As we noted the other day, the current storyline of the Gasoline Alley newspaper strip involves the death of a long-time character, probably Uncle Walt Wallet but perhaps his wife Phyllis and perhaps both of them. Writer-artist Jim Scancarelli has artfully taken us through the mourning without telling us just who is being mourned. This non-disclosure has reportedly irritated many fans but according to this article, all will be revealed in the May 5 strip. You can read today's at this link. I will admit to a little frustration at how Scancarelli is drawing things out but I have the feeling he will wrap things up in a satisfying way.

Also, we note that to the surprise of no one who knows how these things work, the cast of The Simpsons has signed a new four-year contract to voice Homer, Bart, Marge and all the rest. For a time, a brief panic ran through some channels of the animation industry, the fear being that the actors' demands would torpedo production of the series and put a lot of artists out of work. I understand how people can be fearful of unemployment, especially at a time when things are so shaky in the industry. But realistically, there was never much of a chance that The Simpsons would stop…or if it had, it would not have been because of the actors.

Boy, I wish I had more to report about this fine comic convention I'm attending this weekend. I'm having a very good time but not in a way that yields gobs of anecdotes I can post here. Saw Russ Heath and Bob Burden today and spent some time talking to Tom Yeates, who is doing a very nice job drawing Dark Horse's new Conan comic book. I picked up a lovely new book that Manuel Auad has assembled of the work of Spanish comic artist Jordi Bernet, and chatted with the widow and son of another great comic artist, the late Alfredo P. Alcala.

Met a lot of people who read this weblog and that's always nice. Especially fun was to meet in person a sharp lady named Rephah Berg whom I have otherwise known only through e-mail. Whenever I post something here that contains a typo, which is way too often, there are about five folks who immediately send me a message about it so I can correct it before most of you see the thing. Rephah is one of my most valuable typo-catchers. If anyone reading this needs a great editor-proofreader, drop me a note and I'll send you on to her.

I didn't get to meet him (too big a crowd) but Sid Haig is at the show. Sid Haig is one of those great character actors who works all the time, almost always playing villains, impressing all who become aware of him. I first noticed him giving a standout performance in an otherwise dreadful Roger Corman film called The Big Doll House, all about women who are sentenced to prison and to the taking of showers. My friends and I all became big fans of his. I remember when we went to see a revival screening of Diamonds are Forever. There's a scene where a bunch of gangland-style hoods move in to surround Sean Connery and we all muttered, "Look! Sid Haig is about to kill James Bond!" If by some chance I find him unmobbed tomorrow at the con, I'm going to barge up to him and get an autographed picture. I don't actually collect autographed pictures but I'd like to shake his hand and tell him how many things I've seen him in.

We did a round of our Quick Draw! game with Sergio Aragonés, Kyle Baker, Scott Shaw! and Steve Leialoha and I think a good time was had by all. This is fast becoming one of my favorite parts of any convention, and I urge you to see the competition we're planning for the Comic-Con International in San Diego.

This evening, I dropped in on a party where the music was so loud that I could only hear about 20% of what friends were trying to say to me and I strained my throat, yelling back to them so they could hear me say that I couldn't hear what they were trying to say to me. I left quickly, then ran into some other friends who said, "Come with us to a party." They took me to another cluster of con attendees where I also couldn't hear, so I decided to come back up to the room and work on an article that's due shortly. I frankly have never understood why people feel compelled to have music at all, let alone at deafening levels, at parties where the main intent is for folks to communicate with one another. A few people were dancing at the second gathering but there still didn't seem to be any excuse for the volume. I am blessed/cursed (hard to tell which, sometimes) with the kind of hearing that picks up noises from all around whatever space I am in, so I assume it's not as bad for some others as it is for me. Still, when I become the Absolute Ruler of All Mankind, I intend to banish music from any party where the main premise is not to listen to music. I will of course also make Karaoke punishable by death but I assume everyone's in favor of that.

Tomorrow: One more panel and I'm off to the airport. I'll see if I can meet Sid Haig before I go.

The Moscone Center in San Francisco is filled with comic book fans, comic book creators and comic books. There are also a few actors and models and one hapless lady who has been assigned by the convention center folks to go up and down the aisles with a pushcart of snacks to sell. So far, she's the only one who doesn't seem to be having a great time. There's no real event to report and I don't expect there will be, but I'm enjoying myself.

