Synopses & Reviews
Walt & Skeezix is the first-ever collection of the classic twentieth-century newspaper strip Gasoline Alley, and Book One is the beginning of a handsome multivolume series edited and designed by comics virtuoso Chris WareChris Ware has often cited Gasoline Alley as one of his favorite comic strips ever, and he has lovingly edited and designed Walt & Skeezix: Book One, the first-ever collection of the classic newspaper strip created by one of the pioneering giants of American comic strips, Frank King. Not only does this volume reprint the first two years of the strip in which Kings friendly and nostalgic imagination took shape but each book in the series features an eighty-page color introduction by Jeet Heer of Canadas National Post. Each introduction will also feature never-before-seen archival photos and ephemera from the personal collection of Kings granddaughter. Walt & Skeezix is not just a collection of a classic comic strip—it is the story of a great American cartoonist.
Few cartoon strips have this kind of longevity and quality; Gasoline Alley has been with us since 1919 and is a gentle mirror held up to ordinary American life in the early twentieth century. It started as a mild satire on the post-WWI “craze” for cars, but it wasnt long before it developed into a quirky family story attracting an audience of more than thirty million readers in four hundred-plus newspapers. Gasoline Alley, an affectionate portrait of modern living, is remembered for being the first strip to set itself in contemporary American history. The characters of Gasoline Alley grow up, go to war, and have grandchildren. The strip always reflects the kind, sweet pace of life.
Review
"It's all as innocent as can be, but given to occasional melancholy and strangely addictive: the characters actually change from day to day, and they even age, an unthinkable thing for most stuck-in-amber cartoons. A handsomely mounted presentation for one of the 20th-century's landmark cartoons." Kirkus Reviews
Review
"Wonderfully warm and humane....Gorgeously designed and printed on heavy, off-white paper, Walt and Skeezix also comes with a rich trove of photos and archival background material, making this weighty brick of a book a revelation." TIME.comix
Review
"A solid introduction by comics expert Jeet Heer...puts the strip in historical and artistic perspective....Walt and Skeezix is a jewel of a book, a treasure just waiting to be discovered." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Review
"You could say Gasoline Alley is, if not the, then a, Great American Novel....The strips are a treat to read, both for themselves and as historical documents..." Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Review
"This handsome hardcover, sumptuously designed by Chris ('Jimmy Corrigan') Ware, is an obsessive's delight and a must-have for any public library's reference shelf." The Hartford Advocate
Review
"The Complete Peanuts was justly heralded, because comics fans had been waiting decades for Charles Schulz's strip to get the deluxe treatment. Drawn & Quarterly's Gasoline Alley project should make those fans just as happy. It's a real gift: the kind we didn't even know we wanted." The Onion
Synopsis
Walt & Skeezix is the first-ever collection of the classic twentieth-century newspaper strip
Gasoline Alley, and Book One is the beginning of a handsome multivolume series edited and designed by comics virtuoso Chris Ware.
Chris Ware has often cited Gasoline Alley as one of his favorite comic strips ever, and he has lovingly edited and designed Walt & Skeezix: Book One, the first-ever collection of the classic newspaper strip created by one of the pioneering giants of American comic strips, Frank King. Not only does this volume reprint the first two years of the strip in which King's friendly and nostalgic imagination took shape but each book in the series features an eighty-page color introduction by Jeet Heer of Canada's National Post. Each introduction will also feature never-before-seen archival photos and ephemera from the personal collection of King's granddaughter. Walt & Skeezix is not just a collection of a classic comic strip it is the story of a great American cartoonist.
Few cartoon strips have this kind of longevity and quality; Gasoline Alley has been with us since 1919 and is a gentle mirror held up to ordinary American life in the early twentieth century. It started as a mild satire on the post-WWI "craze" for cars, but it wasn't long before it developed into a quirky family story attracting an audience of more than thirty million readers in four hundredplus newspapers. Gasoline Alley, an affectionate portrait of modern living, is remembered for being the first strip to set itself in contemporary American history. The characters of Gasoline Alley grow up, go to war, and have grandchildren. The strip always reflects the kind, sweet pace of life.
About the Author
One of the pioneering giants of American comic strips, Frank King made his lasting mark in 1919 by creating
Gasoline Alley, which became one of the most widely syndicated and popular strips in North America until King's death in 1969.
Cartoonist/designer Chris Ware is the author of Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth, Quimby the Mouse, and the Acme Novelty Datebook. Ware was born in 1967, two years before Frank King's death.