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Below you'll find juicy tidbits about the newest Peanuts merchandise releases,
upcoming books, postage stamp and personal checks, and just about anything else deemed
"crucial" to avid Peanuts fans.
If you'd like to know where to buy some of the items mentioned here, check out our
Shop Till You Drop section.
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Put a Beagle on your license plate!
Hey, West Coasters!
The California Association of Museums has announced an opportunity
to commemorate a very special California artist: Santa Rosa's own Charles M. Schulz.
Do you live in California? Are you a registered vehicle owner?
Do you love Snoopy? Sign up today for the official California Snoopy license plate.
To make this happen, we need 7,500 owners of registered vehicles in
California to stand up and let us know they want to see Snoopy on a
California license plate. It doesn't cost anything to sign up;
you're just expressing your interest.
When the plate is produced, proceeds will go toward supporting museums
in California communities, and you'll get the chance to show off your
devotion to your favorite beagle.
Each plate will feature Snoopy in his signature happy dance,
drawn in classic Sparky style.
Lucy gets her due!
As reported in the Santa Rosa, California, Press Democrat, this summer
the family of the late Charles Schulz will add one more character to the
Peanuts statues that have resided in Santa Rosa since 2005. Local artists
customized 5-foot-tall Charlie Brown figures that year, Woodstock figures
in 2006 and Snoopy figures in 2007.
Now it's Lucy's turn. Craig Schulz said there is money left over from
the polyurethane statue project, which produced funds for art scholarships
and for production of the bronze Peanuts sculptures at the county airport
named for his father, and at Finley Community Center.
And this time there's a little hidden bonus.
Woodstock, the fluffy little yellow bird character, already has his
own series of statues, introduced back in 2006, but he's sneaking
back into the act this year.
"We're going to incorporate a 'Where's Woodstock' theme, where each
statue will have a tiny Woodstock placed on it. And those who can find
all 30 of the Woodstocks can turn that list back into the Visitors Center
and get some little giveaway prize," said Craig Schulz, son of Peanuts
creator Charles Schulz.
The VisitorŐs Center in Railroad Square -- next to the big bronze
statue of Charlie Brown and Snoopy -- will be handing out a form with
every Lucy statue listed. Each Lucy statue has a very small Woodstock
sticker with a number on it, somewhere on its surface. Participants must
visit each statue, find the Woodstock with the number, and put that
number next to the corresponding statue on the form. Then they can
return it to the VisitorŐs Center for a prize. This activity began June 2.
Here's the schedule:
All Lucys will be displayed in Santa Rosa through
September, at various locations throughout the city.
One Lucy statue will be raffled off; details are pending.
After September, 11 Lucys will go back to their sponsors; the
remaining statues will be permanently placed in public spaces throughout
Santa Rosa. There will be no auction of statues this time.
Flying Ace Airlines?
How cool is this!
Germany will celebrate the 60th anniversary of Peanuts with a promotion
with Condor Airlines. The promotion will feature Peanuts on the entire
fleet of 34 planes, along with Peanuts in-flight entertainment, a Snoopy
Kids Menu, and Peanuts coloring books. Numerous events are being planned
throughout the year.
The skies just got a bit friendlier!
Attention numismatists!
The British Virgin Islands has issued a commemorative $1 coin that celebrates
60 years of Peanuts. This is a genuine legal tender -- in the British Virgin
Islands, anyway! -- although I can't imagine anybody ever would spend one of
these. Click on the image above, and you'll be taken to a Web site where you
can order one. The coin comes packaged with a darling miniature plush Snoopy,
all in an attractive gift box. The price is a bit stiff ($39 plus shipping and
handling), but you've got to admit, this is a pretty neat collectible.
While visiting this site, you'll also notice an earlier 2001 $1 Peanuts
commemorative coin issued by the South Pacific island nation of Niue. This one
has the WWI Flying Ace on one side, and Queen Elizabeth II on the other, and is
a much more reasonable $9.95.
ECC gathering
The East Coast Collectors also will gather later this year.
They'll celebrate Peanuts' 60th Anniversary Sept. 30th to Oct. 3rd,
in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, at the Dolce Valley Forge Hotel.