Wandered the halls in the morning, did back-to-back panels with Sergio Whatzisname and Paul Dini. Saw a lot of fine comic book folks including Brent Anderson, Tony deZuniga, Dave Stevens, Al Gordon, Steve Leialoha, Trina Robbins, Kyle Baker, Darwyn Cooke, Bruce Timm, David Spurlock, Howard Chaykin, Scott Shaw!, Nick Barrucci, Batton Lash and Jackie Estrada. Whoever I left out, forgive me. It's late.

One thing I've learned, not so much about conventions but about myself is that I enjoy cons more when (a) I have no business to transact, no person that I have to see about some project. And (b) I enjoy cons more when I don't go to too many of them. There's a sense in which they blur together since one convention hall full of dealers and their tables doesn't look all that different from another convention hall full of dealers and their tables. There was a time when I'd arrive at one, walk in and have an overwhelming sensation of déjà vu, as if to say, "I've been to this convention before." For a while, I'd feel so privileged when some con offered to fly me in and put me up that I'd say yes, get there and think, "Why am I here?" One reason I've come to enjoy hosting panels and events at these things is that every one of those is a little different.

Favorite Moment So Far: A kid with a pad of paper comes up to a noted artist (one of those named above) and says, "I'm a big fan of your work. Would you do me a little drawing?" The artist asks which of the many characters he draws the kid would like him to draw…and it is instantly obvious that the kid has no idea who this artist is. He's just out to get free sketches, hoping someday one of them will be worth something. He stammers and says, taking a wild guess, "The X-Men?" (He even said it with the question mark on the end with kind of a hopeful note.) The artist says, "I've never drawn the X-Men" but he uncaps his pen to do the kid a drawing anyway. He puts down what look like the opening strokes of a Batman and the kid says, "Batman! I meant Batman!" After I post this, I'm going to check and see if it's on eBay yet.

For some reason — probably to confuse terrorists — if you book Alaska Airlines flight 1856 from Los Angeles to San Francisco, you are automatically booked instead on American Airlines flight 1928 from Los Angeles to San Francisco. Alaska Airlines has no actual flight 1856. It's all a sham to get you on American.

Anyway, I fell for it and flew this morn to that city we're all sick of hearing Tony Bennett leave his heart in. A funny taxi driver asked me if I knew why driving to and from the airport was the safest gig a cabbie could have. Lapsing momentarily into Steve Rossi mode, I said, "No, why is driving to and from the airport the safest gig a cabbie could have?"

He said, "Because your fares never pull a gun on you. If they're coming from the airport, their luggage has already been screened. And if they're going to the airport armed, they've got bigger things in mind for that gun." He seemed to think this was very funny so I gave him a big guffaw in lieu of tipping.

Checked into a hotel a few blocks from where the gala WonderCon (which I keep plugging here) is being held, then linked up with my pal-partner Sergio Aragonés. Sergio promptly kidnapped me and drove us to Santa Rosa and the Charles M. Schulz Museum, a beautiful structure that chronicles the life and art of a man who created a beautiful comic strip. If you have the slightest interest in Good Ol' Charlie Brown, you owe it to yourself to make a pilgrimage to this place, and don't just stop there. Go across the street and see the public skating rink that "Sparky" Schulz had built, then go see the huge Peanuts gift shop, which is crammed full of stuffed Snoopy dolls and lovely Lucy figurines. (There's also a lot of historical material in the gift shop.) Nice to meet Jean Schulz in person after knowing her only on the phone and by reputation. She is really doing a terrific job of managing the legacy.

Then we drove all over Northern California, walked around Sonoma and ate lobsters, then bought gas and came back to the hotel. I'm sitting here in my room, writing. Sergio is eleven stories below me in his room, drawing cartoons. It was a nice vacation while it lasted.

The greatest scientific breakthrough of our time is not fiber optics or cloning and it has nothing to do with stem cells. It's the Reach Access Daily Flosser. I bought one the other night and can't believe it's taken this long for someone to come up with a product that makes it easy…almost fun to floss your teeth and gums. Those little floss-picks are okay but they have short handles that come off one side so you're limited as to how you can angle them. The Reach Access Daily Flosser has a toothbrush-length handle and it's centered on the flossing-part which makes it much easier to manuever. I may give up writing and just sit here and floss all day. This website will tell you more about it and there's even a coupon there for a buck off, which isn't bad because this wonderful invention sells for around five dollars…and that includes 21 replacement heads. I'd tell you more about it but I have to go floss.

