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Summary: Peanuts Treasury is NOT the same as Peanuts Treasury
Review: Apparently there has been a mix-up: The two "editions" of this book DON'T correspond to each other. I've bought the paperback one, and it does not contain some of the strips mentioned in the review section.
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Summary: What a "Treasure"!
Review: As an avid Peanuts fan, every Peanuts book is wonderful. But "Peanuts Treasury" seems extra special. It is a large (8.5 x 11") hardcover book with a huge selection of reprinted comic strips. Very entertaining, even for a "non-fan". These characters can put a smile on anyone's face.
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Summary: Still one of my favorite reads of all time!
Review: I am an adult :) however, when I was younger, I remember reading this book OVER & OVER. I had to buy the reissue when it came out, due to the fact that the old one had seen better days!
Great, CLASSIC strips from the legendary Charles M. Schulz!!
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Summary: Good overall but printing quality disappointing
Review: I love Peanuts. That said, this book, while showcasing some of the best classic cartoons, was somewhat disappointing to me. Besides being out of chronological order, the print quality is in a word AWFUL. Some of the strips are way too dark; others look like someone went in and penciled over Schulz's orginial script. Linus, particularly, exhibits "male pattern baldness" in numerous strips as the copying job was terrible. If you're going to reprint comics of this quality at least do an acceptable job. The publishers did not do Schulz's art justice IMHO. If you can deal with a poor print job and value the comics for themselves, you will enjoy this book.
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Summary: Lighthearted and funny
Review: If you are a Peanuts fan, then this is the book for you. It is not expensive, and I note there are some comments on the quality of the print, but this is a comic strip! How often have you peered at your favourite comic in some tatty old newspaper? The strips aren't in any particular order, but what I like about it is that you can pick it up and open it at any page for a few moments of delight. All the characters are there, in all the situations you recognise them - Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound, Snoopy on his kennel, Lucy as psychiatrist and so on. Just what Peanuts is all about. I think this is a great book to have lying around, and remember, it is a book of comic strips designed to entertain and amuse.
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Summary: Lighthearted and funny
Review: If you are a Peanuts fan, then this is the book for you. It is not expensive, and I note there are some comments on the quality of the print, but this is a comic strip! How often have you peered at your favourite comic in some tatty old newspaper? The strips aren't in any particular order, but what I like about it is that you can pick it up and open it at any page for a few moments of delight. All the characters are there, in all the situations you recognise them - Charlie Brown on the pitcher's mound, Snoopy on his kennel, Lucy as psychiatrist and so on. Just what Peanuts is all about. I think this is a great book to have lying around, and remember, it is a book of comic strips designed to entertain and amuse.
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Summary: Possibly the best "Peanuts" collection on the market
Review: Many of Schulz's detractors are quick to point out how much Peanuts seemed to decline over the years; by the end, things were rarely funny and became so repetitive that more than a few columnists accused Schulz of "running on fumes." Regardless of your opinion, there's no arguing with the strips presented in Peanuts Treasury, originally published in 1968 during what was arguably Schulz's prime. Schulz had spent most of the 50's gradually developing the cast as well as his technique, and by the dawn of the 60's, he was running full steam; it's no wonder that the strip was also at the height of its popularity. This hardcover collection presents the cream of the crop between 1959 and 1964, and at just $9.98, it's a steal. A rather bare-bones book (the cover is very sparse and the only addition is a brief introduction written back in August of 1968), I was surprised at how funny and sharp Peanuts could be. If you're a big fan of Calvin & Hobbes, you'll definitely see the huge inspiration Schulz served on Watterson. Calvin isn't anything like the Peanuts characters, but a lot of his world views, sarcasm, and humor feel like they evolved from these strips. The presentation isn't perfect: some of the stories running through a few strips feel like they aren't in correct chronological order, and the Sunday strips aren't in color (a small complaint, though, since the artwork, particularly the use of color, was never that elaborate). Nevertheless, if you're looking for just one Peanuts collection to own, or if you just couldn't understand what the fuss was over this strip, check this collection out.
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Summary: Can't believe it's gone
Review: On Valentine's Day 2000, my girlfriend (now my wife) Debbie and I stood in the shadow of Palma Cathedral in Majorca, Spain. A magnificent setting on a very special day for us, it was tinged with sadness as I read of the death of Charles Schultz. I have read Peanuts for as long as I can remember and, like most people who had never known a world without a new Peanuts cartoon, had thought it would go on forever. Unlike the characters he created, Charles Schultz was not immortal but the work he left behind will ensure he will not be forgotten. I recently read a commentary on Peanuts in a newspaper. The writer claimed that the quality of the writing fell dramatically in the final years. I could not agree with that assessment; it is impossible to tell apart a Peanuts cartoon from 1999 from one created ten or twenty years earlier. Peanuts continues to be published in newspapers daily (the 1974 cartoons are currently in circulation) and is mass-marketed in toys, clothing, wallpaper, car air fresheners and countless other items. Snoopy is an enduring image, another Mickey Mouse, but with so much more depth and resonance than any Disney character. Thank you, Mr Schultz.
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Summary: The comic strip that became a social institution
Review: Peanuts was an interesting comic strip, because it eventually became wildly successful despite the fact that the artwork wasn't that sophisticated (well, let's just call it brilliant in its simplicity); it often dealt with downer themes--the football is always pulled away, the Great Pumpkin never rises from the pumpkin field, Linus remains neurotically dependent on his blanket, Snoopy never gets the Red Baron, and Charlie Brown always gets the shaft; and perhaps most amazing of all--it wasn't that funny. Gary Trudeau once said that Peanuts was the first Beat comic strip, because "It vibrated with 50's alienation." Someone I know once eloquently said, "Alas, by my day, Schultz not only ran out of ideas, he also ran out of relevance. Kids today don't practice on the piano all day, they use canned beats in MTV Music Generator. Kids today don't play inter-gender football, they have inter-gender sex. Kids today don't read Peanuts." At its height, however, it was being read by 355 million people in 2600 newspapers in 76 countries and in 21 languages daily, becoming the most widely syndicated comic strip of all time. Schultz did well for his labors--making 30 million a year on the comic strip and its commercial product tie-ins, not a bad haul for--let's face it--just drawing a comic strip whose main character's head looked not unlike a pumpkin itself. But Schultz tirelessly and unflaggingly drew the strip for 50 years, outlasting by decades other funnier strips such as Calvin and Hobbes and Gary Larson's The Far Side. In his self-effacing sedulousness, longevity, and ultimate popularity, Schultz became virtually a mass-media phenomenon and institution all by himself, and I give him credit at least for that.
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Summary: Treausre
Review: Published sometime in the late 60s, this contains many of Schulz' favorite strips. At the time it was published, this was one of the best of its kind and something of a groundbreaker. Having a cartoonist choose his own strips was a new concept then. This book has many familiar favorites that longtime readers will recognize and is a perfect introduction to the strip, especially if the Golden Celebration book is out of your price range. Peanuts Treasury has been reissued as a budget release but the book is top notch.
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