Unfortunately, for some contractual reason, the reruns of the Peanuts strip that appear in newspapers these days are limited to the 1960s or 1990s. I’ve pretty much stopped looking at them. Now, if they were allowed to go back to the very beginnings of the strip, THEN I’d start reading them again.
The problem for the syndicator, from a pure marketing point of view, is that the characters were still evolving, not at all as familiar as some of them would become. The key characters in the early days were Charlie Brown; Patty, not to be confused with the much later Peppermint Patty; Shermy, who’d end up in the background by the 1960s; and Snoopy, who was seen walking more on four legs than two. Violet, who ended up in the background, too, entered some seven months later; it was she, not Lucy, who held the first football that Charlie Brown missed.
Schroeder, the piano prodigy practically from birth, and needier than crabby Lucy were introduced as much younger characters than the other children. It was only later than the strips covered in this first volume that they, and baby Linus, aged to where we would most recognize them.
When I bought The Complete Peanuts, 1950-1952 last year, I knew that I would enjoy it. In fact, I like it more than the “classic” period of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Among other things, Charlie Brown wasn’t always so put upon. He was a bit of a scamp, who initiated mischief, compelling his friends to chase after him. He had moxie. No wonder Shermy felt as he did in the very first strip, shown below.
I recommend this book, in which we see the evolution of these beloved, and in some cases, largely forgotten characters.
Is this book available in bookstores, now?
It is, Julia, along with over a dozen more companion volumes covering up into the 1980s. The complete series will include every Peanuts strip Schulz ever created.
I tried reading one of those books but it became challenging. I never noticed how much Schulz tended to repeat himself. The one book I read (and couldn’t finish) was the 1955-56 volume. I got tired of all the fussbudget stuff because 1) I don’t know what it is, and 2)I don’t know how many times you can have a strip where Charlie asks Lucy why she is a fussbudget and then several strips where she proclaims, proudly, to be one.
I guess it all depends on the scale of fandom that you fall in. If you are hardcore in love with the strip, to you the repetition is probably soothing and enjoyable sort of like a running gag. If you are a casual fan, it might annoy you a bit. That is why I only own the 60th anniversary addition as well as the 1960s Peanuts Treasury book.
But I do own the complete C&H and I am sure they repeat themselves too but because I love it, I don’t notice it.