Snoopy's Thanksgiving

Fantagraphics celebrates Thanksgiving Peanuts style in this hilarious 2014 collection of strips from Charles Schulz. 

First, Snoopy ventures out West to visit his brother Spike who lives in the desert with a bunch of bunny-eating coyotes. Then Charlie Brown tries his luck selling Thanksgiving wreaths before Woodstock has a panic attack that he's going to be the main course at this year's Thanksgiving dinner. 

Silly birdie. Doesn't Woodstock know that his friends eat jelly beans, milkshakes and toast for Turkey Day?

There's a few one page shorts as well as a couple of strips blown up and spread out in separate panels over several pages to give readers just over 60 pages of Thanksgiving fun. I'm surprised that this was published by Fantagraphics. Not that they couldn't produce this or anything about the quality. It's just that the format looked more like a series of books about Snoopy and friends that the greeting card magnate Hallmark used to produce in the 90s and early 00s. I'm now wondering if Fantagraphics was tapped to produce those books for Hallmark much like how Dynamite Entertainment and Dark Horse are publishing Marvel's outsourced material...

If you're stressing about having the relatives over for the holiday, then take a much needed break and enjoy the exploits of a boy named Charlie Brown and his dog.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.

Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles M. Schulz

Such a novel concept. A graphic novel biography about cartoonist Charles Schulz done in the comic strip style of his beloved Peanuts characters. Like the adventures of Charlie Brown, the strips are funny, poignant, sad, joyful and full of self deprecating loathing. Charles Schulz was Charlie Brown - always doubting and never feeling good enough at anything.

There's a lot of interesting segments of Schulz's life and career that I was extremely interested in learning more about. His childhood inspirations for the cute little redhead girl and Snoopy. The lengthy session of rejection upon rejection from publishers and syndicates. How A Charlie Brown Christmas got off the drawing board and onto our television sets. His infidelity, resulting in a divorce from his first wife.

Let's talk about that last part. I didn't check this graphic novel out from my local library for the sordid parts of Charles Schulz's life. I honestly didn't even consider that part of his life when I was deciding whether or not to select this book. But as I started reading through Funny Things, I started wondering how creators Luca Debus and Francesco Matteuzzi how they were going to cover such a delicate topic. Harder topics such as the lingering death of Schulz's mother from cancer was dealt with in such a gentile way. There were still elements of humor as the lad known to family and friends as Sparky had to say goodbye to his mum before being shipped off in service for the American Army during the height of the second world war. So how was Schulz's affair with a woman half his age going to be portrayed in this book? The answer: discretely and an inferred blame on Ol' Sparky.

I was also interested in learning about the last days of Charles Schulz and his retirement of the Peanuts comic strip. I remember it being a big deal that Peanuts was coming to an end after 50 years. It was an eerie and poignant coincidence that the artist died the night before the last strip was to run in Sunday papers worldwide. I didn't know that he was extremely ill with cardiac issues and incurable colon cancer. While the reader doesn't have to say farewell to Charles Schulz, the book does end with a bittersweet moment of the beloved artist finally realizing how much people loved him and his gang of Peanuts!

I'm very glad for this book. After learning about Schulz's infidelity after being told for years how godly a man he was, I was put off reading Peanuts for a very long time. But this book helped me to realize that people are human and they make mistakes. Really dumb mistakes. Funny Things helped me to repent of my judgmental ways and to forgive Schulz, even though he never did any wrongs against me. How pompous was I?!

A must read for fans of Snoopy, Charlie Brown and Peanuts. Yes, there are several Schulz biographies out there. But there's never been anything like this graphic novel biography from Top Shelf Productions. Combining interviews from the creator himself with some dashes of artistic license, Funny Things should not be overlooked if you are a fan at any level of a blockhead and his beagle.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 24

It's Christmas Eve. Thus I think it's only fitting that I am devoting today's Advent to the world of Peanuts. Charles Schulz' Peanuts is a pop culture franchise that has the rare distinction of being something that my Grandmama, Grandmother and Mom had at least 1 ornament of which on their trees. 

