Gasoline Alley by Jim Scancarelli for October 21, 2009

Happy days now and ahead . Your timing is great Jim , thanks !

Finally, the moment we’ve been waiting for. How is the end game going to play out now?

Awwwww.

What happened to Walt????

Heh, I’m just waiting for the two Grumpy Old Men in the balcony box to mutter …

And you thought vaudeville died out back in the 1940s!

There’s still a surprise or two in store for this storyline … then maybe it will end gracefully and we can return to the regular, historical GA characters.

A grand moment, made sweeter by the twists and turns along the way.

UNCLE WALT!!! WHERE ARE YOU!!! GRRRRR!

Thank God for on line comics, The KC Star dropped Gasoline Alley and others years ago.

These comics are drawn in color every day. The last time I checked the Daily Oklahoman still prints theirs IN COLOR every day. Three cheers…for them

Comics should be printed in b&w, like God and Walt Kelley intended. It’s tradition, it’s cultural. Just because we can do a thing doesnt mean we need to do a thing. Sunday color comics are one thing, dailies are just too much. Color is an editors way of making it look like he’s giving us value while actually doing very little. Instead of color I’d much rather have more space in my newspaper devoted to the comics. Maybe then artists could have the space they need to tell their stories the way they want, instead of limiting themselves to 3 or 4 panels. Look at some of the old classic comics at Daily Ink dot com. Wonderful, huge panels, where the mood is set by shading, not color. Color is just an easy out for an artist. A true artist, like our Jim, can set a mood with only one. Black, on a white background.

Way to go Byrd, you made me proud. Thanks Jim, for a wonderful story. You are the best.

I’m a sucker for happy ending. Gertie went through a lot to get to this.

It’s justification for being thrown out all those times and having to sneak in. I hope that creep manager hears this.

I hope this storyline keeps going there is more that can be done I am enjoying so much. Thank heavens the writers came up with more on Gertie and Byrd.

I thought the pace of this arc was just as much artistry as the drawing itself. A story needs time to build and gather intrigue. And what a great ending! I bet Terry and the diner staff are looking after Walt.

She was and IS the inspiration for my composition “Angel Food!” No, I mean “Beagle Eyes!” I mean “Beddy Byes!” … aw, shoot…

Well hello, Gertie Hellooo, Gertie It’s so nice to have you back where you belong

How many other women sitting in the audience were told that song was written for them….Gertie may not be the only Angel Eyes

Yeah, but how many of them are on stage with Byrd and he’s telling the world?

Like Jackie Gleason said years ago….”How sweet it is”….and…”Away weee go!”….

Gertie may have to make a big decision. Go on the road with Byrd or stick with Walt. What will she do?

I checked out some of the Gasoline Alley strips from the 20s, 30s, 40s, etc. I was astounded that they appeared in newspapers which advertised there there were SIXTEEN pages of color comics on Sunday - and the newspapers only cost a nickle back in those days!

The comics have ALWAYS “sold” the newspapers. Beginning with the advent of radio - audiences could always get their news somewhere else. But ONLY newspapers could deliver comic strips. It is no wonder that newspapers have all fallen on hard times since they began tossing their comic pages overboard!

Deborah, Being in the military my family always moved around alot. One of the first things we always did in a new town was subscribe to the paper. For one it was always a good way to get to know the new town. But our real main reason was to get the comics. And what was always nice was that no matter how strange or different the new place was we always had old friends in the newspaper funnies. Especially the Stars & Stripes. That’s a comic friendly newspaper.

Norm, You’re always talking about other folks attacking you. I suppose you think that your comment to Doty wasn’t an attack, it was simply a rhetorical question, right? Sometimes you really push the limits of cuddly, crusty old codger too far. Joe had an honest question, maybe a bit obvious, true, but what’s the harm? We can’t all be eloquent, erudite and loquacious, like you.

Speak of grumpy old men, and one appears…

Dypak, I too am happy the GA dailies are b&w, but I love the color Sundays as a once-a-week treat. I hope Jim will bring the Earl and Gertie saga into the Sundays soon.

Not to worry Dypak, Not Norman’s just being his usual grumpy self. He never has anything positive to say!

Dypak:

“God and Walt Kelly”…indeed.

The drawing in the first panel makes me want to pick up some art tools and try to create something beautiful too. So nice. And thrilled for Gertie… hoping it keeps going well for her from this point on.

NotNormanChubsyUbsy said, Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”

Do you flatter yourself? Very well then you flatter yourself.