Got a few little bits of news to get out of the way… and let me clear the sad one up front. Skip Hinnant passed away on Sunday. Skip was many things (folks of my age might best remember him as Fargo North, Decoder on The Electric Company), but for the Peanuts crowd he was Schroeder in the original stage version of You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown… and being part of that cast means he also helped write that show. (His brother Bill played Snoopy.)

The new Peanuts special, 12 Days of Snoopy, is now streaming on Apple TV. I’m predicting a bit of public kickback because it’s a very Santa-oriented show whereas the classic Christmas special (which I suspect the only one that most of the commentators will be aware of) is very Jesus-oriented. I will note that Schulz had the kids in the strip communicating with Santa all the way from December 1951 (where Charlie Brown composes a long letter of flattery for Santa) through December 1999 (when Sally starts a letter to him “Dear Shorty”.) The special is on the shorter side for modern specials (32 minutes before you hit the credits), putting it more in line with the classic specials, which ran about 25 minutes.

Now shipping (and added to the AAUGH.com reference library is Snoopy: Suppertime, volume 19 in what used to be called the Peanuts Kids line, and before that the AMP Kids line, but which now bear neither such markings. The strips in this one are from 1985 and 1986.

And, off of Peanuts for a moment: I (wearing my About Comics publishing hat) and seven other publishers of comic strip reprints have collaborated on a new website, serving as a catalog of such books. Over 100 volumes are there, with many more to come. So if you’re a strip fan in general, check out StripReprints.com!

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