DALLAS, TX.- This April 6, 1953, Peanuts strip is a fastball down the middle of the plate.

It appeared less than three years into Charles Schulz's five-decade run as America's most adored creator of some of the most famous kids in American literature. It features a solitary figure in its four panels: Charlie Brown, the beloved blockhead with his oversized mitt on his left hand, tossing yet another in the relentlessly long line of line drives surrendered throughout his miserable career on the mound. He launches the ball with tongue-wagging determination; he receives it with a thwack that knocks the cap clean off his big round head.

This strip's mere existence cements its status as one of the myriad centerpieces contained within the fourth – and, by far, most extensive – installment of Heritage's The Art of Anime and Everything Cool Signature® Auction, which runs October 20-23. It's history in four panels: Charlie Brown and baseball, the never-quitter just at the start of his losing streak that wouldn't end until 1958 – when Charlie Brown's team won while he was home ill, because of course. Early Peanuts strips perched upon the pitcher's mound are among the most coveted by collectors who crave these decidedly American snapshots.

Yet, look closely at the strip. Note the inscription that spread across the first two panels."To Charles W. Brown from good ol' Charlie Brown + Charles M. Schulz."

We don't know who Charles W. Brown was, only who he wasn't – the inspiration for Charlie Brown. That honor belongs to Charlie Francis Brown, with whom Schulz was an instructor at the Art Instructions Schools in Minneapolis following The Man Called Sparky's return from World War II. Yet no matter the mystery man, there is no denying the delight elicited from such a charming dedication, one Charlie Brown to another.

There's another strip here, too, from 1957, in which Lucy tells Charlie Brown that she'll "never be satisfied until I'm too smart for my own good." And this one is inscribed to Lucy van Pelt! Or, at least, musical comedian Kaye Ballard, who in 1962 was the first person to give Lucy a "voice" when she and Arthur Siegel read from Schulz's strips on the 1962 Columbia album Peanuts. It was clear Sparky enjoyed the record immensely: He inscribed the strip "For Kaye Ballard with kindest regards and sincere admiration – Charles M. Schulz."




Schulz was a generous man, as evidenced by this rare missive on Charles M. Schulz letterhead in which he gifts another strip to a man who told the cartoonist Peanuts was "even better when reread." There's something endearing about the visage of that smiling, cherubic blockhead smiling down on that generous cursive.

As is to be expected from an auction brimming with animation milestones, there are more than 80 lots featuring Charlie Brown, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, Snoopy and the Schulz's other children. Among their landmark lot is something similarly significant as the early baseball strip: these pan layout drawings from 1965's A Charlie Brown Christmas, including a 28-inch-long rendering of Snoopy, Violet, Schroeder, Frieda, Sally, Pigpen, Lucy, Linus and the rest of the Peanuts gang following Charlie Brown as he lugs home his sad little Christmas tree. There's also this original production cel featuring a lonely, longing Charlie Brown from that special signed by director Bill Melendez, the man who wrote the immortal "Christmas Time is Here" in 15 minutes.

Not only is it the greatest Christmas special ever produced, but A Charlie Brown Christmas "is the greatest half-hour American TV has ever produced," actor, puppeteer, director and animator Robert Smigel told the Dallas Observer in 1998. "The range of subjects that show covers in 22 minutes, and the way it treats each one with humor and sadness at the same time, is amazing. These were kids with adult feelings; they knew what a lonely place the world could be, but they had the determination to keep going."

One of the delights of an auction that promises "everything cool" is seeing what delights lie in wait among the more than 2,100 lots. As Heritage Vice President and Director of Animation & Anime Art Jim Lentz likes to say, the offerings are seemingly endless. "And as a result," he says, "the more you flip through this catalog, the bigger the smile that spreads across your face."

Perhaps one gets lost in the world of Tron, the movie that changed how movies are made, viewed and experienced, represented by some 80 lots at home on a gallery's wall as a theater's screen. Or perhaps the collector covets something from the birth of animation, represented by Winsor McCay's beloved Gertie the Dinosaur.

Or perhaps the production cels from The Transformers: The Movie (All) spark nostalgia among those searching for some (Optimus) prime offerings. There are also some 20 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe original production cells, among them one of the most iconic GIFs, memes, videos, parodies, you name it – Laughing Prince Adam, who's so famous your friend's aunt has probably posted it to Facebook. And right on time come these 10 set-your-phasers-to-stunning production cels from Star Trek: The Animated Series, which turns 50 this year.

There are some 60 The Simpsons production cels and conceptual renderings here, which might be as cool as it gets, especially since 17 of the lots hail from the collection of Wes Archer, who was among the original animators dating back to Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie's days on The Tracy Ullman Show. There are countless favorites from which to choose, but Simpsons creator Matt Groening's original felt-pen rendering of Milhouse Mussolini Van Houten ranks relatively high on that list of Coolest Things Ever in this auction, especially considering this narrow-headed lad looks nothing like the Millhouse who made his debut in the 1988 Butterfinger commercial.

This auction spans the animated spectrum, from Comic Book Guy to comic-book heroes, including sought-after animation drawings and character sheets from Max Fleischer's revolutionary Superman cartoon to production cels and storyboard sketches from Batman: The Animated Series, which stole its look and feel from those Superman shorts. Here's Bugs Bunny, SpongeBob SquarePants, Jonny Quest – and even the Beatles in more than a dozen production cels from a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine, a Yellow Submarine.