The AAUGH Blog

May22

Behind the Candelabra, In Front of the Fence

by Nat on May 22, 2013 at 7:01 pm

With HBO showing their new Liberace biopic, I thought I’d take note of a reference to that popular piano player in Peanuts. This image comes not from the strip, but from the comic books… specifically, issue 147 of Nancy, which has a 4 page Peanuts story.
You might be momentarily taken back by the picture of an adult in Peanuts, but that is actually legitimate. There are plenty of examples of images of representations of adults in Schulz’s strip, whether it’s a picture of Linus’s drawing, or a flannelgraph with an image of a shepherd, or something far more common (and which plays a role in this comic book story): a bust of Beethoven.

May16

The Filth returns

by Nat on May 16, 2013 at 8:12 am

Posted In: Schulz/Peanuts news

If you’re in the Los Angeles area and didn’t get to see the grown-up unauthorized parody Peanuts characters in Absolutely Filthy before it closed, you’ve got another chance. Next month will see five performances as part of the Hollywood Fringe festival. Apparently they’ve trimmed the show a mite. Info and tickets are here, My take on the show is here.

May14

the Star Trek/Peanuts links

by Nat on May 14, 2013 at 9:34 am

Posted In: Uncategorized

With a new Star Trek film about to come out, I’ve been thinking about the links between Peanuts and Trek… and I don’t mean just the interesting moment at which Schulz referenced Star Trek in the strip. There are people links as well – cartoonist Dale Hale, who crafted many of the Peanuts comic book story, also worked on the animated Star Trek series of the 1970s. Another name then came to mind as having credits in both the Star Trek and Peanuts world…. but rather than tell you, I reckoned I’d ask who among the fellow geeks in the AAUGH Blog readership can come up with a name, thinking that if I did so, perhaps you’d think of folks other than what I’m thinking of.

May14

The Beagle Has Landed, Charlie Brown

by Nat on May 14, 2013 at 6:53 am

Posted In: Upcoming releases

There’s another all-new Peanuts graphic novel heading our way this fall. From the same folks who did It’s Tokyo, Charlie Brown comes The Beagle Has Landed, Charlie Brown!, a 96-page space travel-themed graphic novel in which Snoopy, the World Famous Astronaut, has to struggle not just with a planned trip to the moon but with the dogdish-swiping cat next door. Now, if that title might cause a small bit of book collector confusion, as The Beagle Has Landed was the title of both a Peanuts Parade strip collection and the Peanuts Classics collection that reprinted that Parade book – but that was without the “Charlie Brown!” And you may recall the title because when the directed-to-video animated Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown was being touted, Andy Beall and Bob Scott were talking about that as being the title for the next animated special, if there was one (alas, the direct-to-video animated world collapsed before that could happen.) This graphic novel comes courtesy of Bob’s talented wife Vicki Scott and the also talented (but far less Bob’s wife) Paige Braddock.

May06

Snoopy, friends, and one more delightful word

by Nat on May 6, 2013 at 9:22 am

Posted In: Upcoming releases

Coming in September is Snoopy and Friends Cupcake Kit, which is showing up on book searches even though the closest thing it has to a book is a recipe card (oh, okay, part of the detail claims a 6 page book, but I have my doubts. Ever try to make a six page book?) That’s what happens when it’s produced by a book publisher, rather than a, ummm, baking stuff publisher.

Oh, and speaking of things-that-aren’t-really-books being put out by book publishers, now shipping is the Peanuts Finger Puppet Theater.