Week 3: Early Peanuts

The comic strip Peanuts is iconic with a capital I, so much so that it has transcended mediums from comics to television specials to commercials to a theatrical film. Peanuts is recognizable even to those that haven’t read it through cultural osmosis. However, this week while I read through some of the first Peanuts strips, I was very surprised to see how much the franchise has evolved. The characters and themes of the early strips have transformed dramatically since it’s inception.

            Charlie Brown, as we know him today, is a shy, kind-hearted elementary schooler who can’t fly a kite or play baseball, but tries his best and loves his friends, his sister, and his dog. Charlie Brown’s original incarnation, on the other hand, is a prankster who tries to act like an adult and wants to be well-liked by girls without trying very hard. Charlie Brown’s iconic canine companion, Snoopy, is less anthropomorphized and rarely focused on: While he does have his own personality, Snoopy is less likely to fly after the Red Baron or smooch Lucy van Pelt and more often tries to eat the other kid’s candy.

Joining the main cast alongside Charlie Brown is Patty (not to be confused with Peppermint Patty), Shermy, and later Violet, who have all now since been relegated to background characters. Schroeder is introduced as a baby who progressively grows into a toddler but retains his love of classical music. Similarly, Lucy van Pelt starts as a trouble-making baby who falls on her head a lot. She was also the only character to be drawn with the sclera. These characters are eventually aged-up to be closer to Charlie Brown’s age, of course.

I suspect these changes were made because the cast of characters at the beginning of the strip didn’t have very distinct personalities other than being a little rambunctious and naïve. Charlie Brown and Shermy didn’t have too many differences besides their appearances and the same could be said for the two female leads. Even still, this early incarnation of the strip has a little more attitude and a tone similar to Calvin and Hobbes or Little Rascals where kids try to act like little adults. It’s also fun to see Charlie Brown be a little bit more of a jerk, like Mickey Mouse in his first cartoons. The line art is also very clean and less scribbly than Schultz’s later works. It is worthy to note that as the strip goes on, there are more continuous narratives or little story arcs. The visuals also start to incorporate halftone for light shading. Despite many changes, Peanuts was a classic from the beginning until the very end.