TV Guide revelation

Classic finds

The latest addition to the AAUGH.com reference library is a TV Guide from February, 1980, which features an article about Peanuts, written by Schulz himself. In it, he discusses why some things work in the strip that don’t work in the animated specials, and he manages to do so in a way that is surprisingly down on television for someone who is intending to promote the new special She’s a Good Skate, Charlie Brown.

It’s good to have Schulz writing about Peanuts, but to a large degree, I bought this for just half a paragraph out of the four pages of text.

There’s a couple issues at stake here. One is that at times, there has been some debate about the date of the first appearance of Woodstock. Because Woodstock went unnamed for the first few years of his existence, and because other birds had appeared in the strip, there was contention over which strip was his first appearance. This quote locks it in: Woodstock was one of two baby birds who hatched on Snoopy’s stomach, so he was first seen in the March 4, 1966 strip.

But that other part, about Woodstock not being originally male? Schulz goes on to explain that when he established the bird as Snoopy’s secretary, he perceived the bird as female, as most secretaries at the time were. This may seem like a trivial note to you, but those who look for trans icons now have another name on their list.

There were a couple other things in the TV Guide which made me happy. One was just this single markup in the TV show listings

Some people like used items that pass as perfectly new, but I like finding that something had a bit of a life, even if it’s just making sure that Mom watches the latest installment of the BBC miniseries Edward & Mrs. Simpson.

The other was finding this ad just a few pages from the Peanuts article

A black gentleman named Frank Armstrong, fourteen years before we would learn that Armstrong was Franklin’s last name. Not a deeply meaningful coincidence, but still kinda cool. Well, to geeky ol’ me.

Classic finds
Enigmatic Snoopy

Sitting here, patiently waiting months for me to blog about it, is Enigmatica di Snoopy e i suoi amici Peanuts, a full-color 48 page puzzle magazine that is apparently issue 66 of the quarterly Italian magazine Gioca Con Noi. This issue, intended for Dicembre – Febbraio 2022, is Christmas-themed. It …

Classic finds
Brazilian Christmas

The latest addition to the AAUGH.com Reference Library is… no, wait, I’m lying. I’ve had this book sitting nearby for months now, just waiting for me to get around to it. But there was no rush, it’s a 2010 book published in Brazil, so it’s not something you’re probably going …

Classic finds
Charles M. Schulz: Pinko scum?

As with most of my history finds, I found the column when I was looking for something else, something only related because they both had the term “comic strip.” But there it was… George Boardman, PhD, was telling the world that there was a problem with socialist propaganda on America’s …