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Bill Melendez - 1974 San Diego Comic-Con Chalk Talk - Snoopy Sketch
Artist: Bill Melendez (All)
2 Comments - 1,754 Views - 1 Like
Additional Images:
Wife got it framed professionally for me a few years back. Archival materials only!
Jackie Estrada's photo of Bill Melendez drawing the mustachioed Snoopy
Shel Dorf's comicon photo of Charles Schulz & Bill Melendez
Shel Dorf's comicon photo of Bill Melendez
1974 Comicon program and schedule
Artwork Details
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DescriptionThis piece has quite a story for me. I first spotted it for sale at the Dallas Comic Con in 2013. It sat unassumingly high up in the corner of a shelf in a booth with other collectibles being clearanced out. To my eyes it had confident strokes from a person accustomed to drawing him. The booth operator told me it previously belonged to John Harper, a comic shop owner in Tulsa Oklahoma, who had won it at the charity auction at the San Diego Comic Con in the 70's. The booth operator felt it was drawn by Charles Schulz but couldn't guarantee it, especially with no signature. That possibility was good enough to take a $180 risk.Later that evening, I searched for hours online looking for any sort of proof it had been drawn by Schulz. I finally stumbled upon Shel Dorf's 1974 San Diego Comic Con photos, among them photos of Charles Schulz and Bill Melendez sharing the stage for a chalk talk. One photo, in particular, had Bill Melendez standing with a microphone in front of the very same Snoopy sketch. I still wasn't sure who had drawn it, however. So I tracked down one of the individuals involved with running the con that year. After looking at the photos, he recalled Schulz had drawn it and Melendez finished it off with the mustache. I was ecstatic to have first-hand confirmation of an original Schulz. The next year I took the sketch and all my gathered provenance to a taping of the Antique Roadshow after winning tickets. Heritage Auctions' Kathleen Guzman appraised it and did not dispute my provenance and claim Schulz had sketched it. But, alas, was not worthy of a recorded segment. Fast forward to 2018 where I learned about Jackie Estrada's book Comic Book People: Photographs from the 1970s and 1980s. I figured she may have taken pictures of the chalk talk. She confirms she did indeed after reaching out to her. I had to buy the book. On page 114 I found the proof I had sought, just not what I had expected: a photo of Bill Melendez actually drawing the mustachioed Snoopy (pre-mustache). I felt disappointed at first, but soon came to appreciate the story behind it and its place in comic con history. Furthermore, when I thought about it, the whole reason I loved Snoopy as much as I did was because of the animated specials Melendez produced. Mustachioed Snoopy happily greets me at the top of my stairs every day, and brings a smile to my face. No regrets! Social/Sharing |
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Comments on this Artwork
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kent mansley 
Member Since 2015
1 - Posted on 5/23/2020
Bill had such a fun way of drawing the characters. You got quite a score! And for a great price too. Congrats!
Alex Johnson
Member Since 2006
Forum Moderator
1 - Posted on 12/19/2020
That might be rarer than a Schulz one! Congrats!
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Comic Art Fans may be compensated if you make a
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