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In this issue:
*INTERVIEW WITH SCHULZ AIDE DALE HALE
*NEW CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS BOOK OUT
*ULTRADISCOUNTS ON PEANUTS CHRISTMAS BOOKS
*PEANUTS STAMP IS ON ITS WAY
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Cartoonist Dale Hale was one of Schulz’s aides during the late 1950’s. In addition to helping out around the office, he wrote and drew Peanuts stories for comic book magazines. I interviewed him earlier this year, and now the interview is on the Web site. (Note: this is the same interview that appeared in the most recent issue of Hogan’s Alley magazine.)
To read the interview, go to http://AAUGH.com and click on the Collector’s Guide link. There you’ll find a link for the interview.
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NEW CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS BOOK OUT
The new book on the making of the classic animated Peanuts special is now shipping. Rather than giving you my opinion of it, let’s hear from Scott McGuire, the Peanuts animation expert who has a great guide to Peanuts animation and video at http://web.mit.edu/smcguire/www/peanuts-animation.html
> I just received my copy of "A Charlie Brown Christmas – The Making of > a Tradition" by Lee Mendelson et al. and I thought I’d pass along the > details and a few thoughts. > > It’s a nicely laid out book, in full color with lots of stills and > photos, measuring 9" x 9" with 192 pages. > > The book includes: >
*The entire script of the show, with lots and lots of stills; >
*A history of how the show came to be, and its debut. This includes > some nice stuff like original TV Guide coverage and advertising; >
*Reflections on working with Charles Schulz by Lee Mendelson and > Bill Melendez; >
*Interview with Bill Melendez about how he became the Peanuts > animator and the animation process; >
*Short chapter on Vince Guaraldi; >
*Reproductions of production materials – a few storyboards, a few > sketches, "bar sheets" describing the timing of the action of the > first scenes; >
*Sheet music for "Christmas Time is Here" and "Linus and Lucy" > (note: these are transcriptions, not the original sheet music); >
*Some unique photos and material, such as a few stills from one of > the Ford Falcon ads; >
*A "flip book" animation of the show opening on the corners of the > pages (that’s kind of cute). > > Unfortunately, the expected interviews with the actors who performed > the original voices for the show are rather brief, consisting of just > a few quotes from Peter Robbins (Charlie Brown) and Christopher Shea > (Linus). > > While much of the information in the book has appeared in previous > books and TV documentaries, it’s fleshed out with additional and it’s > nice to have the information together in one place in an attractive > package. (And I admit my perspective on what is "new" info may be a > bit skewed!) > > It’s a great gift book, and if you’ve ever wanted the script of the > show, this book is for you.
Thank you, Scott, for that solid report!
Please note that while the cover design matches the style of Peanuts: A Golden Celebration, the book is a different size. While the books will look nice together on the shelf, they won’t serve as matching bookends!
You can find this book on the front page of http://AAUGH.com
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ULTRADISCOUNTS ON PEANUTS CHRISTMAS BOOKS
Long-time AAUGH.com users may remember that we used to have an ULTRA-discount shop with Peanuts books that were as much as 50, 60, even 70% off of cover price. We had to close that a while back due to lack of material…
but now we find that we can offer the same great deals on a number of Peanuts books, including a number of small hardcover Christmas strip collections for under $3 each! (There’s even the Peanuts Christmas Ornament Book, which isn’t actually a book but unfolds to reveal a set of five cardboard ornaments.)
But I’m not going to steer the general public to these deals…
not yet, and maybe not ever. Instead, I’m hiding a link to it on the site, so that just you newsletter readers can find it. Go to http://AAUGH.com and on the index on the left side, where it says "Books about Peanuts", click the "s" in "Peanuts". And remember, this is a separate shop, so you can’t mix items from there with items from the main AAUGH.com site when ordering.
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PEANUTS STAMP IS ON ITS WAY
The U.S. Postal Service has announced a Snoopy stamp for next year! It will depict Snoopy as the World War I flying ace. Since it’s not part of a stamp set, you’ll be able to easily buy a whole pile of ’em without having to buy other stamps. (Note: DON’T buy these as an investment. Modern stamps make very poor investments. Buy them to use them, or to own them.)
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Describing the Christmas Ornament Book left me thinking about how my new household is going to have its first Christmas tree this year. I’ll have to decide whether to take out my two favorite ornaments and put them on the tree: they’re a pair of miniature versions of Peanuts books (Christmas Is Together Time and Love Is Walking Hand In Hand). On one hand, they’re the perfect ornament for me. On the other hand, if they’re on the tree, then Putt-Putt The Destructo-Cat might get at them…
Well, that’s about it for this time out. Sorry about the long time between newsletters, but I’ve been busy getting married, honeymooning, and moving. Things are back to almost-normal now, though…
and I’m much happier for it!
–Nat Gertler proprietor AAUGH.com