My Grandmama had this satin ball ornament from Hallmark. It's dated 1979 and is for a grandson. That was me! I still own this ornament and treasure it very much. My Grandmother loved to paint wooden ornaments and she had at least 2 of the ornaments displayed here. She had ornaments of both Snoopy and Woodstock in stockings. I think she also had one of Snoopy sitting on his doghouse. But I don't see that ornament. Maybe I imagined it. As for my Mom, I remember this PVC ornament of Snoopy using his food dish as a sled hanging from our tree. It's something we picked up in the late 80s or early 90s. I think it came included with a specially marked box of Whitman's chocolates.

Then we've got an ornament that I vaguely recall somebody in my family owning. I just can't put my finger on who. It's this late 1970s rubber ornament of Linus and Snoopy. I seem to recall Linus' hair being fuzzy. And the fact that Linus is sitting on Snoopy when usually it's the beagle giving the youngster fits as Snoopy really wants that blanket is just so hysterical to me.

Looking at ornaments not owned by my family, first up is this adorable 3-D ornament depicting the final scene of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Watching A Charlie Brown Christmas had up until this year been an annual tradition in my family. But Tim Cook and Apple decided to become Scrooges and made it to where you can only watch the special on AppleTV. Supposedly tonight and tomorrow, families can watch the show for free. But I haven't a clue how to do that and I really don't feel like creating an account with AppleTV and having to share my personal information. So the next best thing will be this ornament I found on Pintrest, I guess.

Fun Fact- though they are depicted in this ornament, Franklin, Marcy and Peppermint Patty were not in the holiday special as none of them had been created by Charles Schulz just yet.

Another annual holiday tradition is getting to hear 1967's Snoopy's Christmas by The Royal Guardsmen. This holiday follow up to Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron is just such a fun story mixed into a catchy little ditty. Thankfully, Apple doesn't own the rights to this song and I got to hear it the other day in my car. The song is based on Snoopy's pretend play that he's a World War I flying ace in the comic strip. In honor of all this, I share this 2016 ornament that technically isn't Christmas. Instead, it's a Hallmark Halloween ornament as this scene is based on the 1966 Peanuts special It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Hey, nothing says you can't hang Halloween stuff on your Christmas tree...

I wanna go back to looking at a vintage Peanuts ornament for a moment. When I was looking for that Grandson ornament, I ran across several globe ornaments from Hallmark's early days at producing tree decorations. My favorite is this early 1980s globe made of glass. It shows Snoopy acting as Santa with Woodstock and several of his bird friends leading the sleigh over Charlie Brown's neighborhood.

I'm also a big fan of this late 90s ornament. I just can't determine who the manufacturer is. It depicts Charlie Brown going to Lucy for gift ideas instead of psychiatric help for the price of 1 nickel. You can be sure that all the gift ideas Lucy is giving Charlie Brown are all things she wants!

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On the craft made front, my favorite is this ceramic ornament of Snoopy, Woodstock and Charlie Brown in festive attire. I wonder if the Christmas tree behind them is that magical fir from the holiday special. 

And now for the DIY ornament. For this one, you will need yellow paint, a black puffy paint pen, a wooden disc ornament and some type of ribbon. First up, paint the disc yellow. When it dries, use the puffy paint pen and create a zig-zag pattern like on Charlie Brown's shirt. Unlike in the image above, I recommend making the zig-zag a little bit more thicker but don't be afraid to be a little sloppy as that was Schulz's style. When the black paint is dry, tie a ribbon loop through the hole of the ornament and hang on your tree to give it a touch of Peanuts class!

Charles M Schulz's Lucy (Family Comic Friday)

This week’s Family Comic Friday is actually perfect for the entire family! If you are age 3 or 93, who doesn’t like Charles Schulz’s Peanuts? Today’s review looks at a collection of classic and new Peanuts stories starring everyone’s favorite crabby sister and busy-body- Lucy Van Pelt!

Charles M. Schulz’s Lucy
Stories and art by Charles Schulz, Jason Cooper, Vicki Scott, Scott Jeralds
Inks by Paige Braddock and Justin Thompson
Pages: 96
Retail Price: $14.99
Published by kaBOOM! Studios

The focus of the Peanuts cartoon has always been Charlie Brown and his faithful dog, Snoopy. But the best lines and funniest acts of practical jokes and grumpiness come from Lucy. The sister of Linus, Lucy bosses everyone around. It’s probably because she’s the oldest of all the characters.

