The Complete Peanuts: 1950-1952

Rating:
Summary: one problem
Review: it's great to have these strips collected for the 1st time. But the sunday strips aren't in color. I have seen these strips printed in color elsewhere such as "the artwork of Peanuts", and it's disappointed that we couldn't have the sunday strips in color here.
Other than that its great, it's interesting seeing the strip from it's very beginning, and you can also see were alot of inspiration for Calvin and Hobbes came from.

Rating:
Summary: The Start Of Something Special
Review: "Peanuts" has long been an American icon, but it certainly has changed over time. In this collection of the first 2+ years of the strip it evolves rapidly from a group of four barely recognizable characters (Charlie Brown, Patty, Shermy and Snoopy) to a group of eight characters which, for the most part, are easily identified with the characters in the later strips.

In the very early strips, Patty and Shermy are the most frequent characters, although before long Charlie Brown becomes the most common character, as he changes in personality from a bit of a prankster to the doubt filled character that keeps trying and never succeeding. Snoopy starts out as a dog that does not seem to have one particular owner, although he is clearly Charlie Brown's dog by the end of this collection. Patty is the most common female character until the arrival of Lucy. Shermy becomes less and less common as the collection goes on. Snoopy is not nearly as prevalent as he becomes in later years, and of all the characters is the least like what he will eventually become in the later strips. Violet joins the cast in February of 1951, followed by a very young Schroeder in May of that year. Lucy is also much younger when she first appears in March of 1952, as is Linus when he appears in September of 1952.

In this collection you see a lot of the development of the characters and firsts for the strip. Charlie Brown gets his distinctive shirt. Schroeder gets his piano and starts his infatuation with Beethoven, including the bust that sits on his toy piano. Charlie Brown is called a "Blockhead" for the first time (by Violet). Lucy pulls the football away from Charlie Brown for the first time (although Violet is the first one to fail to hold the ball for him in an earlier strip). Good grief is uttered for the first time (by Patty). Lucy starts her tormenting of Charlie Brown (winning 4000 games of checkers in a row).

In addition to the strips, there is an introduction by Garrison Keillor, which is interesting, but it is odd that he states that Charles Schulz didn't live to see the rise of the graphic novel which is clearly not true. There is a nice article called "The Life and Times of Charles M. Schulz" by David Michaelis which is a quite good look at his life. There is an interview of Charles M. Schulz from 1987 which provides tremendous insight into his work. Lastly, there is an index which makes it easier to find specific characters or events in the strips.

All in all this is an excellent start to a collection of one of the greatest comic strips of all time. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Good Grief, it's the beginning!
Review: A fascinating start to one of the longest and most memorable runs in comic strip history, and a high water mark in 20th-century popular culture. All of the strips for the first two years are presented in chronological order. It's very interesting to watch the progression from a very simple but effective "gag" strip into something more emotionally and intellectually complex. But of course, Peanuts was never just a head trip -- Schulz was also one of the funniest artists ever with pure visual gags. There is no color on the Sunday strips, which is going to put off some, but Schulz was never happy with the coloring of his work and running them in black and white preserves his spare but highly evocative pen line. The size of the reproductions is adequate and the Sundays are run complete, including the title panel.

Perhaps the most unexpectedly wonderful part is the index -- which, humorously but fairly completely, references all of the first appearances and other Peanuts memorabilia, although the first use of "Rats!" didn't appear to make the list. It's all very well done and Garrison Keillor's intro is a satisfactory prologue (sadly, there is a typo), but Rick Marschall's long interview with Schulz at the end of the book covers the great man's entire career and is very revealing.

The binding on my copy seems like it could eventually become a tad fragile, but other than that no complaints ... thanks Fantagraphics for making this remarkable collection available, the beginning of something I feel I've waited 30 or more years to happen.

Volume 2 is due in September 04 and will feature, among other things, some of the rare instances where adults are actually pictured in the strips ... an experiment Schulz thankfully abandoned as quickly as he tried it.

Rating:
Summary: There will never be another Charles Schulz ..
Review: A look that you don't see very often on any Peanuts cover...an angry Charlie Brown. I loved to see the early years of the strip I never got to see as a child. The Sunday strips should be in color and I would pay that extra to see them! That would be my advice to the publishers. I am going to follow this one for the next 12 years because I love Peanuts. It was one of my first comic strips I read as a child and I still love to read the old ones to this day. I was hoping that someone would make the complete strips available. I never thought that the publishers of the Comics Journal would be the ones to do so. Who think that a few years ago that Fantagraphic Books could take on a project of this magnatude?

Rating:
Summary: Bravo! Excellent Job!
Review: After years of only being able to find Peanuts strips in seemingly random and incomplete anthologies, "The Complete Peanuts" project is finally giving the work of Charles Schulz the respect it deserves.

By publishing all the Peanuts strips in their entirety and in chronological order, this Fantagraphics project is for the first time treating the Peanuts comics not as a mere collection of individual strips but as a unified whole: as a complete work in itself.

Despite having read many other Peanuts collections, a vast majority of the strips in "1950-1952" were new to me. It's fascinating to see the beginnings of a strip that would become so popular and influential. The look of the characters is much different from their later incarnations, but the gentle wit and philosophical insight that characterized the entire Peanuts series are definitely in evidence.

The extra features such as the index and Charles Schulz profile and interview were pleasant surprises and a nice touch. It is clear that for the people who put this together it was a labor of love. If future volumes are of this quality, the series will be a treasure. I'm excitedly awaiting the next volume, covering 1953-1954.

