GASOLINE ALLEY'S 90TH

For the Sunday before Gasoline Alley’s 90th anniversary, Scancarelli produced a special version of the strip that included highlights of its story and portraits of the strip’s originator, Frank King, and the two men who succeeded him and preceded Scancarelli, Bill Perry and Dick Moores. But you know all about them if you’ve read our November’s posting to Harv’s Hindsight at RCHarvey.com, which rehearses the history of the strip and its stewards. Scancarelli has steered down the Alley more in the tracks of King than of Moores’, whom Jim assisted for seven years until Moores died in 1986.

In these days of lifeless lines (from the likes of Scott Adams, Cathy Guisewite, and Stephan Pastis not to mention such newcomers as Chip Dunham in Overboard, Tony Carrillo in F Minus and Alex Hallatt in Arctic Circle, to name distressingly too many), it’s a treat to feast on Scancarelli’s lively brush work on drawings that fill the panels, and he draws more than talking heads. Five of the Alley’s brethren helped celebrate the strip’s anniversary: Blondie, Snuffy Smith, Beetle Bailey, Dennis the Menace, and that other Alley, Oop.

Comments

[Alex Hallatt]

Beautiful linework indeed.