Walt and Skeezix: Book Four: 1927-1928 (Walt & Skeezix) [Hardcover]

Frank King (Author), Chris Ware (Editor), Jeet Heer (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 13, 2010 | Series: Walt & Skeezix

THE LONG-AWAITED NEW VOLUME FROM THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED ARCHIVAL COLLECTION OF FRANK KING’S CLASSIC STRIP

In this fourth volume of Walt and Skeezix, the newly married Walt Wallet settles into domestic life with his wife, Phyllis, and their adopted son, Skeezix, but their family bliss is soon disrupted by a man who claims to be Skeezix’s natural father. A long custody battle erupts, raising questions as to the importance of blood ties compared with a loving environment. Later, Walt and Phyllis have to deal with all the dilemmas of a young couple’s life as their family starts to unexpectedly expand. This is the very stuff of life—paying the bills, nursing a sick child, finding the right job while spending quality time with family—expertly explored with cartoonist Frank King’s unerring fidelity to reality. In unfolding the drama of the Wallet family’s life, King displays his full mastery of long and complex narratives, which made his work a forerunner to the modern graphic novel. In his introduction to the series, Jeet Heer explores King’s storytelling prowess and links the concerns of the strip with changes in American culture in the 1920s. Lavishly illustrated with King’s family photos, the book is designed by Chris Ware, whose elegant and detail-rich books have revolutionized the graphic novel field.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

After a delay of more than two years, the series collecting King’s long-running newspaper strip Gasoline Alley returns. The centerpiece is a suspenseful sequence in which a wealthy European aristocrat kidnaps Skeezix—the foundling left on Walt Wallet’s doorstep six years earlier—claiming to be the child’s natural father, culminating in a courtroom custody battle. But even more compelling is the homespun charm of the episodes that quietly portray the everyday domestic life of Walt; his new wife, Phyllis; and their endearing youngster. King’s drawing is simple but effective; it would fully blossom in the years to come, particularly in his elaborate Sunday pages. --Gordon Flagg

Review

“King’s artwork continues to flower, and his flair for finding the affective kernel in each day of his characters’ lives never flags.” —Booklist

“The best Gasoline Alley strips provoke smiles of recognition more than laughter—they’re small,happymoments preserved fromthe changes time brings about.” —DOUGLAS WOLK, The Washington Post Book World

“The strips reflect an inventiveness on a par with masters like Winsor McCay and Will Eisner.” —Entertainment Weekly

“Frank King’s Gasoline Alley may be the best syndicated comic strip ever. Walt and Skeezix lovingly collects two years’ worth of the strip.” —Playboy

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly; 1 Reprint edition (April 13, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1897299397
• ISBN-13: 978-1897299395
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 9.8 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #466,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #74 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > Drawn and Quarterly

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't Wait For Book 5!, May 17, 2010

By 

Neil L. Shapiro - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walt and Skeezix: Book Four: 1927-1928 (Walt & Skeezix) (Hardcover)

It took so long for Book 4 to come out but it was certainly worth the wait. These Walt and Skeezix (Gasoline Alley) strips from the first years are fabulous. The artwork, the characterizations, the plot elements all are simply some of the best that have ever been in any strip. OK, publisher -- get to work on Book 5! Don't make us wait so long again. Oh, and go back to the paper you used in Books 1, 2 and 3. This new paper is a little too yellow in color, not impossible to get used to but it shouldn't be tinted any deeper than the paper was in the first three books. Meanwhile, for anyone wondering if comic strips this old can hold up -- these not only hold up but are a challenge to cartoonists of today to do even a fraction as well.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars George Herriman, Winsor McCay, E.C. Segar and, May 7, 2010

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Uncle B. (Helsinki Finland) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Walt and Skeezix: Book Four: 1927-1928 (Walt & Skeezix) (Hardcover)

Frank King! If there'd be Mount Rushmore faces for cartoonists, those are the artists that should be up there! And this is a series that should be in every fan's shelf. I hope they'll continue it soon after this one.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars the greatest, May 19, 2010

By 

A. Grossman (Florence, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Walt and Skeezix: Book Four: 1927-1928 (Walt & Skeezix) (Hardcover)

There's no doubt that Gasoline Alley is the greatest comic strip - at least in the early years - of all time. It is probably the only strip where the characters are real - so very real - and age. You can't say that about Stone Soup, LOA, Terry and the Pirates, Peanuts, Calvin and Hobbes, Beetle Bailey and all the others. King was fantastic story teller, artist and humanitarian and it shows in every panel. All four volumes plus the fantastic book of Sundays belong in everyone's collection of great books. Frank King must have been a warm and wonderful human being. GA is the best medicine for today's sick world.