Sparky & Spike

Upcoming releases

Now here’s an odd and potentially delightful one – a children’s storybook based on the early life of Schulz and his dog. Sparky & Spike: Charles Schulz and the Wildest, Smartest Dog Ever is scheduled to come out on my birthday next year (and, of course, preorderable now at the link.) The dog in question, oft cited as the inspiration for Snoopy, and is the dog that Schulz helped chronicle in his first published work: the drawing for Ripley’s Believe It or Not. I’m looking forward to seeing this’n.

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 …