Frank King - Gasoline Alley daily - 11-24-51

King's 1940s and 50s dailies show a delicate feeling for mood and character relationships, expressed sometimes through dramatic lighting, and often through subtle body language and interaction in dialogue scenes. The chiaroscuro shading in this strip, along with the naturalistic dialogue, captures the feel of a late-night homework session in which the characters share their most intimate feelings. I love the stylization of the figures -- these teenage girls have a sculptural, almost monumental quality that puts me in the mind of Thomas Hart Benton.