Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for November 30, 2009

Just wondering what happened to the color?

No need for color…

Why does Rufus have an IV tube attached to his TV? A homemade digital converter? A giant hamster watering device for the cat? Hrmm…..?

Morning all!

Woohoo, back to black!

Good here’s my opportunity to meet some of the old characters. I like Rufus already since he has a white cat.

It’s Walt! Gertie’s lost him again already.

jakebb2 - Heh, I didnt notice the nose before, that is a nice touch!

The IV is connected to Rufus’ TV set. It’s a plasma TV. Yes, really. Jim’s joke, not mine. Check the archives.

The tunnel Joe Pye and his boys were digging wasn’t to anything as sensible as a bank. No, they decided to dig a tunnel several hundred yards long and big enough for a car to fit inside in order to steal beer from the basement of a nearby bar.

When Jim didn’t explain what happened after the police car crashed through the roof of the tunnel and the cops arrested everyone in sight, I wrote a bit on the board where Skeezix had to call Clovia to come and pick him up at the police station, where he was most emphatically NOT under arrest. All of which just perfectly completed her day, what with her and Slim having returned from vacation to find a customer’s car destroyed and a huge puddle of oil on the floor, courtesy of Rufus and Joel.

Wait, wait, is that the whole Gertie story? I thought the whole bleeep thing was leading up to a romantic reconnection! And we had that total tease about the Comic Strip Character Retirement Home. Oh well.

Random comments: I also prefer the black and white. Scancarelli’s linework deserves it. It’s always funny to hear people say that “new” characters like Gertie shouldn’t get time at the expense of “classic” characters like Rufus, since Rufus himself pushed out even more “classic” characters decades ago. I would like to see more Walt and Skeezix. It’s Thanksgiving and they haven’t had their Autumn walk yet!!!

There’s no nose against the window. Panel 2 is in profile and Panel 3 is an open door.

Ok, this looks promising. Today I’m a mollified GA fan, settling in for a good story.

Leaving stories unfinished is one of GA’s ways of imitating life in the toon microcosm, and it also creates practically unlimited sequel opportunities that can be picked up whenever. Even months later, or never. I think it’s a good way to do it.

I don’t care where Byrd went or what the Gert decides to do, long as they’re gone. I sure hope they stay gone. One day without them is not yet a breath of GA springtime, but already it’s a start.

I want color!

I’d love to see Paul1963 hook up with Jim, where he provides the story and Jim illustrates it. That way we’d get the fast-moving story with characters from back in the day that people are always asking for, and keep the great art (and visual jokes). I do hope we find out how Joel got out of the grave….

Maybe it’s the little black cat again…in a previous story, a little black cat showed up at the junkyard and Rufus took him in, over Kitty’s jealousy and Joel’s objections (black cats are bad luck, you know.) Guess we’ll have to wait and see…

just leftover turkeys!

Susan001 There are two groups on this comment page. Those who enjoyed the Gertie/Byrd/Walt storyline and those who did not.

I normally don’t pay mind to the nay-sayers unless they get really rude about it, so I’m not sure who’s griping and who’s loving, but I bet you’ll find the majority of lovers are the ‘Get rid of Gertie’ group, and the ‘complainers’ are the ‘We love new characters and wanted a nice resolution to the story’.

I am in agreement with those who think the Gertie/Byrd/Walt storyline will be continued later. It’s the way most stories evolve in Gasoline Alley

I’m suddenly curious…why does everyone in this comic strip age except Rufus’ cat? He’s had a kitten on his arm for like thirty years now. Does he have a closet full of them, and he puts on a new one every week or something?

HectorPriam said, “Is yo’ friend o’ foe?” Has anyone ever answered that question with “foe?”

I bet Conan the Barbarian always answered truthfully.

Jumbo - I’ve thought the same thing about Kitty. About all I remember from reading GA when I was a kid, something like 40 years ago, is Rufus holding Kitty. I always thought of Kitty as some kind of exception to the laws of comics, which is purr-fectly fine. To me having Kitty still be a kitty is one of the things which makes GA great. Somethings should stay the same.

Gawd, I can’t stand R&J and their cornpone humor–and I’m from the Midwest! Part of it has to do with the southern accents. I believe and always will believe that GA concerns a town in Wisconsin, not whatever Deliverance suburb Dick Moore transplanted it to. What I’d like to see is Skeezix and Walt taking a trip, or a flashback with Doc, Avery, et al. or a spotlight on what some of the long-vanished kids are doing.

Amen, Airboy!