the complete peanuts (or fantagraphics: S/D)

I dig Fanta's new look: https://blog.fantagraphics.com/fantagraphics-a-new-improved-look/

Has anyone been reading L&R Vol. 4 (the individual issues)? I'm waiting for the collections to be published.

Also, I'll put this here (FG has published a few Nancy collections) –

I think Bushmiller can be great, but I don't quite get the cartoonist/critic obsession with Nancy. The 1959 strip deconstructed in that famous essay is... fine? It's not one I would have ranked among the top strips (and even the analysis, while impressive, doesn't quite convince me).

I've read the essays and stuff, but feel like picking apart what makes the strip great is sort a case of dissecting the frog, you know?

Like, Bushmiller's gags can be great and the strip was pleasingly "minimalist" and "reduced to its essence," or whatever. Beyond that, it's all just sort of elaboration of the obvious.

Nothing wrong with learning frog (or any other) anatomy.

<3 this panel

https://i.imgur.com/QxHqymh_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

My son asked me to explain this strip; I read it and exclaimed, “Jesus Christ!”

Which date?

Oh, sorry, thought I had linked directly. Jan. 5, 1958

Lol the more things change

He also asked about this strip (think I got the link right this time)—which was a segue into discussing some stuff we’ve talked about a little in the past, but which I’m never really “ready” to tackle.

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/peanuts/images/8/83/19540503.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130630140841

Sorry, don’t think that’s working. May 3, 1954

https://peanuts.fandom.com/wiki/May_1954_comic_strips

9/9/58 cracks me up.

So does 8/28/58.

Schulz could be razor-sharp sometimes.

we stan a queen

https://i.imgur.com/BqGgl4J_d.jpg?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

Omg the newspaper one was an actual lol

Thanks for that wiki link btw! Never seen them all out like that

Brutal

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/peanuts/images/7/7a/19580625.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130813004328

Jesus christ

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/peanuts/images/c/ce/19580829.gif/revision/latest?cb=20130814004004

Yeah - the direct links don't work, for whatever reason (what's the date?)

weird, those ones work for me (and are indeed brutal).

I just see grey "placeholder" graphics. Gimme the dates!

if you erase everything after .gif in the links they work

groovy - thx

I came across the "spaghetti" one that I posted upthread (3 years ago) - it's just perfect.

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/peanuts/images/7/7a/19580625.gif

Argh!

https://i.imgur.com/Bej1UAR.gif

https://i.imgur.com/BSPORcb.gif

The last one is v goth

November 19, 1961 has to be the pinnacle of something: https://peanuts.fandom.com/wiki/November_1961_comic_strips

The apparent home of the Great Pumpkin as per Charlie Brown!
https://essexnewsdaily.com/headlne-news/22270

xp I love that one, I remember reading it as a kid

fun fact: when my mom was a teenager in the 50's, her high school boyfriend wrote to Charles Schultz and told him how much she liked the strip. In return, Schultz sent him maybe three framed original strips. My mom kept them for many decades (librarians lol) and eventually donated them back to the Schultz museum. so I gre up totally steeped in the Peanuts ethos, I remember seeing the actual framed strips she had as a kid.

"grew up"

Woah - that's so awesome. And kudos to your mum for sending them to the Schulz museum.

Lord above that Sunday strip. Starting to understand the Chris Ware influence now

It's the "Mom..." lines that just take it to "that place."

Spring 1959 is a high point; Schulz was really in the pocket: https://peanuts.fandom.com/wiki/March_1959_comic_strips

My son asked what being "stoned" means... turned out he was looking at August 28, 1960.

that's pretty amazing

He also claimed a similar gag was used sometime in the '50s (the kids being freaked out when "Rain, rain, go away" actually works)... my kid, the number one Peanuts narc.

Was looking for another volume of Bushmiller’s Nancy strips—turns out Fantagraphics only published three volumes of dailies (and never any Sundays). We have the first and second volumes. Of the three, only the second is still in print; the other two are OOP and $$$. I guess interest was pretty low.

"The Best of Ernie Bushmiller's Nancy" by Brian Walker is a fantastic collection if you can find it.

Thanks! I did see that in my online browsing... will try to find a copy at a reasonable price, appreciate the tip.

https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1973/10/23

that's a great one

https://biblioklept.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/unloved.jpg

One of my favourite depressing Peanuts has a similar “gag”

^^ me and my therapist talked about this strip in our session last week!

that's a great one. the way charlie brown gradually reacts to the rain is wonderfully paced.

and schulz drew rain just beautifully, maybe better than any other cartoonist.

The other night, we happened to land on a series of strips from October 1964, timed for the run-up to that year's election. Linus is running for class president (with Charlie Brown as his VP) -- and he's crushing it in the polls, until...

A few of the strips dealing with Lucy as his pollster are particularly funny.