Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz

Loose series of vignettes, brief glimpses and abbreviated stopovers in an amazing 50-year career. This is for fans who already have a linear Peanuts Collection. 'Art' is more celebration, put together with an almost organic organization, rather than a standard rundown of known works of the man and his life.This book, which is full bleed and printed on very fine paper, feels and reads very spontaneous, compared to previously issued volumes which are cataloged and packaged for chronological order and easy digestion. There's very little in terms of editorial or commentary, as most pages are filled with clippings taken from printed and archival sources. However, what there is, is revealing. And to the best of my knowledge provides completely fresh insights into Schulz's mindset and personal history.One of the things I loved about this production are the rudimentary sketches and strip story development gently salted throughout, almost hidden away as little Easter Eggs which one stumbles upon as they go through the production; from rough idea to final piece, Schulz explored nuanced variations before the final execution of pen to paper. Additionally and equally interesting, interspersed between strips, are collectibles that range from the unusual to the rare, from figurines to rarely seen ephemera and advertising.Notably there are no page numbers - and chapter "headings" can only very broadly be described as such.Enjoyable in its own right, this is not for casual fans and should be considered a kind of "scrap book" rather than a "collection"; a potent enhancement designed for the advanced and serious devotee.Note: I purchased this for two reasons. The first, for a favorite aunt who has been a fan since the very beginning. And secondly, because of a brief mention found in a fansite, which noted that this publication contains the sole and only known (non-canonical) example of The Little Red-Haired Girl as drawn by Schulz.It's an engaging story about Schulz's real-life experience and how it led to the character's creation. More intriguing given that the character was never ever seen in the comic strips. I was astonished to learn that all the known versions of "Heather", primarily come from the cartoon films, which were created by studio artists. Schultz himself would not give them any insight or sketches from which to work. His reasoning: "I could never draw her to satisfy the readers' impression of what she's probably like".A fascinating, and often times revealing, compendium of his beloved creation.

The media could not be loaded.  I have to admit- I was never a fan of Peanuts. Apart from the good ol' Christmas (sorry, HOLIDAY) special, I didn't care much for the other Charlie Brown programs or comics. But I am a huge fan of the character designs, being so basic yet being able to express so much emotion. So being a fan of those drawings, I picked up this book, and boy has this thing opened my eyes. While this isn't much of an 'Art of Charles M. Schulz' book in the sense that most 'art of' books contain a lot of concept art, rough sketches and more, this is a great scrapbook full of strips clipped from newspapers that made me realize how great Peanuts was and still is, and I appreciate that. Any fan of Peanuts NEEDS to own this book, plain and simple.90% of this book is comic strips, some huge and some tiny. The rest is photos of Schulz and his family, Peanuts collectibles from when the series first got big, and rough sketches or photos of the strip's appearance in other publications like TV Guide and comic magazines. There's only a tiny bit of non-Peanuts artwork here, in the first couple of pages, which is why I wouldn't call it 'The Art of Charles M. Schulz' since it's more 'The Art of Peanuts' than anything else. This is the only reason I'm knocking the score down by a star, as I was hoping for more of his artwork. But I guess when you do a daily strip for a big portion of your life, it's hard to get in time for much else.I was genuinely surprised at how funny the old strips from the early 50s were- some of them had me laugh out loud, which is something I rarely do when reading a comic. It was fun seeing the character designs change, with some added captions on select pages explaining why changes were made. For me, one of the best things was seeing the old Snoopy, as dumb as it might sound.Great binding, wonderful cover art, and more strips to enjoy than you can imagine...this is a great title, and one of my favorite 'art of' books that I own.

I received this order promptly, The item was in very good condition. I would recommend it to anyone interested in gleaning insights into the creative mind of the artist-writer.

Un albo da 5 stelle e avere assolutamente per chi ama i peanuts,con tante foto e curiosità da osservare e godere.. dalle vecchie strisce ai giocattoli al pennino che usava Charles M. Schulz.Do una stella solo perché come sempre ad Amazon non interessa quanto paghi l'oggetto che riceverai,quanto sia delicato o quanto un acquirente ci tenga all'integrità,lamentarsi non serve a nulla perché continua a fare imballaggi non appropriati,per non parlare poi come vengono conservati nei magazzini... Come sempre Amazon pessimo in questo.

Originally purchased this book for my son many years ago. He was and still is a great fan of Charles Schultz, the creator of Peanuts. Now one of my grandsons, who is 11, has the same keen interest in Schultz and Peanuts. I was pleased to see the book was still in print and purchased it for his birthday in October. He’s already read it cover to cover and claims it is his favourite book!

This is not only the best Peanuts collection I have, but probably the best cartoon collection I have ever seen, and I own about a hundred. It is certainly better than the new complete collection, of which I have bought the first two volumes, as this book lovingly describes the history as the cartoons are presented. The only complaint I have is a trivial one. They have used lots of old cartoons as a sort of wallpaper throughout the book. I know they were not put there to read, but I managed using a magnifying glass. I wish they were a bit bigger, and that none of them were cut off, as they are lovely, historical carttons.I strongly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the history of Peanuts. Now I think I shall start reading it again!

An insight into the art of Charles Shultz, the creator of Peanuts. If you’ve liked the comics over time, this is a bit of a nice way of perceiving the creator and his art. One can use their perceptions to sense the philosophy of the writer though his life time.