“Who needs Peanuts not written and drawn by Charles Schulz?” one might well ask. Any Peanuts fan, I say. To be perfectly honest, the majority of Peanuts “fans” I know are familiar with only the various television specials and not the comic strips at all. Just as the TV specials are an adaptation of the strip into a different medium, so too is the new comic books series. But I see it more of an adaptation of the TV specials than of the strips themselves. That may sound like a dissolution of the strips, but it’s not; it’s an adaptation into another medium.
I greatly enjoyed the recent hardcover Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown!* and I expected to enjoy the “zero” issue of the new ongoing series no less. I was not disappointed. In addition to the original stories (which provide true comic book breakdowns, continuity and pacing), the series is also peppered with a few thematically linked Charles Schulz original Sundays.
I recommend the new series to all Peanuts fans (of the strip or TV), as well as to parents of young children.
*https://captaincomics.ning.com/forum/topics/happiness-is-a-warm-blanket
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...Did you notice that WEIRD broadcast TV situation last Turkey Night where TWO different Peanuts speciasls were , LITERALLY , against each other on different networks for one half-hour ?
Am much rushed now , gott tu go :-) .
I noticed that too. It was WEIRD. Perhaps someone from Schulz's camp wasn't paying attention?
The best part of the Happiness special was when Linus demanded to know if any of the gang were happy with themselves....and they focused on Pigpen, content in his dirtcloud!
...Maybe Disney had contarctual rights to the old Mendlez?? specials and showed what they showed asserting those rights and the rights to the ( I presume a TV presentation of an already issued?? DTV production ? ) new special were negotiated with the Hacked Phone , not Mouse:-) , Network more recently ???
Fellows, fellows, fellows ...
"Perhaps someone from Schulz's camp wasn't paying attention?" Schulz's camp doesn't control the broadcast networks nor the scheduling of shows.
...YouREALLY:-( find that most people you know - ADULTS , even , not ( however defined ) " kids " - who are " fans " of Peanuts only kinow the media manifestations at not the original article , the strips , whether in books of any form or in the papers/on the 'Net ? :-(
If you say such is your experience/observation...:-(
Maybe not but how often to you see specials featuring the same characters at the same time on different networks. It's obviously counter-productive.
ClarkKent_DC said:
Your guess is as good as mine in regards to the opposing schedule of the two specials folks.
Unfortunately I was in between houses on family business Thursday and missed both. :-(
In any event, after a respectful amount of time since the passing of Charles Schulz, we can probably start looking forward to new Peanuts material on a regular basis again.
Schulz's will specifically stated that NO ONE could EVER continue the comic strip. However it never said a word about other formats, hence Happiness is a Warm Blanket and the new comic book series.
...I don't believe he owned the strip at that time , the purchase I mentioned was 21st , mightn't , especially after the more directly connected Jeanie?? Schulz , his widow , passes...his children/grandchildren decide to go against the will...declare " It's a LIVING document " !!!!!!!!!/point out that he wrote it before daily newspapers really began their downward ( Sorry , Captain , merely being realistic , my late folks both worked in daily newspaper-related business themselves - I have wondered what they might think were they - If they are aware somewhere what - Well , um , anyway . ) spiral ??!!???????!!??!!!!!!??!!!!!!!!
...That new special is being repeated later this week , IIRC.........
Issue #1 of the second limited series: I was a pretty big proponent of the “Happiness is a Warn Blanket, Charlie Brown” hardcover (see link above) and the first mini-series, but this one seems a little “off” to me and I can’t quite put my finger on the reason why. It looks like Charles Schulz could have drawn it, but it doesn’t look like anything he would have drawn (if that makes any sense). The first story, however, is one that strikes close to home: Charlie Brown suffers an intense sunburn because he was too embarrassed to ask anyone to put sunscreen on his back. That exact same thing happened to me once.