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Rating:  -
Here we find the years in which Snoopy becomes more of his own character, rather than just the dog that pops up in various comics. He becomes his own person, develops a complex personality, and, in a way, becomes a voice for Schulz.
I loved this set, but found myself laughing 8.9% less (a guesstimate) than in previous years. But don't let that deter you. It's Peanuts, and there's no arguing of Schulz's brilliant imagination.
Rating:  -
For a die-hard Peanuts fan, this series is a must-have!
Rating: -
There was a time when the newspaper comic strip was HUGE. In the early 1900s, the success of a newspaper was in part due to the comics it featured. That era has long since disappeared, and it often seems that the comic strip is a neglected relic. There are still some good comics out there, but they are getting rarer and the newspapers treat them with less and less respect, cramming many onto a single page that used to hold just a few.
Where does Peanuts fit into all this? Well, it is the most popular comic strip of all time. Does any other strip have anything close to its legacy of movies, TV shows, plays, books and merchandise? And happily, it is deserving of its success; it is arguably the best comic strip ever, and certainly one of the top ten or so. As a result, it is not hard to see why the newspapers continue to publish old strips years after its creator, Charles Schulz had died. They don't stop printing it or allow another artist to take it over. The comic strips overall are a pale shadow of what they once were, so repeats of Peanuts can prosper because nothing new can replace them.
Volume 4 of the Complete Peanuts is where the characters are really beginning to show their full development. We have Lucy, the champion fussbudget and Linus, her philosophical brother with a dependence on his security blanket. Schroeder is the budding musical genius. Patty, Violet and Shermy are mostly supporting characters at this point; they will be eventually replaced by other characters (but not in this volume).
The two key roles, however, are those of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Snoopy is up to his usual antics, pretending to be a vulture, grabbing at Linus's blanket and relaxing in his water bowl. He also starts his practice of lying on top of his dog house, although his first attempts are not all that successful. Charlie Brown is, well, Charlie Brown, the ultimate loser who the Fates themselves conspire against. Kites won't fly for him, pens constantly smear and if, by some remote chance, his baseball team is doing okay, they heavens themselves will open up and rain out the game. His "friends" are often cruel to him (with the exception of the benevolent Linus and the aloof Schroeder). In a way, the main theme of Peanuts is defined in the very first strip (in volume 1) when Shermy says, "Good old Charlie Brown...How I hate him." This seems to be the way the whole world thinks of this hapless character.
Peanuts may seem to some to be just an overrated strip, but I don't think that's so. It may be overly merchandised, but the comic itself is a cornerstone of the genre and one of the most influential strips out there. This volume again shows why Peanuts is one of the all-time greats.
Rating: -
This series is going to be a regular drain on my bank balance for the coming decade, as that is how long it is going to take Fantagraphics to finish publishing this collection, if they stick to their published schedule.
Be warned: The Sunday strips are not in colour unlike the Calvin & Hobbes and the Farside collection in which even the black and white strips are printed on colour pages. This quite pisses me off...
Finally, a Peanuts collection in chronological order and nothing left out. It's going to be a long wait indeed...
I've always thought of creating a bookshelf of hard cover with all my favourite comic strips, when I could afford them... Calvin & Hobbes, Farside, Tintin, Asterix & of course Peanuts.
I have the first two, and I'm on my way with Peanuts... It's going to be a long and interesting 11 years...
Rating: -
Here the Peanuts gang becomes familiar, as they start hitting the usual topics that would develop and blossom over the years. Every one of the main characters has secured their place, and Snoopy starts his development into the multi-faceted character we know and love.
Probably the best thing about the book is that we watch Charles M. Schultz modify and mollify his characters. In 1957, quite a few of the Sunday cartoons show Lucy becoming too much the bully, abusing her younger brother viciously without cause and causing no end of pain to Charlie Brown. During 1958, Lucy develops a vulnerability and Linus becomes more an actor, sometimes getting back at his sister and sometimes causing his sister's temper tantrum (it's easier watching her blow up when she has a cause). Schultz could have blown things with Lucy, but with a few modifications between her and Linus, a balance is made that makes things more interesting.
Now, here's to next April, and 1959-1960.
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