This collection of everything Lucy is culled from over 50 years of Peanuts comic strips and the Peanuts comic book from kaBOOM! The Schulz strips have been remastered. The inks have never been clearer and the colors have never been so popping!

What’s extremely impressive about this book is how well other writers and artists such as Scott Jeralds and Vicki Scott capture the look and essence of the Peanuts gang! There have been other comic books based on comic strips and they pale in comparison to the genuine article. But that’s no so here! The world of lil’ folks created by Charles Schulz is alive and well in this book!

Parents and guardians will delight in not having anything objectionable in this volume. There are a couple of sections featuring quotes by Schulz about his inspirations in creating the Peanuts characters. While quite insightful, there are a few big words on those pages that younger readers might need some help with. But there’s only a two or three of those sections and they are only a page in length each.

With stories themed around baseball, a school science fair, the Christmas stress of being watched by Santa, and an art lesson by Linus on how to draw his sister, there’s a little something for everyone in this hardcover collection.

Charles M. Schulz’s Lucy was originally supposed to debut in print on January 30th, 2019. The book has been delayed by the published until February 5th. It can be purchased as a hardcover via Amazon or your favorite local bookseller or comic book shop.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

It's a Dog's Life, Snoopy

With the new Peanuts movie hitting theatres last Friday, I thought it would be fitting to read a collection of Snoopy cartoons. This full-color collection of Peanuts tales contains a full year of yuks. From the snows of January to the dog days of summer (pun intended) to the crisp nights waiting for the Great Pumpkin and back to snow with the holidays fast approaching, there’s lots of great jokes and gags. Is every joke a winner? No, but the vast majority of strips are perfect. A few jokes repeat, so be patient.

I love the snowy strips best.

Sadly, you can see the years wearing on creator Schulz as not every strip is drawn with crisp definitive lines found in Peanuts tales. Even some of his signatures are chicken scratches. It sometimes makes this collection a little sad as you know that in this later year treasury each entry is coming towards the end of the Peanuts strip’s run, which on it's very last day of publishing, Schulz passed.

Worth Consuming.

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Peanuts #23 (Family Comic Friday)

Two years ago, Kaboom studios (sometimes referred to as Boom! Studios) obtained the rights to publish the first ever comic book to devote itself to all new stories and adventures of the Peanuts gang. You’d think that this series wouldn’t be able to capture the magic of series creator Charles Schulz. But the writers nad artists at Kaboom have done an incredible job.

The artwork is drawn in the classic style. However, the coloring and inking is a little more modern. I would bet money that these stories are being created on digital art programs and that would explain the more modern feel to it.

Using modern technology to craft comics isn’t an unforgivable sin. If anything, it helps the industry be able to produce more work quickly. Instead of having to wait every other month for a beloved comic to come out, you can now purchase new comics monthly, bi-monthly, or even weekly without the art suffered for the sake of time.

In regards to how different the Peanuts look compared to the original strips, you have to look no furPther than the page after each new tale. Here, Kaboom publishes a classic Peanuts strip that captures the theme of the previous story. The Schultz strips holdup very well. They are funny, smart, and classic, but the inking is more 2-D than the modern almost 3-D style of the new tales.

I liken this example to how similar but different classic and new episodes of the Simpsons look.  Those first 3 or 4 seasons were rough, but they were so well crafted that you don’t mind how archaic the citizens of Springfield look in them.

In this issue, the Peanuts gang star in 3 tales. First, Charlie Brown must turn to his therapist, Lucy to help him kick his addiction to biting the erasers off of his pencils. Then Peppermint Patty decides that the best way to improve her grades is to wear glasses. So, it’s the rest of the class who suffers when the tomboy commandeers Marcy’s eyewear. Lastly, is a Snoopy tale with his Beagle Scouts. When their camping trip is hindered by a sudden snow storm it’s up to Woodstock to save the day.

This comic was worth the $3.99. Along with these great tales was a small article written in Schulz’ own words on his view on the character of Peppermint Patty.  With a winter tale starring Snoopy and Woodstock and a focus on a character named after the main flavor of candy canes, this issue, out in stores now, is the perfect opening servo to starting the holiday comic reading season.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.