[VITAL UPDATE: Here's a link to sign up for a free Reach Access Daily Flosser sample pack. What more could a person want?]

Here's Fred Kaplan on what's going on in Fallujah. And here's Timothy Noah on a possible future for Iraq that would probably cause even more unrest than bringing Saddam back.

Here for your purchasing pleasure is an Amazon link to pre-order the forthcoming DVD set of Garfield and Friends, a cartoon show I wrote back in my younger days. (I never quite understood that phrase, "younger days." What you did yesterday was done on a "younger day"…but let's not spoil a shameless plug with logic.) This set, which will be out near the end of July, includes 24 half-hour episodes of the most enjoyable experience I ever had in television. I'd like to think it shows. The set includes but one measly extra — the trailer for the live-action/CGI movie — but why do you need extras when you have twelve hours of jokes about eating lasagna, kicking puppies off the table, sleeping and mailing cute kittens to Abu Dhabi? A second volume of 24 more shows is tentatively set for release in time for Christmas and I'll probably harangue you about ordering it, too.

Another great eBay bargain.

Deep sympathies to the co-creator of Green Lantern, Mart Nodell, on the death of his charming spouse, Carrie. The Nodells met in October of 1941 and were married less than two months later. (Carrie always said, "I was in the wedding shop, picking out my dress when I heard Pearl Harbor had been attacked.") They were inseparable thereafter and she aided him, in a non-drawing capacity, with his work as a comic book artist and later as a commercial illustrator. The last decade or so, Marty has been a warm and welcome presence at comic conventions and we all came to love Carrie, who was never far from his side.

[NOTE: If you haven't read the previous message, read it before you read this one.]

Okay, I'm back. A lady eventually comes on the line and informs me that my account is in arrears, I must pay within 48 hours, etc. I tell her I signed up for automatic payment. She says there is no such thing at SBC. "You have to go to the website every month and pay online," she tells me. I respond by reading her the following paragraph off the website…

Pay your telephone bill automatically by having the total amount of your bill charged to your credit card, or deducted from your checking or savings account at a bank, credit union, or savings and loan. Automatic bill payment eliminates overlooked bills and the deduction is automatic; there's no need to contact us each month. Your regularly scheduled bill will be automatically paid on the due date.

To this, the lady says, "Well, I don't know what it says on the website but payment is not automatic. You have to go to the website each month and enter the information so we can charge your credit card or checking account." We then hold a brief colloquy on the meaning of the word "automatic" and when she sticks to her ground, I demand to be passed to someone higher in rank at SBC.

I'll cut to the chase here: Finally, I reach a gent who figures out the problem. I had signed up for SBC's EBill plan which used to allow automatic payments but was changed two months ago so now it's like the lady said: You have to go to the site and manually enter the info to pay your bill online. He says they sent me a statement about this but if they did, I never saw it. SBC has also instituted two new automatic payment plans which they call SBC Direct Payment (for checking) and SBC EasyCharge (for credit cards). Why they didn't just e-mail me and ask if I wanted to switch over, I don't know. But the paragraph quoted above applies not to the EBill program but to the two new services. In some parts of their site, that is clear but on the page I was on, it is not.

The fellow on the phone was very nice. He said I'm not the only person who has been confused this way and he assured me that my credit rating with SBC would not suffer for the misunderstanding. He apologized in all the right places and said he'd inform the folks upstairs that something has to be fixed here.

The whole thing took well over an hour. Ah…online bill payment is such a time saver.

So a little while ago, I get this real insulting phone call from a human being (I'm being charitable) who works for SBC, which is my phone provider. He says my phone bill is overdue and if I don't make payment in 48 hours, my phones will be shut off and I will have to pay all sorts of deposits and penalty fees along with my bill to get them turned on again. I inform the gent that I signed up for SBC's online bill collection service, whereby the total amount of the bill is deducted directly from my checking account each month. If the bill hasn't been paid, I tell him, it's their fault, not mine. The man is very persistent and he keeps saying, "Well, no matter whose fault it is, the bill must be paid in two days." I get the feeling he is on some sort of quota with his employer. No matter what the circumstances, if he doesn't collect promptly on X% of all the matters assigned to him, he gets demoted or fired or something. At least, that's my impression.

