''The Rectangle'', where staff artists contributed one-shot panels, continuing plots or themes. One corner of ''The Rectangle'' was home to [[Frank King]]'s ''Gasoline Alley'', where characters Walt, Doc, Avery and Bill held weekly conversations about automobiles. This [[black-and-white]] panel slowly gained recognition and eventually the daily ''Tribune'' picked up the feature, either on [[August 25]], [[1918]] or January 1919, according to varied accounts. It became a daily strip, and the Sunday version moved from ''The Rectangle'' to a full-color page of its own. The 1930s Sunday pages did not employ traditional gags but instead presented a gentle view of nature or imaginary daydreaming with expressive art. The early years were dominated by the character Walt Wallet. The ''Tribune'''s editor, Captain [[Joseph Patterson]], wanted to attract [[woman|women]] to the strip so it was decided to introduce a baby into it. The only problem was that Walt was a confirmed bachelor. This was overcome when, on [[February 14]], [[1921]], he found an abandoned baby on his doorstep. The baby was called Skeezix (slang for motherless calf) who called his adopted father Uncle Walt. Unlike most strips (like [[the Katzenjammer Kids]] or [[Little Orphan Annie]]) he did not remain a baby or even a little boy for long. In fact, as the years went by, he grew up to manhood, the first occasion where real time continually elapsed in a major comic strip over generations. By the time the United States entered [[World War II]], Skeezix was a fully-grown adult, courting girls and serving in the armed forces. He later married and had children. In the late 1960s he faced a typical mid-life crisis. Walt Wallet himself eventually married Phyllis Blossom and had other children, who grew up and had kids of their own. During the 70's and 80's, under Moores' authorship, the characters did briefly stop aging&mdash;when Scancarelli took over, the natural aging was restored.[http://www.toonopedia.com/gasalley.htm] ==Recent years== The strip is still published in newspapers today. Skeezix has become an [[octogenarian]]. Walt's wife Phyllis, aged an estimated 105, died in the [[April 26]], [[2004]] strip, leaving Walt a widower after nearly eight decades of marriage. Walt Wallet appeared as a guest in [[Blondie (comic strip)|Blondie and Dagwood]]'s anniversary party. == History of artists and awards == King was succeeded by his former assistants, with Bill Perry taking responsibility for Sunday strips in 1951 and [[Dick Moores]], first hired in 1956, becoming sole writer and artist for the daily strip in 1959. When Perry retired in 1975, Moores took responsibility for Sunday strips as well, combining the daily and Sunday stories into one continuity starting [[28 September 1975]]. Moores died in 1986, and since then ''Gasoline Alley'' has been written and drawn by [[Jim Scancarelli]], formerly assistant to Moores. The strip and King have been recognized with the [[National Cartoonist Society]] [NCS] Humor Strip Award in 1957, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1982 and 1985. King received the 1958 Society's [[Reuben Award]], and Moores after him received it in 1974. Scancarelli received the Society's Story Comic Strip Award in 1988. In addition, the strip received an NCS plaque for the year's best story strip in 1981, '82, and '83. ==Reprint collections== Examples of the [[full page]] Sunday strip were printed in ''The Comic Strip Century'' (1995, reissued in 2004 as ''100 Years of Comic Strips''), edited by [[Bill Blackbeard]], Dale Crain and James Vance. Dick Moores' dailies and Sundays have appeared in ''[[Comics Revue]]'' monthly, as well as the first strips by Jim Scancarelli. In 1995, the strip was one of 20 included in the [[Comic Strip Classics]] series