| Title | : | Walt Before Skeezix |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1770461418 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781770461413 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 720 |
| Publication | : | First published March 25, 2014 |
Walt Before Skeezix collects the first years of Frank King's beloved comic strip Gasoline Alley ―one of the most widely read and syndicated strips of its time, which is still syndicated today. These comics, produced between 1919 and 1920, focus primarily on Walt Wallet and his friends as they engage with the then-novel automobile sensation that was sweeping the nation.
This period of the newspaper strip is especially fascinating as a historical time capsule, charting a moment in America's past when horses and buggies shared the road with cars, and when the country was making the transition from rural farmers to urban, industrialized society.
King was a pioneering American cartoonist who changed comics forever by setting his strip in contemporary America and having his characters age. These lavish volumes pay tribute to the evolution of his style and storytelling. Designed and edited by the world-renowned cartoonist Chris Ware ( Building Stories ), Walt Before Skeezix includes a wide-ranging introductory essay from the noted comics historian Jeet Heer, the coeditor of Arguing Literary Masters on a Popular Medium , and an essay by Tim Samuelson, the cultural historian for the city of Chicago, about how Chicago's history is reflected in King's newspaper strip.
Walt Before Skeezix Reviews
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I'm fascinated with the early days of long-running comic strips, back before they'd settled into the idea of doing the same joke for decades at a time. It sometimes takes a while to find an angle people will like, which is why Beetle Bailey was a college strip until the title character joined the army.
In this case, Gasoline Alley started life being about some guys standing around talking about cars in 1918. Back then, having an automobile was a niche hobby, and it took a lot of work to keep yours running. Tires had to be patched and engines had to be disassembled constantly. Over the first few months, the interchangeable characters began to distinguish themselves, so there was The Cheap One, The One Who Wants to Sell His Car, and so forth. The One Who Always Says His Steam-Powered Car Is Better was dropped, and Frank King settled on four main characters: Avery, Doc, Bill, and Walt. They even stopped working on cars in every strip, because cartoonists cannot resist bringing golf into things.
Walt's trait was "Friendly guy who's not married." His catchphrase, slowly established over the first few years, was "Oh boy! I'll say I know when I'm well off!"
After the period this book covers, in 1921, Walt found an orphan that was eventually named Skeezix. From that point, the strip changed. Walt became the main character, and everyone started aging in (more or less) real time. The story's been progressing for generations as people (even Walt!) got married and had children and so forth. By now, in 2015, Skeezix is a grandfather and Walt's really implausibly old.
The cartooning in this book is great. There's a freshness and vitality you don't get these days. The reproduction isn't always great, but you have to expect that when you're talking about newspaper strips from over a hundred years old. -
Satisfied my curiosity about the nature of the early (pre-Skeezix) strips, and prepared me for devouring the Walt and Skeezix volumes. I see Frank King's influence on R Crumb and Harvey Pekar in the panel configurations and inking, enjoy following the development of King's style from the beginning. He took care to individualize the appearance of his characters (some more decipherable and appealing than others.)
The notes are respectful and informative, well-illustrated.