Two minor criticisms: I must concur with an earlier reviewer who expressed concerns about the long-term durability of the binding... but I guess only time will tell how well it'll hold up. Also, as has been pointed out, the Sunday comics are in black and white. I don't know if they were originally printed in color at this early date, but if so, reproducing them in color in this volume would have been a nice touch and I certainly would have been willing to pay extra for this. That having been said, however, these issues do not seriously detract from the overall enjoyment of this well-done first volume. I do not hesitate in giving The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952 a solid 5-star rating.

Rating:
Summary: Tribute to one of the great storytellers
Review: At last!I have been waiting for nearly thirty years for a publication of complete Peanuts. The early comics are difficult, and expensive, to come by.
They lack the streamline of the later strips, and are quite amateurish some times. He was still finding his way. But the genius so apparent in the later, especially the seventies strips, can already be seen.
I will read, and rearead, this one. I will plague my wife with it, forcing her to read the pearls.
Peanuts is one of the few cartoons that have really changed over the years, so this will be welcomed by the serious Peanuts fan and student alike.

Rating:
Summary: At Long Last! The Definitive Peanuts Collection!
Review: Ever since Charles Schulz retired his Peanuts cartoon strips and subsequently passed away, I have been hoping that a collection of all of the almost 18,000 strips would be developed. Many books have been issued over the years with Peanuts strips, but many strips, especially those from the early years, were never published again after their appearance in the newspapers.

Fantagraphics Books has agreed to develop all of the Peanuts strips in a 25 volume series over a 12 year period (2 books per year) starting with the strips from October 1950 (when Peanuts debuted) to the end of 1952. This first volume is fascinating as I would guess that I had previously seen less than half of the strips. In addition, the character development that you see is also fun. Schulz obviously planned the strip to star Shermy and Patty (not Peppermint Patty, who debuted in the 1960s) with Charlie Brown as a character to pick on. But you see that very quickly, Shermy and Patty take a back seat to Charlie Brown and then take on even more limited roles as Schroeder, Lucy and Linus come into the cast and assume the major roles.

Of course, there is Snoopy, but he is basically just a dog in these strips. He had yet to develop into the character that he became famous for, with thought balloons and a wicked imagination. But it is fun to see him in his early days.

The quality of the book is very good with an extremely attractive dust jacket and nicely designed hardback covers. The comic reproduction is very well done. I'm not sure how the comics were reproduced (photocopies of newspaper articles), but whatever was done, it nicely transfers to paper.

There is an introduction by Garrison Keillor, who focuses on Schulz' St. Paul, MN roots plus several interviews and articles related to Schulz and the strip. All add a nice touch to the collection.

After going through the first volume in the collection, it is going to be hard to wait six months for the next one. This is going to be a terrific series that will be a must for the Peanuts fan!

Rating:
Summary: A long-awaited bundle of joy
Review: Fantagraphics deserves acclaim for this project: the archiving of one of the greatest comic strips of all time. Fans who have lamented the messiness and scattershot dating of prior Peanuts collections are well rewarded with this volume, the first in a long series. The production staff has shown thorough loving care in their design and their selections for paper and binding materials; the bright paper and spare design allow Schulz's early inking mastery to shine through. The editors are chose brilliant contextual materials as well; the long interview at the end of this book shows Schulz as sometimes cantankerous, protective of his art form, and justly proud and possessive of his creations, but of course equally warm and thoughtful. This book is an absolute must-have, and those of us who love Schulz's work are grateful for its arrival.

Rating:
Summary: Schulz was a genius right from the start!!
Review: Finally, after 52 years, the Peanuts strips are being reprinted in order WITH NONE OF THEM MISSING!!! Up to the point of this publication, Peanuts fans had to endure books that were marked "with selected cartoons" which meant STRIPS WERE MISSING!!! Even if you have every paperback ever printed, you are still missing hundreds of strips. Now you can have them all, in all their glory!!
The Complete Peanuts Collection is magnificient. Each strip is crisp and clear (no blur like the paperbacks) printed on high quality paper bound perfectly with a nice dust jacket. Fans have reached nirvana, especially with the 1950-1952 strips, many of which were never printed before.
Even the early strips, where the characters are basically toddlers, Schulz shows his genius. Charlie Brown was more of a wise-guy in the early strips. Snoopy was developing as a thinking animal (in one strip he reads Charlie's diary). Lucy was developing as a pest (she waits until her father has relaxed into his easy chair before shouting for a glass of water). Linus is still an infant here. Schroeder learns to love music (he is also very young here). The remaining cast: Violet, Shermy and Patty would eventually be phased out, mainly because they had no distinct personality.
The book is well worth the price. Hopefully, new fans will embrace Schulz's genius with a pen.

Rating:
Summary: Buy this book!
Review: First, the bad - the Sunday strips aren't in colour (although Schluz was never a fan of the colouring anyway) and the text pieces have some obvious typos.

Now, the good - everything else.

The book is beautifully designed by cartoonist Seth. There are a few text pieces, including a 1980s interview with Charles Schulz - where he's very frank on some topics.

And then, there's Schluz's cartoon strips. No, there's no security blanket for Linus, Lucy has yet to develop into her crabby self (she starts as a googly-eyed baby), Snoopy doesn't fight the Red Baron and characters like Peppermint Patty are decades off.

Instead, we're treated to the early Schulz. Schroeder, Lucy and Linus premier as mere infants. Initially, it's Charlie Brown who has the Beethoven fixation. And Schluz's artistic style is still evolving. But there's a rough charm to these strips - flashes of greatness. And it's great fun to see where Charlie Brown and the gang got their start.

Strongly recommended!