The Complete Peanuts: 1950-1954 Boxed Set

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Summary: Thank you, Mr. Schulz!
Review: It's a sign from heaven: The boxed set of the 1950-1954 Peanuts comics. Now, who doesn't know who Charlie Brown or Snoopy is? The kid with the rotten luck (he gets rocks while trick-or-treating) and the awesome dog. Here it is, folks, the once-rare pieces of work from Charles Schulz, who is now resting in peace. I think that this is what he would have wanted:millions of people to enjoy his work for future generations. I salute you, Mr.Schulz, for bringing this to us. Bless your heart.

Rating:
Summary: Full-size books, jackets on each volume
Review: Both books included in this boxed set are exactly the same full size as the separately-published volumes, and both books contain full book jackets. In short, this are the same books as the separate volumes, with an added attractive slipcase.

Rating:
Summary: PEANUTS never changes...thank goodness!
Review: Good grief, happiness is a warm puppy, fuss-budget, you blockhead, auugh, the Red Baron...look what Charles Schulz gave us, not to mention one of the best most beloved Christmas specials of all time. I remember reading the strip and watching the cartoons on Saturdays. The specials were always sponsored by Dolly Madison, "neat-to-eat-treats."

Although MAD Magazine did a humorous update of the gang (my personal favorite: file clerk Charlie Brown married to Lucy who still chases after Schroeder), the sweetness and the innocence never changes. There's also a sense that you really can kick the football before Lucy pulls it away.

Then there was Peppermint Patty, well-meaning and insecure and struggling in school.

Snoopy and Woodstock were always the stars. Change the Peanuts gang? Good grief! Thank you, Charles Schulz.

Rating:
Summary: Happiness is The Complete Peanuts!!!
Review: Good grief, here it is!!! For all of us Peanuts fans, lying awake at night under our security blankets, dreaming of the day when ALL of those classic Charles Schultz cartoons would finally be reprinted in lovely collectible, box set form, here is the premier installment, covering the first four years of Peanuts strips 1950-1954, with a promise of one new two-year collection per year to follow in subsequent years. Here are Schultz and his creations, ready to remake the world of the funny papers forever. We see them VERY young, full of promise and hope, yet already tempered with the real-world insight that would make them the most idolized comic characters in history. For those of you who are new to the Peanuts story and looking for your favorite characters, you may have to wait until subsequent volumes are published; 1950-1954 contains only Charlie Brown, Shermy, Patty (NOT Peppermint Pattie; she wouldn't make her first apppearance for over a dozen years), Violet, Snoopy (as a puppy), Pig Pen (in the second volume), and Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus (all introduced as babies in the first volume). Charlie Brown is the main focus of the action at this point; he would remain so until Snoopy and the other characters outgrow their "baby phases" and become more central to the action a few years hence. Fans of the strip in later years may be surprised by the look and feel of certain characters; Charlie Brown in particular, alternates his usual melancholy persona with a brash, almost cocky attitude at times. Even as a baby, bright-eyed Lucy is demonstrating the cheerful selfishness that later gave her the title of world's champion fussbudget, while fellow female cast mates Patty and Violet take catlike turns sharpening their claws on Charlie Brown, who refers to himself as a "spiritual scratching post" at one point. Early on, Snoopy is thoroughly cute rather than the wonderfully amusing dog we would all know and love later. Still, his unique inventiveness is already starting to show: rather than catch a balloon in his mouth to retrieve it, he resorts to bumping it along with his head. The packaging of Complete Peanuts is glorious, and the added materials, from an extensive interview with Schultz in volume I to a forward by a star-struck Walter Cronkite in Volume II, are wonderfully insightful. Even though many of these early incarnations of the characters often behave differently from their later counterparts, and even though Schultz was not yet at the peak of his abilities (his "glory years" really start about 1954, the last year of this set), the fabulous packaging, wonderful added materials, and above all, the completeness of The Complete Peanuts 1950-1954 make this a must-purchase for the Charlie Brown or Snoopy fan in your household. Good Grief, indeed!!!

Rating:
Summary: Truly does Peanuts justice
Review: Let's get one thing straight, Fantagraphics pulled out all the stops on these books. The reproductions are magnificent and all the strips are bookended by great interviews.

As a long time fan of Peanuts I have only started to truly appreciate Sparky's amazing talent. I read Snoopy books religiously as a child but put them aside in my late teens and twenties as I thought them too childish. I have recently come back to read the strips again with a fresh mind and am amazed by Schulz's talent to say so much about us as people in only 4 panels and a few well-place pen strokes (perhaps only matched by Bill Waterson of Calvin & Hobbes fame).

The true joy of these books (and I haven't finished reading them yet, but I digress) is seeing the progression of characters from day one. Snoopy is just a puppy with an upturned nose who doesn't talk. Heck, for quite a while it is not even clear who he belongs to! Slowly characters are introduced into the neighbourhood. It was amazing to see a baby Schroeder introduced and immediately play Bheethoven on his toy piano.

All in all, an amazing purchase. I look forward to the rest of the series.

Rating:
Summary: Jacket answer!
Review: The COMPLETE PEANUTS BOX SET includes the books WITH jackets, no matter where you're ordering it from. Box set = slipcase + both books + both jackets. --The Publisher