Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for May 03, 2024

Melba’s P.1. reply sends a mixed message ya caint blame Ruufy for getting it wrong.

Looks like we’re about to segue into a new arc.

We are glad she is back too, just in time!

Miss Mayor Melba’s mother is in heaven?

wow for a second I thought someone finally aged…and yep we get rufus the dufus

I like how Melba still does the pull-up-the-blouse gesture, even though she no longer wears the outfit that required it.

From today’s Comics Curmudgeon:

“Really, Rufus, nobody in this strip ‘passes’! Why, you and I have been in this strip for at least fifty years and are no closer to death’s sweet release! We’re here forever. Forever!” [echoing, sinister laughter]

God bless you all who have family in a Senior Center. May their days be satisfying and pain free.

My favorite comment from Comic Curmudgeon:

“I don’t follow this strip so indulge me in a possibly stupid question: has Miss Melba always had the face of a blow-up sex doll?”

Are we getting a new character? I don’t think we ever saw Melba’s mother.

If I remember right, Melba g ot off the bus from the sticks carrying the typical cardboard suitcase when she was first introduced.

Sadly, Rufus has returned…. sans our hero, the stalwart, pipe smoking, professorial Joel.

If this arc continues and only features Rufus, it will be sad indeed. BUT, perhaps it is a simple segue into have the return of good-natured, kindly Joel. We can only hope.

If Joel does get to return, perhaps Rufus can then amscray for a good bit of time to let Joel be the sole feature for a good run. It would be a delight to see!

I don’t recall anyone saying Melba’s absence had something to do with her mother.

Her mother is sharing a room with Sally Forth’s mom.

Ruthless and Peach Melba don’t look quite the same. Is the artwork perhaps a team effort now?

The hospital wanted to discharge Dad, but he had to go to a Skilled Nursing Facility. There were no rooms available at SNFs nearby, so we had to look for places in other towns. Fortunately, a room did open up in Dad’s town. But, many of the other residents were from towns out of our area. So, for a hypothetical example, NSF patients who were from Smithtown were in Jonesburg, and patients from Jonesburg were in Smithtown.