WALT AND SKEEZIX 1918 & 1920

This volume demonstrates that King had mastered that easy cadence and benevolent outlook even before Skeezix arrived, when the strip still centered around a cast of automobile enthusiasts who congregated in a Chicago back alley. In these pages, dating from 1918 to 1920, Walt and his pals merely tinker with cars, play golf, brew illicit hooch, and tour the countryside. But even in this chronicle of men in the off-hours, King instills the proceedings with his signature brand of kindly, leisurely warmth, and true fellow-feeling. Frank O. King created what is arguably the longest-running story in comic strip history, Gasoline Alley. Begun in 1919 as a simple topical gag strip about the new fad of automobiles, the tone changed in 1921 with the introduction of a foundling baby named "Skeezix," inspired by King's own son, Robert Drew. The life and development of Skeezix soon became the strip's focus, following him through childhood, adulthood, and his own eventual parenthood. Out of Print. Condition: Very Fine.