Rooms are $95 per night; reservations can be made at (610) 337-1200.
Registration details for the event are in ECC's March newsletter;
contact Chuck Macy at snoopyeastcoast@aol.com, if you wish to join in
the fun.
CCI needs your help!
The folks at Canine Companions for Independence are seeking volunteer puppy raisers,
to help develop those "super dogs" that become such an important part of an eventual
owner's life. Click on the image above to find out more at CCI's Web site.
George Winston's new album of Vince Guaraldi music
Pianist George Winston recorded a tribute album in 1996 to jazz pianist
Vince Guaraldi (1928-76), a musician beloved by generations for the compositions
he recorded for various Charlie Brown television specials and for his standard,
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind." Winston's album was Linus & Lucy: The Music of
Vince Guaraldi.
This year, Winston has revisited his musical hero a second time with Love Will
Come: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Vol. 2, a new collection of
Guaraldi interpretations. The 16-song album was released in early February.
Many of the songs from Winston's new album are from Peanuts TV episodes.
These include "Time For Love," from There's No Time For Love, Charlie Brown;
"Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown," "Love Will Come," "Woodstock," "Little Birdie,"
"It Was a Short Summer Charlie Brown," "Rain, Rain, Go Away," "Air Music" and
"You're Elected Charlie Brown." The album also features other Guaraldi
compositions from his jazz albums.
The full track listing:
1. "Time for Love"
2. "It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown"
3. "Macedonia"/"Little David"
4. "Woodstock"
5. "Fenwyck's Farfel"/"Calling Dr. Funk"
6. "Room at the Bottom"
7. "Air Music"
8. "Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown"
9. "You're Elected, Charlie Brown"/"Little Birdie"
10. "Brasilia"
11. "Jambos (Casaba)"
12. "Pebble Beach"/"Dolores Park"
13. "Love Will Come"
14. "Rain Rain, Go Away"
15. "Nobody Else"
16. "Love Will Come #2"
Vinyl bonus tracks:
17. "Dilemma"
18. "Seeds for Thought"/"Ballad for Oscar"
19. "Christmas Time Is Here"
The version of the CD available from Barnes & Noble will have yet another,
different bonus track, "Charlie Brown's Baseball Theme."
As a 16-year-old, Winston (not yet playing music, but an avid fan of
instrumental music) became captivated by the Charles Schulz teleplay, A
Charlie Brown Christmas. Immediately after purchasing the soundtrack,
Winston immersed himself in the 16 Peanuts television specials scored by
Guaraldi, becoming captivated by Vince's sounds and compositions.
Many of the songs featured on Linus & Lucy were also from Guaraldi's
soundtracks from the Peanuts series.
"At one time or another, I have tried to play all the songs by three
composers: New Orleans R&B pianist Professor Longhair, The Doors and Vince
Guaraldi," Winston said. "Vince Guaraldi and his music are a vital part
of the deep heart and soul of San Francisco, and for those that know his music,
of the experience of childhood, and people of all ages. I love Vince's melodies
and his chord progressions and his piano playing -- especially his left hand."
George Winston integrates his passion for Vince's music and New Orleans
R&B piano, together with childhood experiences in order to create a sound
inspired by legends such as The Doors, and New Orleans pianists Henry Butler,
James Booker, and Professor Longhair. Winston conveys a sense of life
through his music with a sensibility of the seasons and topographies
of Mother Earth.
On December 1, Winston hit the stage in New York to kick off his 29-city tour.
For more tour and ticket information, visit www.georgewinston.com.
Another statue!
How's this for a way to celebrate Beethoven's birthday?
Thanks to the generosity of all the statue makers and purchasers during the Peanuts
on Parade Program, another permanent bronze statue was unveiled in Santa Rosa, at
the Finley Community Center, 2260 West College Avenue.
Now we all have a fresh photo op!
And, speaking of Beethoven's birthday...
You can hear the music of the Peanuts comic strip online for the first time,
in a Web "exhibit" titled Schulz's Beethoven: Schroeder's muse.
Musicians often are surprised to find that they can actually play the
music notes floating above Schroeder's toy piano in the Peanuts comic strip,
and they are even more amazed to learn that it's not just anyone's music
Schroeder is playing; the compositions were created by none other than his
idol, Ludwig van Beethoven!
