Image: Boom Studios
At WonderCon April 2, Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown! was unveiled for the first time — the first Charlie Brown graphic novel ever! It’s out now from the busy people at Boom Studios. Boom Studios (www.boom-studios.com) has 2009 and 2010 “Best Publisher” awards, and churns out several of the best-selling comic books and graphic novels with the comic book industry’s optimal creative spirits: Mark Waid’s Irredeemable; Stan Lee’s Soldier Zero, The Traveler and Starborn (the first new series in print from the industry icon in 20 years); new Hellraiser comics written by Clive Barker; 20th Century Fox’s Planet of the Apes, 28 Days Later, and Die Hard; Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?; and The Henson Company’s Farscape.
The story of Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown! that we all know and love so well is written by Charles Schulz, Craig Schulz, and Stephan Pastis, and drawn by Bob Scott, Vicki Scott, and Ron Zorman.
Image: Boom Studios
This first Charles Schulz graphic novel became available for general circulation on April 6. The 96-page hardcover will appeal to everyone who remembers the antics of Charlie Brown and his friends. (Well, that pretty much covers all ages, all over the world). The story material is adapted from the new Peanuts animated special that debuted on DVD from Warner Home Video on March 29. Based on the original comic book ideas of Charles Schulz, the colorful graphic novel was co-written by Craig Schulz, the comics legend’s son, and Stephan Pastis, of Pearls before Swine fame.
Image: Boom Studios
The story goes that Linus’s grandmother is planning a visit, and she wants to get rid of Linus’s beloved blanket. While Lucy’s tries her psychiatric best to “cure” Linus, soft-hearted Charlie Brown can not see Linus suffer without his blanket. All the while, the sneaky beagle, Snoopy, makes several sneaky attempts to steal the precious cloth away. In the end, Linus points out that we all have “security blankets,” whose comfort to the blanket owner is a precious thing indeed.
Image: Boom Studios
Craig Schulz puts an emotional spin on his work on the now immortal storyline: “Happiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown is based directly from Peanuts strips my dad drew from the 1960s, which I personally like the best. Maybe it is because I can see so much of my family life embedded in those years. In this special, we tried to show how all kids have security issues, not just Linus, and not all are as secure as one would think.”
Boom’s all-ages imprint Kaboom will soon delight you with the pages of Peanuts, Space Warped, Roger Langridge’s Snarked!, Scholastic’s Wordgirl and Ducktales, in addition to continue releasing the favorite Disney Afternoon series Darkwing Duck, Chip ‘n’ Dale Rescue Rangers along with Disney icons Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge, and Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories. Well, do visit with me again on GeekDad for more updates on our comical friends. And, oh, parents, it’s okay, y’know, to bring your blanket when you visit.
