Working for Peanuts
Over my break, I recieved my copy of
The Complete Peanuts Vol. 1 1950-52 and have been properly wowed. Fantagraphics did a great job; each hefty volume beautifully designed by cartoonist Seth. These books (once they're all done in, gulp, 2016) would look fantastic all lined up on a shelf.
I love Charles M. Schulz's clean draughtsmanship on the earliest strips - all ovals and dot eyes and minimalist backgrounds. Patty and Shermy are the stars (Schulz would get tired of them soon enough), Charlie Brown is the oddly perceptive neighbor kid, and Snoopy is just a cute little pup who walks on all fours. From these humble beginnings, it's amazing how quickly everything fell into place. In two short years, it evolved from a simple, visual gag-a-day format into this self contained universe of angsty, strangely articulate children. Basically the Peanuts we now know and love. As David Michaels' excellent essay points out, the timelessness of Peanuts lies in its subversive edge. Schulz understood the casual cruelty of children, and how even as adults we never let go of the disillusionment of those years.
Posted by mhinrichs at April 24, 2004 03:18 PM
I can't wait to get mine. I, too love Schulz's early style... This weekend, in fact, I picked up my copy of Li'l Beginnings, the collection of L'il Folks strips in its entirety. I absolutely love it. You should get it yourself if you like his early work.
