Charles Schulz – Prattling before the Pratfall

Charlie Brown no longer United, he’s Universal

Less than a month before the 60th anniversary of the introduction of Peanuts by United Feature Syndicate, there is the announcement that the strip will leave United Media for Universal Press Syndicate, now called UClick.

Peanotes

The 60th anniversary of Peanuts is only two months away. Here are some related items of note:

Jeannie Schulz was at the 2010 Comic-Con in San Diego, where she received a well-deserved Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat has an article about Craig Schulz, who runs Creative Associates, the company his father started to handle Peanuts licensing.
Amy Schulz Johnson had a birthday a couple of days ago. Happy birthday, Amy!

Nat Gertler on the AAUGH! blog points out an item about the time in 1960 when Lucy van Pelt submitted a political cartoon to a newspaper.

Rheta Grimsley Johnson has a new book called Enchanted Evening Barbie & the Second Coming: A Memoir. My copy arrived from Amazon a few days ago. When Rheta was married to cartoonist Jimmy Johnson, she wrote Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz, the first authorized biography of Sparky. Rheta recently spoke at the Sixth Annual Clarksville Writer’s Conference in Tennessee.

The Comics Journal ‘Schulz and Peanuts’ Roundtable

The online edition of The Comics Journal #290 has been published, featuring an in-depth look at the Schulz and Peanuts biography that was the focus of attention here for quite a few postings. There’s a free preview of The Comics Journal’s coverage at this link, including an extended excerpt of Monte Schulz’s essay. I’ll try to hold out for the print edition, but I may subscribe to the online edition.

Peanuts and Apple Quickies

Amy (Schulz) Johnson recently added a comment on Cartoon Brew, to what must be one of the longest threads on the Net for any topic.
NPR has posted a feature on the 40th anniversary of the Beatles starting Apple Records.