Thursday, August 13, 2009

 

Strip Spotters Wanted!

Here's a list of comic strips, all presumably still in syndication, that I have not seen running in any paper. As you know, Stripper's Guide rules say I have to see them running in order to list them in the guide. At this late date, so close to deadline, I'm hoping you folks can help me out. If you've seen these running in a U.S. mainstream paper (paper name please) please let me know. If you can provide a photo or scan of the feature in the paper that would do wonders for my comfort level.

Remember that online sightings don't count, and neither do announcements that a strip is running in a paper. You have to have seen the actual strips with your own peepers. You will be credited with the sighting in the published guide:

Adam's Apples - Jim Adams (local strip in Portland Oregonian) found!
The Barn - Ralph Hagen
Biff and Riley - Jeff Payden (local strip in Toledo Free Press)
Cafe con Leche - Charlos Gary
Daddy's Home - Rubino/Markstein found!
Diss 'n That - Charlos Gary
Free Range - Bill Whitehead found!
Frogtown - Kirk Walters (local strip in Toledo Blade)
Home and Away - Steve Sicula found!
In The Sticks - Nathan Cooper oops - not out yet
Maintaining - Nate Creekmore found!
Pressed - Ryan Pagelow (local in Lake County News-Sun?)
Rip Haywire - Dan Thompson
Scary Gary - Mark Buford found!
Secret Asian Man - Tak Toyoshima found!
Thin Lines - Randy Glasbergen (weekly)
Undertown - Tokyopop (supposedly in Worcester Telegram & Gazette until recently) found!

Comments:
Hi Allan. I work at the Telegram & Gazette. UNDERTOWN ran in the Sunday Telegram for about two years until this spring, when it was replaced by FRAZZ. Thanks for an excellent blog, one I follow every day!
 
Nate Creekmore’s ‘Maintaining’ to end August 1
Posted by Alan Gardner
July 13, 2009

From the Times-Union blog
comes news that Nate Creekmore is ending Maintaining effective August 1.

Here’s what he told the Times-Union in an e-mail:

Maintaining is my comic strip and my intention was to make it as honest and genuine as possible. I’m proud of the work I’ve done with the strip and I’m tremendously grateful to you and your newspaper. You allowed me to share my work with your readers.

Unfortunately, Maintaining was never much of a financial success and recent market conditions have only exacerbated the situation. Universal Press Syndicate has chosen to opt out of its contract with my strip and I’ve decided to discontinue the production of the strip in order to concentrate on other projects.

The final daily strip is set to run on August 1st and the final Sunday is set to run on August 30th.
 
Thanks Brian for verifying Undertown. Don't happen to know if Tokyopop is continuing their series after that, do you? Those guys are so hard to track -- their website is such an incredible mess.

--Allan
 
Hi Tom --
But have you actually seen it running in a paper?

--Allan
 
Hi Allan,

Secret Asian Man is in the San Jose Mercury News, both daily and Sunday. I'll send a scan as soon as I get the paper out of the recycle pile.

Laurie
 
Allan,

I have newspaper tearsheets of the following:

Maintaining - ran in Knoxville News-Sentinel until about a year ago.

Scary Gary - from Chicago Tribune and Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Daddy's Home - I have several Sundays from Atlanta J-C. Also have daily samples from when Washington Post test-runned it during Doonesbury's months-long hiatus.

Home and Away - Have Sunday samples from LA Times.
 
Thanks Charles and Laurie --
That takes care of a nice chunk of these hard-to-find features. Gracias!!

--Allan
 
I'm in Italy, so I can't help you, but in this interview

http://comics.gearlive.com/comix411/article/q308-qa-dan-thompson-and-rip-haywire/

Dan Thompson says, if I'm not wrong, that RIP HAYWYRE is in the Denver Post and in The Oregonian.
Maybe somebody could control...
 
Hi Fortunato --
The problem with just taking quotes like "it runs in the Podunk Herald" at face value is that there are still papers that buy features and then don't run them (or these days, run them only on the website). When a creator says their feature runs in a paper I'm afraid I have to be skeptical and stick to my guns about the old 'eyeballing' rule.

--Allan
 
"Maintaining" also ran in the Albany Times Union, the copy I saw was dated July 29, 2008.
Two copies of The (Portland) Oregonian, dated July 7 and July 11, 2008, ran "Adam's Apple"
 
"In the Sticks", was supposed to debut, it was rumored, on August 10, 2009. As far as I can determine it still hasn't begun syndication yet.
 
A very recent copy (July 30, 2009) of The Cleveland Plain Dealer was running "Free Range" on their comics pages.
 
Thanks DD! Makin' real progress here!!

--Allan
 
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