Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for April 30, 2010

  1. Mr peanut
    leakysqueaky712  over 14 years ago

    UH OH……….I dont like the looks of this.

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  2. Mr peanut
    leakysqueaky712  over 14 years ago

    I don’t know Joe………I sure hope he’s not “slipping away”

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  3. 220px charles bowles aka black bart
    Steve Bartholomew  over 14 years ago

    Either too many birds or too much medication.

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  4. Beatnik 128x128
    ocean17  over 14 years ago

    If this is the Walt Wallet swan song, I hope that insufferable clown Gerdo at least has the decency to stay out of the picture till it’s over. This porch swing/exotic bird setup is poised to be quite poetic.

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  5. Hillbilly1
    Hillbillyman  over 14 years ago

    Todays strip is… astounding, enchanting, poignant , and a bit sad as to expect the ultimate demise of our comic hero.

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  6. Rick
    davidf42  over 14 years ago

    Jim has been setting us up for Walt’s swan song for quite a while now. I think he may have devised a way to do it peacefully.

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  7. Axe grinder
    axe-grinder  over 14 years ago

    You’re not thinking of Hitchcock?!!

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  8. Durak ukraine
    Durak Premium Member over 14 years ago

    That’s just wild Axe. Walt exits the comic, a la Tippi Hedrin? Laugh, I don’t think so.

    Why is everyone so eager to see Walt go? Can’t we just let him fade off to the Old Comics Home? If Walt dies I am done following this comic. You can’t have Gasoline Alley without Walt Wallet. He’s the thread that ties it all together. He needs to be out there, somewhere, giving meaning to all the craziness. Losing Walt would be like losing Lil’ Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy or Dagwood Bumstead. Comic strip land doesn’t have to follow the same rules as our own, sad world. Suspension of disbelief is a powerful thing.

    Enjoy the pretty birdies Walt!

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  9. Schulzsense 0
    Paul1963  over 14 years ago

    Dypak, it’s not that we’re EAGER to see Walt go, it’s just that one of the main features of this strip has been the natural passage of time, starting with Skeezix showing up on Walt’s doorstep as a foundling 89 years ago.

    We’ve seen that landmark event grow into a decades-long story of an extended family now in its fifth generation. While there have been some elements of fantasy in play (Rufus and Joel seem eternal, and Melba’s aging is severely arrested), and some characters’ depictions don’t really match their ages (Gus Alley and Kathleen Elly, who were drawn as 10-year-olds last time we saw them even though they were teenagers), but for the most part people in this strip get old and eventually pass away. This hasn’t been the case in the other strips you mention. Annie will forever be elevenish, Dick Tracy will be stuck at about 50 forever (enough time has passed in that strip for Junior to grow to adulthood, marry, become a widower and marry AGAIN) and the Bumstead kids will never graduate high school, but next year Skeezix Wallet will have a birthday cake with a big “90” on it.

    Walt is the last surviving member of the original cast, and sure, there’s a desire not to lose him, but keeping him around forever violates the rules of the world in which the strip takes place. Doc, Bill and Avery all passed, albeit offscreen. Uriah Pert passed. Nina’s parents passed. Phyllis passed. Eventually, Walt must pass.

    It makes sense from a story standpoint, and it would allow Walt to rejoin his old friends and the love of his life. And then Skeezix would take his place as the patriarch of the extended Wallet family. He and Corky and Judy have been extremely fortunate to have had Walt as part of their lives for as long as they have, and that’s something that would comfort them at his passing.

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    kab2rb  over 14 years ago

    This strip is a very pretty scene although the birds are not in the area there suppose to be. There are a lot newer homes in KS where there are not front porches but homeowners had to build decks mostly in back. My mom house does have a front porch it was built in 1947 the house where my husband parent’s where to retire does have a front porch build in 1957. Where I live at someone build a deck with no roof. There was one but they tore down now we have to save up for one. We have a bi-level house. I’m amazed at the history of the Walet clan. I hope I seen a good age not sure I’ll always be on gocomics.

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  11. Avatar02
    jpozenel  over 14 years ago

    What medication was that again?

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  12. Roverboy
    roverboy  over 14 years ago

    Is Walt’s house supposed to be the same one that he was in as a bachelor when Skeezix was left on his doorstep, or did he and Phyllis move at some point?

    I wonder if it’s just the medication, or maybe a tropical bird farm sprang a leak and they’re real. Not that anyone will believe him until the end of the storyline if he’s on a potential hallucinogenic medication.

    I think ol’ Walt will be around for a while yet. Didn’t the characters’ age suspend somewhat during Mr. Moore’s tenure?

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    motiontoast  over 14 years ago

    Paul1963, you summed up my thoughts exactly! Well said.

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  14. Roohey
    roohey  over 14 years ago

    wonder if we’ll be treated to his life “flashing” in front of his eyes…a real trip down memory lane before he flies off to paradise

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    harebell  over 14 years ago

    Um…folks, one of the side effects mentioned was hallucinations. Walt isn’t going anywhere (at least not in this sequence). This is just a chance for Jim to show off his extraordinary talent.

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  16. Mr peanut
    leakysqueaky712  over 14 years ago

    Walt seems to be fading in the background…….I wonder if Phyllis will come walking out of that house??

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  17. Bassethound abernathy
    boldyuma  over 14 years ago

    Has Walt been eating hallucinogenic birdseed?…

    Will Walt kick the bucket?…

    Stay tuned folks….

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  18. It  s a gas station    by todd sullest
    Max Starman Jones  over 14 years ago

    Judging from the first panel, I would say that Walt still has all his wits about him. Great vocabulary.

    And whatever happens, I love the art work, as usual.

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