Check it out here.
Now visitors anywhere in the world can hear the Beethoven excerpts that
Schroeder plays in the Peanuts comic strip, with a new online exhibition
devoted to Schulz's Beethoven, Schroeder's Muse that premiered on Beethoven's
birthday, December 16.
Schulz's Beethoven: Schroeder's Muse features 60 cartoons that
include meticulously drawn music from Beethoven's piano sonatas, complemented
with manuscripts, first editions, and artwork from the rich collections of
the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies at San Jose State University.
Visitors to the online exhibition can listen to the music, travel to other
Web sites to enrich their understanding of the strips, and explore cartoon
and music history.
Excerpts from the complete recordings of Beethoven's sonatas are performed
by internationally renowned pianist Craig Sheppard, professor of piano at
the University of Washington in Seattle.
An earlier version of the exhibition was mounted at the Charles M. Schulz
Museum in Santa Rosa from August 16, 2008 through January 26, 2009, and
from May 1 through July 31, 2009, in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Library at San Jose State University. Both the online and the mounted
exhibitions are joint projects of The Charles M. Schulz Museum and
the Center for Beethoven Studies (San Jose).
It would appear, according to Woolite's "For Everyday Colors"
campaign in Puerto Rico, that Charlie Brown uses this laundry product.
Does Lucy know?
Vintage animation
Cartoon Brew TV's "Brew Vaults" has several rare animated spots featuring the
Peanuts gang: the rarely seen theatrical trailer for the initial feature-length Peanuts
movie, 1969's A Boy Named Charlie Brown; then a Ford Falcon commercial; and
finally one of the Peanuts intros to the weekly 1961 TV series that starred
country entertainer Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Check 'em out here.
Curse you, Red Baron!
Check out this slick teaser trailer for the next Peanuts computer game, Snoopy: WWI Flying Ace.
It looks utterly awesome, and you can see for yourself right here.
The game is scheduled for release in the first quarter of 2010, for all major current-gen game consoles.
More information to follow, as we find out!
(By the way, if the image spills off the bottom of your screen, use the scroll bar at the upper
right. And don't try clicking on the arrows; it doesn't work that way. Click-hold on the bar itself,
and then drag down; then you'll spot the control buttons beneath the image, that will allow you
to play the video.)
Everybody deserves a Security Blanket!
Security Blankets: How Peanuts Touched Our Lives, a collection of heartwarming,
poignant, uplifting and celebratory tales of how Charles M. Schulz and his characters
have made an impact on us all, was published in early April by Andrews McMeel Publishing,
a long-time participant in the Peanuts franchise.
The book is co-edited by Web guru Derrick Bang, author of 50 Years of Happiness: A Tribute
to Charles M. Schulz and Charles M. Schulz: Li'l Beginnings; and Don Fraser,
a former Peanuts master licensee for more than 35 years, and co-founder of Aviva
Enterprises and founder of Inetics Inc. Readers will discover more than 50 personal
anecdotes between the covers of Security Blankets, written by avid Peanuts fans and
"jes' plain folks" whose lives have been touched by Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the rest of
the gang.
The book is available for order at Amazon.com; find out more here.
Volume 14 is here!
Fantagraphics, a company known well by those in the comic book and comic arts community (publisher of
The Comics Journal, among many other books and magazines), continues with its plans
to publish a truly complete series of Peanuts comic strips, starting from the very first and
continuing through to the very last.
Volume 1 arrived in bookstores on Monday, May 3, 2004. Volume 2 shipped to subscribers and bookstores in October 2004.
Volume 3 arrived in April 2005, Volume 4 in October 2005, Volume 5 in April 2006, and Volume 6 in October 2006. Volume 7
debuted in April 2007. Volume 8 debuted in August 2008. Volume 9 debuted in April 2008.
Volume 10 debuted in late September 2008. Volume 11 followed in early March 2009.
Volume 12 hit bookstores in July 2009.
Volume 13 arrived in mid-April 2010, and Volume 14, the newest, arrived in September 2010.
Subsequent books will appear at the rate of two
per year; the series is scheduled to conclude in April 2016. The books will be hardcover only: 7 inches tall, by 8.5 inches wide.
