Sundays With Walt and Skeezix

After the publication of the full-size Little Nemo in Slumberland, the big question for Sunday Press Books was, "What's next?" Many other comic strips deserve the full-size treatment, but the obvious first choice was the early years of Frank King's Gasoline Alley.

I had always enjoyed these Sundays with Walt and Skeezix, particularly those dream and fantasy strips that owed obvious thanks to Nemo. But after taking on this project I realized that the true beauty in these comics went beyond those remarkable fantasy and surrealistic pages. Like McCay, Feininger, Herriman, and others of that era, King was a graphic innovator. His panoramic layouts, themed styling, and whimsical cartoon conceits explored new artistic methods. But he also had a great knowledge of story and character, presented with a warmth and humanity never seen before in comics, and rarely done as well since. He went beyond the gags and slapstick of his contemporaries to create vignettes of genuinely human characters; showing them relating to each other and, particularly in his Sunday comics, to the world around them.

A true poet of the form, Frank King offers us the ideal comic: the simple lines and concise vernacular that reach deep into the heart and mind of the reader. And such wonderful small town tales! More than any comic strip of the period, Gasoline Alley is a time machine. It transports us to another era, yet one filled with timeless messages: simple pleasures of childhood, dreams and fears of parenting, appreciation of the natural beauty of the world.

And King not only takes us there, but invites us, often directs us, to pause and ponder. And there is no better way to receive his stories and characters than in their original size and colors. This volume strives to re-create the Sunday morning comic strip experience of 75 years ago. A book taking you back to when readers would lose themselves in a single page, sensing a reflection of their lives in this most colorful and ubiquitous form of that era's popular culture.

Here is a collection of the best examples of Walt and Skeezix in the first 15 years of Gasoline Alley. These are the favorites of the contributing editors and, we hope, those of King's many fans. The pages in this book were taken from different Sunday newspapers around the country, often with varying colors and printing formats. The restoration task was to reproduce the comics for a consistent and accurate presentation. Pages were color-corrected to the estimated natural look of a newspaper comic section of the 1920s and '30s. Many of the natural imperfections, such as a color bleed or flaws in the paper, were left alone. Those damages inflicted by time: stains, rips, and excessive yellowing, were repaired.

It has been a great pleasure for me to work with the critics, historians, designers, and fellow collectors responsible for this book. All are the finest in their field and their contributions were key to re-introducing Frank King's masterpiece to the world. — Peter Maresca

Sunday Press Books presents a masterpiece in comic art by Frank King. Collected for the first time — the best of his early Gasoline Alley Sunday comics, starting from the very first Sunday in 1921, reprinted in the original size and colors. King's innovations in art, layout and storytelling brought a new warmth and style to the medium at the dawn of the Golden Age of newspaper comic strips. If you are interested in the development of this unique American art form, or simply love beautiful comics, this sumptuous volume is a must for your collection.

Sunday Press Books presents a masterpiece in comic art by Frank King. Collected for the first time, here are the best Gasoline Alley Sunday comics, starting from the very first Sunday in 1921. King's innovations in art, layout and storytelling brought a new warmth and style to the medium at the dawn of the Golden Age of newspaper comic strips.

This book is designed by Chris Ware with an introduction by Jeet Heer. As with the Sunday Press editions of Little Nemo in Slumberland, these incredible Sunday pages are shown digitally restored to their original colorful brilliance and reproduced at full size (16 by 21 inches). The book is filled with images of comics memorabilia and photographs of King's life. It also includes texts on King's life and work by journalist Tim Samuels and comics historian/critic Donald Phelps.

Included in the book is a full-sheet cardboard insert replica of a 1920's Skeezix cut-out toy.