of commemorative US [[postage stamps]]. In 2003, Spec Productions began a series of soft-covered collections titled ''Frank King's Gasoline Alley Nostalgia Journal'', reprinting the strip from the very first "Rectangle" panel from [[November 24]], [[1918]]. To date, four volumes have appeared: *Volume 1, Nov. 24, 1918 to Sept. 22, 1919 *Volume 2, Sept. 23, 1919 to March 2, 1920 *Volume 3, March 3, 1920 to July 25, 1920 *Volume 4, July 26, 1920 to December 31, 1920 In 2005, the first of a series of reprint books, ''Walt and Skeezix'', began, published by [[Drawn and Quarterly]] and edited by [[Chris Ware]]. The first volume covers 1921&ndash;22, beginning when baby Skeezix appears: *''Walt and Skeezix: Book One, 1921&ndash;22'', ISBN 1-896597-64-5 *''Walt and Skeezix: Book Two, 1923&ndash;24'', ISBN 1-896597-99-8 *''Walt and Skeezix: Book Three, 1925&ndash;26'', ISBN 1-897299-09-5 *''Walt and Skeezix: Book Four, 1927&ndash;28'', ISBN 1-897299-39-7 (August, 2008) In 2007, [[Sunday Press Books]] published a collection of Sundays entitled ''Sundays with Walt and Skeezix'', which collects several early Sundays in the original size and color. ==Radio== There were several radio adaptations. '''''Gasoline Alley''''' during the 1930s starred [[Bill Idelson]] as Skeezix Wallet with Jean Gillespie as his girlfriend Nina Clock. Jimmy McCallon was Skeezix in the series that ran on NBC from [[February 17]] to [[April 11]], [[1941]], continuing on the [[Blue Network]] from [[April 28]] to [[May 9]] of that same year. The 15-minute series aired weekdays at 5:30pm. Along with Nina (Janice Gilbert), the characters included Skeezix's boss Wumple (Cliff Soubier) and Ling Wee (Junius Matthews), a waiter in a Chinese restaurant. Charles Schenck directed the scripts by Kane Campbell. The syndicated series of 1948-49 featured a cast of Bill Lipton, Mason Adams and Robert Dryden. Sponsored by [[Autolite]], the 15-minute episodes focused on Skeezix running a gas station and garage, the Wallet and Bobble Garage, with his partner, Wilmer Bobble. In New York this series aired on WOR from [[July 16]], [[1948]] to [[January 7]], [[1949]]. ==Films== ''Gasoline Alley'' was adapted into two feature films, '''''Gasoline Alley''''' (1951) and '''''Corky of Gasoline Alley''''' (1951). At the time these films were in production, it was announced that the ''Gasoline Alley'' film series would replace the ''[[Blondie (film)|Blondie]]'' film series which came to an end in 1950 with ''Beware of Blondie''. ==Listen to== *[http://www.vintageradioplace.com/broadcast/arcglowingdial0402.html Glowing Dial: ''Gasoline Alley'' radio program: "The Adventure of Jealous Jessica" (1948-49)] ==External links== *[http://www.comicspage.com/gasoline/gasolinealley.html Official site] *[http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/14/arts/design/14schw.html?ex=1169614800&en=d967000717bcdd7e&ei=5070&emc=eta1 ''The New York Times'': "See You in the (Restored, Reprinted) Funny Papers"] *[http://www.reuben.org/ncs/awards.asp NCS Awards] *[http://www.toonopedia.com/gasalley.htm Toonopedia] *[http://www.ucomics.com/gasolinealley/ UComics] *[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0125761/ "Gasoline Alley" (1951)] and [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043427/ "Corky of Gasoline Alley" (1951)] at [http://www.imdb.com/ IMDb.com] *[http://perso.orange.fr/claude.mettavant/Images/selic/gasoline1.jpg Wallet family tree] *[http://newcritics.com/blog1/2007/02/21/right-back-in-the-alley/ Right Back In the Alley with Skeezix] {{Tribune Company}} {{Universal Press Syndicate}} [[Category:American comic strips]] [[Category:Comic strips started in the 1910s]] [[Category:Chicago Tribune]] [[Category:Drawn and Quarterly titles]] [[Category:Old-time radio programs]]