In this issue:
* R.I.P. BILL MAULDIN
* BE MY MINI-VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN
* A BIRD WITH A BOOK FOR A BACKPACK?
* LOOKING AT LOOKING FOR LUCY
* BABY SNOOPY BOOKS ARE COMING
* A NEW BOX OF BOOKS
* AN OLD BOX OF BOOKS
* STOP BY AND SEE NAT
R.I.P. BILL MAULDIN
Bill Mauldin, acclaimed wartime and editorial cartoonist,
passed away last week.
Peanuts fans will remember Bill as
the person who Snoopy went to quaff root beer with each
Veterans Day, as well as the only person besides Schulz
known to have drawn for the Peanuts daily strip, drawing
his wartime Willie and Joe characters when they encounter
Snoopy.
=================================================================
BE MY MINI-VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN
As mentioned in earlier newsletters, the PEANUTS VALENTINE
CRAFT KIT includes a book adapting the animated
TV special BE MY VALENTINE, CHARLIE BROWN. However, I
should note that while this adaptation is done in the same
style as the other recent adaptations, it’s physically
smaller, only 3/4 the height and width of the other books
in the series.
You can order this here: http://AAUGH.com/to.htm?0689850182
=================================================================
A BIRD WITH A BOOK FOR A BACKPACK?
July brings two new Peanuts stuffed animals wearing books
as backpacks. BEAGLE SCOUT SNOOPY, dressed in the Beagle
Scout uniform, has a book about him packing for one of
his hikes. WOODSTOCK has a book about returning from his
annual flight south. The books are permanently attached
to the figures, and each has a velcro closure.
These are not yet available for preorder.
=================================================================
LOOKING AT LOOKING FOR LUCY
I’ve now got my copy of LOOKING FOR LUCY, the full-color
booklet with pictures of all of the Lucy statues displayed
in St. Paul last summer. Some of the statues are so-so,
some are great. My personal favorites are Lucy with a
strawberry-pattern dress, dipped in chocolate, and Lucy
standing behind the Mona Lisa, sticking her face through.
My biggest disappointment? That none of the artists replaced
the base statue’s thin, happy smile with a the classic big
open yelling mouth.
=================================================================
BABY SNOOPY BOOKS ARE COMING
Don’t know when, don’t know exactly what, but they are coming.
=================================================================
A NEW BOX OF BOOKS
Coming in July is the SNOOPY DOGHOUSE LIBRARY, a cardboard
doghouse with a plastic Snoopy permanently attached to
the top. In the doghouse are three board books for the
pre-school set: MEET SNOOPY shows Snoopy in a dozen different
roles, MY FAVORITE THINGS says what makes the characters
happy, and finally there’s SWEET DREAMS, SNOOPY.
This set is not yet available for preorder.
=================================================================
AN OLD BOX OF BOOKS
One recent addition to the AAUGH.com reference library is a
boxed set of Peanuts activity books. Normally, books in a
“boxed set” are generally in a slipcase that one puts on the
shelf, moving books in and out through the open end. Not this
one — these four books are boxed in the same sort of box
you’d get a jigsaw puzzle in. You couldn’t fit these books in
a slipcase anyway, since The Charlie Brown Ghostly Word Puzzle
Book and The Peanuts Mystery Maze Book are half the size of
The Lucy Activity Book and The Snoopy Activity Book (and the
smaller books also have fewer pages but the same $1.25 cover
price as the larger books!)
When sold separately, these 1979 books were published by
Determined Productions, the smaller ones distributed
Ottenheimer Publishers Inc., and the larger ones distributed
by the Wonder Books division of Grosset & Dunlap on behalf
of Ottenheimer. When offered in a box, however, they were
offered by Grosset & Dunlap (a Filmways company). I’m
starting to plan the grand Peanuts book database, but I’ll
never figure out what to put the in the Publisher field of
this box’s entry.
=================================================================
STOP BY AND SEE NAT
In the San Francisco area? Then stop by the Alternative Press
Expo, a comics convention specializing in the smaller
publishers and more personal works. It’s this coming Saturday
and Sunday, February 1 and 2. I’ll be there, selling copies
of my Panel One book of comic book scripts and my The Factor
miniseries, showing previews of Panel Two and my new
Licensable BearTM comic, and generally being a happy guy. Be
sure to say hi! For more info on the convention, surf on over
to http://www.comic-con.org
=================================================================
Well, that’s the news for now. Yes, it’s heavy with kiddie
books. What can I say, the kiddie book people are putting
out a lot of books!
Got any questions, suggestions, confusions, delusions, or
changes of email address? Email me at nat@AAUGH.com
–Nat
proprietor
http://AAUGH.com