You'll find the original press release below, and you can keep up with the latest news
at the Fantagraphics site here.
The "Complete Peanuts" is here!
50 years of art. 25 books. Two books per year, for 12-1/2 years. Fantagraphics Books is proud
to announce the most eagerly-awaited and ambitious publishing project in the history of the American
comic strip: the complete reprinting of Charles M. Schulz's classic, Peanuts. Considered to be one
of the most popular comic strips in the history of the world, Peanuts will be, for the first time,
collected in its entirety and published, beginning in April 1, 2004. Fantagraphics will launch
The Complete Peanuts in a series designed by the cartoonist Seth (Palookaville, It's A Good
Life If You Don't Weaken) and produced in full cooperation with United Media, Charles M. Schulz
Creative Associates, and Mr. Schulz's widow, Jean Schulz.
Fantagraphics Books co-publisher Gary Groth said that publishing The Complete Peanuts
represented the apex of the company's 27-year commitment to publishing the best cartooning in the world.
"Peanuts is a towering achievement in the history of comics," said Groth. "I can't think of a better
way to honor Schulz's artistic legacy than to make his oeuvre available to the public in a beautifully
designed format that reflects the integrity of the work itself."
The genesis of the project began in 1997, when Fantagraphics publisher Gary Groth approached Charles Schulz
with the proposition of publishing Peanuts in its entirety. After Schulz's death in January, 2000,
Groth continued discussing the project with Schulz's widow, Jean Schulz.
"It's safe to say that this project wouldn't have happened if Jean Schulz weren't as enthusiastic and supportive
as she's been," said Groth. Added Jean Schulz "This seemed like an impossible project, considering all the
'lost' strips, but Gary's determination never flagged, and we are so happy with the aesthetic sensibility
of the Fantagraphics team."
"It's a genuine honor to be designing these Schulz collections," said Seth, who went on to describe
the premise underlying his design for the series "I want to emphasize the sophistication of Schulz's work
by creating a package that is both austere and direct. I would like to try to reflect the quiet and melancholy
of the strip in a package that hopefully, shows the proper amount of respect for Mr. Schulz. Undoubtedly, Peanuts
is a great newspaper strip and I am humbled and gratified to help steward this complete strip compilation into the world."
Each volume in the series will run approximately 320 pages in a 8-1/2" x 7" hardcover format,
presenting two years of strips along with supplementary material. The series will present the entire run
in chronological order, dailies and Sundays. Since the strip began in late 1950, the first volume will include
all the strips from 1950, 1951 and 1952, but subsequent volumes will each comprise exactly two years.
Dailies will run three to a page, while Sunday strips will each take up a full page and be printed in black-and-white.
This first volume, covering the first two and a quarter years of the strip, will be of particular fascination
to Peanuts aficionados worldwide. Although literally hundreds of Peanuts books have been published, many of the
strips from the series' first two or three years have never been collected before -- in large part because they
showed a young Schulz working out the kinks in his new strip and include some characterizations and designs
that are quite different from the cast we're all familiar with. (Among other things, three major cast
members -- Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus - initially show up as infants and only "grow" into their final
"mature" selves as the months go by. Even Snoopy debuts as a puppy!) Thus The Complete Peanuts offers a
unique chance to see a master of the artform refine his skills and solidify his universe, day by day, week by week,
month by month.
The Complete Peanuts will be supported with an ambitious advertising and promotional campaign,
including public appearances by Jean Schulz to support the series.
Visit the book series' British Web site here.
The Schulz biography is available!
The long-awaited biography of
Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000) was published on October 16, 2007.
(The softcover edition debuted October 7, 2008.)
David Michaelis worked for approximately six years on "Schulz and
Peanuts," which runs 600-plus pages.
Michaelis conducted more than 200 interviews, and was given
unrestricted access to the Schulz studio and personal archives by the
cartoonist's widow and children.
In addition, United Media -- the company that still syndicates
Peanuts reruns and handles Peanuts licensing -- allowed Michaelis
to see papers that document the rise of Schulz's creation into a
business HarperCollins says earns $1.2 billion a year.
Read review excerpts at the book's very own Web site, right here.