He says that I must either arrange for payment with him right now via credit card or talk to their Business Office. I elect to talk to their Business Office and he gives me its 800 number.

I call the Business Office and follow the voice prompts that are supposed to get me to the person with whom I can discuss this situation. This immediately routes my call to something they call QuickService, which is a computerized payment process that asks me to enter my credit card number so my outstanding balance can be charged to the card. There are no other options, no way by which I can talk to a human being.

I hang up, call back and listen once again to the voice prompts, figuring there must be something I can select that will steer my call to a person. No matter what I push, I am dragged back to QuickService and a cheery voice demanding I enter my credit card number so that my bill can be paid in full immediately.

I again hang up and go to the SBC website. There I find dozens of different places where they inform me how to contact them if I have a question or problem with my bill. Unfortunately, they all give me that same 800 number.

I call the 800 number again and this time, I do not follow the voice prompts. I do not enter the information for which I am asked when it is requested. No matter what I'm asked for, I hit "0" for Operator. Amazingly, this enables me to escape the dead end of QuickService. I am finally steered to a voice that tells me all of their service representatives are busy and if I will stay on the line, my call will be answered in the order received. Oh, yes — and they tell me my call is important to them, which is darned flattering. So I wait on hold for…well, I'm not sure how long it is but the above was written during the period I've been waiting so far.

Hold on. It sounds like a person is coming on line. I'll be back to you in a bit.

According to this, it's just going to be Ted Koppel showing photos of men and women killed in recent combat and giving their names.

Immediately after, Jimmy Kimmel welcomes actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, rap artist/TV host Xzibit "Pimp My Ride" and musical guests Flaming Lips.

Good programming flow.

As readers of this site know, my current favorite "new" standup comedian is Lewis Black. Comedy Central has two old half-hour shows in which he performs monologue material and they're running them this Friday night. If I understand the schedule correctly, they're running one at 8:30 PM. Then they run the other at 10:00, followed by the first one again at 10:30. Subtract three hours from those times for Pacific. Anyway, taping or TiVoing for an hour beginning at 10 PM (7 PM, Pacific) should get both of them. They're not as good as seeing him live but they'll give you an idea of what you'd experience if you did.

Black is currently on tour, as itemized over at his website [WARNING: Overly-fancy graphics that make it difficult to read]. He also has a major HBO Special that debuts May 15 which I expect to like a lot.

The recent continuity in Doonesbury regarding B.D.'s war injury eclipsed a dramatic plot twist in another newspaper strip. Gasoline Alley has been around since 1918 when Frank King created it. King and a couple of assistants did it until 1956 when it was taken over by Dick Moores, who many feel made it into an even better feature. Since 1986, Jim Scancarelli has been the guy in charge of what is still, in some circles, a much-loved strip about a much-loved family.

One of the innovative things about Gasoline Alley was that King allowed his players to age more or less normally and for the focus of the strip to shift as different things happened in their lives. Initially, Walt Wallet was more or less the star of the strip and in 1921, Walt found a baby on his doorstep. That baby, who was named Skeezix, actually grew up in the strip in something close to real time and eventually became the main character. Ol' Walt Wallet aged at roughly the same rate though Dick Moores found it necessary to slow down and even stop the process. Scancarelli has somewhat restarted the clock.

In the current storyline, death has finally come to one (maybe two) of the strip's oldest characters. I am not being evasive. Scancarelli is deliberately writing it so you're not sure who Skeezix and the others are grieving over. It appears to be Uncle Walt Wallet, but the dialogue and art are ambiguous. Some readers think it's his wife Phyllis while others think they've both passed away. This is actually being debated on many message boards at the moment.

I don't have a guess, but it seems like a very intriguing, well-planned storyline. At least, it prompted me to go back and read the last few months of Gasoline Alley, which I enjoyed quite a bit. The current strip can be read at this website and there's an Archive feature there which will enable you to go back a few weeks and then read forward in sequence. If you have a little time, go back to the 2/23/04 strip and read two months of strips that will take you up to today. If you're in a hurry, start with 4/5/04.