A Graduate of Pomona
Frank King, Original Art for Gasoline Alley Daily Comic Strip, 14 February 1921 - First Appearance of Skeezix
Gasoline Alley by Frank King began as a single panel in an earlier series by King, The Rectangle. The strip was centered around four characters, Walt, Doc, Avery, and Bill and their interactions with each other and their automobiles in the alley behind their homes. In order to broaden the appeal of what had been a male oriented strip to women, it was decided to introduce a baby, Skeezix, who was abandoned on bachelor Walt Wallet's doorstep on Valentine's Day, 1921. After initially trying to get someone else to take and raise the baby, Walt bonds with Skeezix and ultimately adopts the child -- but only after the natural mother and even the real father who had never seen Skeezix before both went to great lengths to be awarded custody. King's characters were unique in the comic strip universe in that they aged in real time beginning with the introduction of Skeezix.
It had been rumored for decades that almost all the original art for Gasoline Alley had been burned by Frank King, but this was proven to be false when a large number of originals turned up a few years ago. The had been handed down within King's family and preserved by his grandchildren, who decided to sell them at auction. Fortunately, among the originals to survive was this historic daily, where Walt discovered Skeezix in a basket on his doorstep, which was the beginning of a narrative which has continued to this day.
Frank King, Original Art for Gasoline Alley Daily Comic Strip, 14 February 1921 - First Appearance of Skeezix
Gasoline Alley by Frank King began as a single panel in an earlier series by King, The Rectangle. The strip was centered around four characters, Walt, Doc, Avery, and Bill and their interactions with each other and their automobiles in the alley behind their homes. In order to broaden the appeal of what had been a male oriented strip to women, it was decided to introduce a baby, Skeezix, who was abandoned on bachelor Walt Wallet's doorstep on Valentine's Day, 1921. After initially trying to get someone else to take and raise the baby, Walt bonds with Skeezix and ultimately adopts the child -- but only after the natural mother and even the real father who had never seen Skeezix before both went to great lengths to be awarded custody. King's characters were unique in the comic strip universe in that they aged in real time beginning with the introduction of Skeezix.
It had been rumored for decades that almost all the original art for Gasoline Alley had been burned by Frank King, but this was proven to be false when a large number of originals turned up a few years ago. The had been handed down within King's family and preserved by his grandchildren, who decided to sell them at auction. Fortunately, among the originals to survive was this historic daily, where Walt discovered Skeezix in a basket on his doorstep, which was the beginning of a narrative which has continued to this day.