Tag: Schulz

The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952

andertoons

I had a big book buying spree near the end of last year. I think the UPS guy was delivering new cartoon books pretty constantly for a while there.

Of course it takes time to get to all of them, and one I’d neglected far too long was The Complete Peanuts (1950-1952).

What a great book! OK, the jokes are kind of dated, and it’s a far cry from what most would recognize as Peanuts, but the germs of the strip are there and it’s a fascinating and soothing read.

Some highpoints:

  • Page 81 – In what I can tell is the first Charlie Brown baseball reference, our favorite blockhead is the catcher instead of the pitcher/manager.
  • Page 117 – The first football kicking incident is actually perpetrated by Violet. (Lucy picks it up on page 268.)
  • Page 140 – Schulz’ iconic signature is rendered in a pseudo-German script following a music gag.
  • Page 248 – Schroeder breaks the fourth wall complaining that he should “put in for a transfer to a new comic strip.”

I must say, sometimes I buy books like this because I think I should. You know, I am a cartoonist after all. Shouldn’t I have all the Complete Peanuts on my shelf? But once I dug into it, I was surprised at how much I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Most modern cartoonists will credit Schulz as an influence as a matter of course, but it was fun to remind myself exactly what Schulz accomplished and what it meant to me.

I can’t wait to dig into the next volume!

Charles Schulz: Middle-Class Genius

andertoons

Sparky

There’s a wonderful article over at New York Press on Sparky:

“…Charlie Brown was not serious. He was earnest. He believed in things—such as that Lucy would someday hold the football still so he could kick it. When I read “Peanuts” at length, something inside me says, “Yes, this is us!” only to raise my eyes, find it is no longer us and grieve. It’s a jolt to see the suburban vision as nostalgic. When the detritus of the 20th century is collected, sifted and pondered, suburban American childhood will emerge as the utopia we didn’t love until it left. And Charlie Brown will remind us.”

It’s a great read! Check it out!