Something I saw at Platypus Comix

[Rover_Wow]

So, I re-visited Platypus Comix (maintained by one of our own, actually) for the first time since the Olympics (hey, I liked their Olympics comics, and I even have them saved on my computer), and I found myself clicking a link about old newspapers from 1941 (as well as the feature on the Spanish cartoon Betty Toons, but we won't get into that). The passage opened thusly:

It's been a while since I almost recieved a stackful of extremely old newspapers...
And I wondered what the heck that meant. What that meant was what he refers to as "the biggest find ever blown", or as I'd call it the amateur comic historian's equivalent of "the one that got away" (fishing, anyone?). Basically, some guy offered to give him a bunch of old Sunday comics. We're talking 1920s-40s era. In pristine condition, and a whole stack of it to boot. The webmaster decided to take just one since he had his hands (or car trunk) full that week, but promised to come back the next week to pick up the rest. He still hasn't picked up the rest, since he hasn't seen the guy since. This (http://www.platypuscomix.net/otherpeople/leapinlizards.html) is the one he picked up (it's actually newer than the '41 clippings... but there were older ones).
So, if you're around in Portland, and know of some guy who keeps old comic strips or other old newspaper paraphrenelia, you know who to contact...

[Peter Paltridge]

Yeah, it really stunk that I blew my chance at getting those...it was completely unfair since I had no idea what was ahead.

If you haven't been there since the Olympics, you've missed the entire run of Mulberry so far, including Mul/Kerry/Bush(if you had to go to ONE feature cartoon last year, it had to be that one, it was great. Or the one where Timon and Pumbaa wind up in Michael Jackson's house...that was equally good).

Be extra-sure to check back sometime next week though....something very important will be appearing there that I'll need everyone's opinion on. You'll see what it is....

[Rover_Wow]

Yeah, it really stunk that I blew my chance at getting those...it was completely unfair since I had no idea what was ahead.

Even if you couldn't have known that the comics wouldn't be availabe the next week, couldn't you at least have picked up more than just that one sheet? Say about 10-20? You could then have had, say, the 1928 Orphan Annie, a sample of pre 30's Sunday comics, a sample from each year, and so on. Imagine, the headline would then read: "The only part of my biggest find that I didn't blow. While I'm glad that I got these, it still stinks that I should have thousands more."

(Wonders if Martianinvader still blames the baby... for simply existing.)

And did you ever think of putting some notices at bulletin boards saying: "I am looking for this person, (insert description here), that I last saw in 2000 at So-and-so Art School. He wanted to talk old comic strips with me one week and give me something, but he never showed up."

As I say, if you live in the Portland area and know someone who keeps old comic strips, that someone might be the guy Martianinvader is looking for. Theory: Maybe he donated them to some library so that more people could take a look at the strips?