But wait, there's more: In this podcast of a BEA 2007 "Upfront and Unscripted" session, documentary producer Mary Murphy and Michaelis
discuss the life and work of Schulz. Michaelis touches on the success of Peanuts as a comic for children, as well as the deeper lessons Schulz
hid beneath the surface of his art. Give it a listen right here.
More recently, Michaelis chatted with Kurt Anderson, host of Public Radio International's
Studio 360. Check this interview out here.
Sadly, the Schulz family was unhappy with the book; several early print interviews eventually
led to an extensive rebuttal and series of counter-reviews, published in the May 2008 (issue 290)
of Fantagraphics' The Comics Journal. The coverage, which runs from pages 26 through 111
of a huge issue, opens with a lengthy essay by Monte Schulz and includes commentary by R.C. Harvey,
Jeet Heer and Ken Worcester. The magazine reached comic book shops and larger bookstores in
late May 2008; it also can be ordered here.
Earlier, in late 2007, Michaelis gave his take during a lengthy interview with PCC Web-guru Derrick Bang, talking about how he came to
write the book, and what he learned about Schulz along the way. Read this extensive interview here.
The Charles Schulz Museum has released a DVD titled A Boy Named Charlie Brown ... but this one
is the unaired 1963 television documentary of the same name, not the theatrical film.
Back in 1963, Lee Mendelson, now famous as the producer of the Peanuts specials, was a relatively unknown
TV producer. Having just finished a well-received documentary on the best player in baseball, Willie Mays,
Mendelson decided he'd like to make a documentary about the worst player in baseball: Charlie Brown and his creator,
Charles Schulz. Mendelson contacted Schulz to see if he'd be interested. Schulz had seen and enjoyed Mendelson's
documentary on Willie Mays, so he agreed to a meeting, and they created this documentary.
But they were unable to convince any network or sponsor to buy that half-hour piece, once it was finished;
despite the great success of A Charlie Brown Christmas and other Peanuts television specials,
this original documentary remained unaired.
The half-hour show is a great little time capsule: a gentle and informative examination of
both the Peanuts comic strip and its creator.
Up until now, the only way you could see this unaired gem was to visit the Charles Schulz Museum
and hope they were showing it that day. Now you can order your very own copy for $14.95 (plus shipping).
Call them at (707) 579-4452 to order a copy.
Check styles available for everybody!
While Deluxe has discontinued making Peanuts checks, another company -- Checks Unlimited, by Current -- still
has some available via the Internet or by phone or mail! (Current often places ads in newspapers and magazines.)
Here's what they look like (and you also can order a checkbook cover that looks like Snoopy's doghouse).
If you're ready to place an order, just visit their site!
But wait ... there's more!
Checks in the Mail introduced a four-design Tom Everhart line in early 2009, as shown above.
Can't live without 'em? Place an order here.
And still more!
The John H. Harland company also has a Tom Everhart check line. There are four designs, plus a fancy checkbook cover.
And get this ... there are matching address labels! Is that cool, or what?
Just visit the Harland Web site.
After reaching this page, click on JUST FOR FUN in the list of categories. Then click on the Snoopy check.
The unfortunate news is that, as was the case with Deluxe, you must ask your bank to order these for you.
Japan Post
Japan Post has been issuing sets of Peanuts postage stamps, to commemorate various events, such as
the fifth anniversary of Universal Studios Japan. The plate blocks feature 10 stamps, 80 yen each, and
they come in adorable folders. Makes you want to head overseas, doesn't it?
Stamps Down Under!
As we all know, Peanuts turned 55 years old in October 2005. To celebrate, Australia Post immortalised
Peanuts favourites on a souvenir stamp sheet.
The stamp tabs feature Snoopy, Woodstock, Charlie Brown, Sally Brown, Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Linus,
Marcie, Rerun and Franklin. Aren't they cool?
More postage stamps!
Hong Kong has some adorable Peanuts "stamps" coming out ... they're not postage stamps, but actually are some
sort of promotional item connected to postage stamps, and were rather difficult to obtain. But at least
we have a picture of them!
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All PEANUTS characters pictured are copyrighted © by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. They are used here with permission. They may not be reproduced by any means in any form.
