Walt Before Skeezix

Frank King's long-running newspaper strip Gasoline Alley is celebrated for its gentle, real-time chronicle of family life, but the stories that preceded the arrival of its most famous character are often overlooked. Walt Before Skeezix, published as a single volume by Drawn & Quarterly in 2014, collects those formative early years, focusing on bachelor Walt Wallet's pre-parenthood adventures in a small-town American setting. This collection, curated from King's original run, offers fans a crucial, charming look at the strip's origins before the foundling Skeezix changed everything. It's an essential piece of comic strip history, preserving the quieter, more observational humor that laid the groundwork for one of the medium's most beloved families.