Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for November 10, 2009

I am still wondering

a) why and how Walt wandered from theater to graveyard

and

b) how Gertie figured that was a logical place to look for him.

Assuming that is Walt of course.

Though to be fair, I am still following this story with interest.

I’m thinking the same thing jumbo……..how did she know to look in a graveyard?? A portent of things to come maybe??

That’s the longest epitaph I’ve ever seen in panel 1.

Walt has dug his own grave. Is there strange things yet to come?

I would just like to say a few things about Gasoline Alley.

I have been reading this strip almost daily for over 30 years. I have also read thousands of the original old strips from the Smithsonian archives and other sources. Compared to most comic strips out there it is a work of genius. The artwork is today, and always has been terrific. The writing, although slow at times, is heartfelt and engageing with characters that are unique, interesting and easy to love. It has won numerous awards for a reason.

It is not an easy task to take over a classic strip and still keep it fresh. These folks deserve kudos for a job well done. If you are looking for a fast paced story or one liners this may not be your cup of tea. Perhaps Nancy or Family circle may be more appropriate for those with short attention spans. I also hear Garfield and Ziggy are quite popular…

For those not in the loop, Walt has taken many a walk in the graveyard with Skeezix for many a year. His wife is buried there as well as many of his friends.

They have always had many epitaphs as well…many of them from actual garvestones around the world.

Those are some darkly funny epitaphs.

Timothy B, you are making sense.

Timothy B, thank you for your voice of reason.

Love the story so far, and in color yet. Go wake Skeezix and tell him to bring a ladder, that is, if Walt can climb and isn’t hurt much.

Hey, Tim … you make some excellent points. Thanks.

Your comments are excellent, Tim. I don’t think that this is Walt that Gertie has come across. I’ll bet it is either Rufus or Joel…possibly Melba. Or maybe it is Uriah Pert, coming back from the gates of Heck.

Maybe she’s come across the current Dick Tracy storyline. That plot died three weeks ago.

“Slim! How did you fall into that grave, and where is your wife’s grandfather?”

It’s not Mr. Walt. It’s Benjamin Miles or Herbert Kowznofski wanting out so they can rewrite their epitaths.

I’M GONNA BE DEAD BEFORE THIS STORY ENDS!

Very excellent point Timothy! While reading your post, I was thinking another cartoon for the short minded people on here is “Blondie”. You hit the nail when you mentioned Ziggy, one panel for their mind span. I’m thinking with some of the others on here. I don’t think it would be Walt. Can’t imagine that he not being able to get around as easy, still manage to walk a great distance and fall in. I’m hoping and thinking its a new character that Jim is planning on using for GA. I sure hope so.

I agree, this strip is one of the greats, and rarer still that it’s still pretty bleeep good. I enjoy reading it every day, and am especially impressed by Scancarelli’s dedication to crafting such sublimely detailed art. Almost no one does that any more. But it does sort of seem to me a stretch that Gertie would conclude Walt went straight from theater to graveyard…I sorta suspect Jim just wanted to draw a spooky cemetery for a few days and hey, it’s a very well-drawn cemetery.

Does Scancarelli live next door to Troodeaux???

I generally agree with the positive slant on this strip, I would however like to see more of the original GA family (not Slim so much) over the over reliance in this set of characters, Gertie, Early etc.

The name Cowznofski (Melvin) is from MAD magazine.

Right on Tim!

I bet that aint Mr Walt

Probably “Syzygy”…

Is that a promise, nelson-muntz?

Timothy, I have to agree with you, Gasoline Alley is a great slice of life comic. I’ve even got to meet Mr. Scancarelli, though it’s easy since we’re both in Charlotte, NC. Strange thing is, the Charlotte Observer (largest paper in the region) doesn’t run G.A.

Though, I’d advise avoiding Garfield today. There’s been threat of banjo.

jonathanyoung said, The name Cowznofski (Melvin) is from MAD magazine. ————————- Cool, thanks Jonathan! How about this one? Lenny Kosnowski (the spelling is close enough for me, hey, it’s Polish!) was one of the two goofs on the old ‘Laverne and Shirley’ show.

Lenny said his last name (Kosnowski) is Polish for “Help, there’s a hog in my kitchen”.

Thank you, those who posted interesting comments today, and there were lots. Some intelligent enlightenment, some just for fun, some offbeat. I love it all.

Sure beats reading the same ol’ whines every day.