BIG Peanuts book news

Upcoming releases

Dedicated comic book fans have recently had the chance to buy “Artists Editions”, big reprints of classic stories shot directly from the original art, so that you can see every subtlety, every bit of paste-up, all the technique that went into drawing the work. These books are relatively few (largely because for most classic works, the original art is dispersed if it still exists at all), quite expensive (about $150 per book), and huge, because the art is reproduced at full size.

Well now IDW, the publisher that originated these editions, is turning their sights on Peanuts… which is actually quite an easy thing to do in some ways, as you don’t need to worry about full stories, and the Schulz Museum itself has a large number of quality pieces. It may be a little tricky to buy these; some volumes have only been sold directly by the publisher, and they tend to have relatively small print runs and have rarely gone to second print. The press release they put out was a bit odd (starting “The esteemed entertainment property, Peanuts, will be returning this winter”, as though there isn’t a continuous stream of Peanuts projects), and doesn’t set a specific date, page count, or price… but I will try to keep you informed as the details appear.Artist

(In the interest of proper disclosure, I should note that I have a minor business relationship with IDW, which is unrelated to this project.)

 

Upcoming releases
A book I’d not expected to resurface

Back in 2011, Schulz’s granddaughter Dena Hodges issued the first two chapters of  a memoir called In the Shadow of the Family Dog. As I noted in my review at the time, the chapter and the description of the project made it clear that the focus was her relationship with …

Upcoming releases
A box of squares

This May, Fantagraphics is collecting the various small square Peanuts books they’ve published into a new box set, Peanuts All Year Round Mini Collection. This includes: A Valentine for Charlie Brown — Valentine’s Day and romance strips Batter-Up Charlie Brown! — baseball strips Waiting for the Great Pumpkin — Halloween …

Upcoming releases
Game Day returns

Back in 2020, Fantagraphics dropped Game Day, a boxed set of sports-themes Peanuts strip reprint paperbackss, as a Costco exclusive. Next June it’s coming back, this time in hardcover and available through the usual sources. Designed as a Father’s Day gift, it should be good for anyone who likes Peanuts …