Product Description: A boxed set of the first two volumes, just in time for the holidays, designed by the Award-winning graphic novelist, Seth! Ships shrinkwrapped.
The first volume, The Complete Peanuts 1950-1952, covers the first two and a quarter years of the strip (October 1950 through December 1952), and will be of particular fascination to Peanuts aficionados worldwide: Although there have been literally hundreds of Peanuts books published, many of the strips from the series' first two or three years have never been collected before—in large part because they showed a young Schulz working out the kinks in his new strip and include some characterizations and designs that are quite different from the cast we're all familiar with (Among other things, three major cast members—Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus—initially show up as infants and only "grow" into their final "mature" selves as the months go by. Even Snoopy debuts as a puppy!).
The second volume, The Complete Peanuts 1953-1954, begins with Peanuts' third full year and a cast of eight: Charlie Brown, Shermy, Patty, Violet, Schroeder, Lucy, the recently born Linus, and Snoopy. By the end of 1954, this will have expanded to nine. Linus still doesn't speak (except, on a few occasions, to himself, à la Snoopy), but Schulz begins laying the foundation for his emergence as the most complex and arguably most endearing character in the strip: garrulous and inquisitive, yet gentle and tolerant. And he evens acquires his "security blanket" in this volume! Meanwhile, Lucy, an infant just a year ago, has forcefully elbowed herself to the front of the cast, proudly wearing her banner as a troublemaker or, in Schulz's memorable phrase, "fuss-budget." The strong, specific relationships she sets up with each character further contributes to making her central to the strip. (She has earned her cover status on this volume.) This period's significant new character is Pig-Pen, who would remain one of the main cast members throughout the decade. And then there's Snoopy. To readers unfamiliar with the early days of the strip, Snoopy's appearances here will no doubt come as the biggest surprise. Although Snoopy has started talking/thinking to himself, he does no imitations (except for one brief shark impression), he doesn't sleep atop his doghouse (much less type or fly a Sopwith Camel), and has no fantasy life—in fact, he doesn't even walk upright! But as we know, he is merely biding his time, and his evolution continues its fascinating course within these pages.
Peanuts is the most successful comic strip in the history of the medium as well as one of the most acclaimed strips ever published. (In 1999, a jury of comics scholars and critics voted it the 2nd greatest comic strip of the 20th century—second only to George Herriman's Krazy Kat, a verdict Schulz himself cheerfully endorsed.) Charles Schulz's characters—Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, and so many more—have become American icons. A United Media poll in 2002 found Peanuts to be one of the most recognizable cartoon properties in the world, recognized by 94 percent of the total U.S. consumer market and a close second only to Mickey Mouse (96 percent), and higher than other familiar cartoon properties like Spider-Man (75 percent) or the Simpsons (87 percent). In TV Guide's "Top 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All-Time" list, Charlie Brown and Snoopy ranked #8.
Amazon.com Review: Good grief! The Complete Peanuts is the most ambitious and most important project in the comics and cartooning genre: over a period of 12 years, Fantagraphics Books will release every daily and Sunday strip of Charles M. Schulz's "Peanuts," the best-known and best-loved series in the world.
1950-52 Most everyone with an interest in its history has seen the very first strip ("Good ol' Charlie Brown... How I hate him!"), but this first volume follows it up with 287 pages (three daily strips or one Sunday per page) of vintage material in chronological order. "Peanuts" was unique at the time for portraying kids who seemed like real kids, but they also had a wisdom beyond their years, embodied especially by the lovable loser, Charlie Brown, who even in these early years has lost 4000 checker games in a row. We see him don his familiar jagged-stripe shirt for the first time (December 1950) and, at the age of 4, at his peak as a babe magnet. Shermy is the other significant boy, and the girls in their lives are Patty (not to be confused with Peppermint Patty) and Violet. Schroeder is an infant who has learned to sit up in order to play Beethoven on his toy piano. Snoopy is an anthropomorphic dog who plays baseball (April 1952) and has his own thoughts (October 1952). In March 1952 we meet a bug-eyed Lucy, who by November has been designated "Miss Fuss-Budget of 1952" and is pulling the football away from Charlie Brown (Violet had done it a year earlier). Her baby brother Linus arrives in July 1952. The book itself is beautifully packaged, the strips printed large and clear on high-quality paper and accompanied by an in-depth essay by David Michaelis, a 1987 interview with Schulz, an introduction by Garrison Keillor, and even an index of characters and subjects.
1953-54 The second volume covers 1953-54, and the visual style and character development is closer to the kids we know and love, as they try to exist in a grown-up world. Charlie Brown is no longer the object of Patty and Violet's affection--derision, more like--and his pattern of losing continues. His misery at checkers hits 5000 (June 1953), 6000 (August), 7000 (November), 8000 (still November), and 10,000 (December) consecutive games, he gets shut out on Valentine's Day (February '53), he wears his first bad Halloween costume (October '54), and he gets a form rejection slip from Santa (December '54). On the baseball diamond, though, he actually has the lead in a game (April '53, but we don't see the final score) and briefly plays catcher. By now Lucy has become the main girl in the strip, and in addition to beating Charlie Brown at checkers, she begins her romantic pursuit of Schroeder (January '53), joins the baseball team (August '54), and wins her third consecutive Miss Fussbudget of the Year title (November '54). Her younger brother, Linus, starts what will become a longstanding feud with Snoopy in the first Sunday strip of '53, shows he's a prodigy in jump rope, blocks, houses of cards, and balloon blowing, and cuddles his security blanket (May '54). Schroeder continues his obsession with Beethoven and reveals the secret to playing great literature on a plastic piano with painted-on black keys (practice and "getting the breaks"). We meet two new characters, the perpetually dirty Pig-Pen (July '54) and the loudmouthed Charlotte Braun, whose funny name wasn't enough to keep her around for long. Charles M. Schulz, whose own insecurity manifested itself in Charlie Brown (who not coincidentally draws his own cartoons), came up with his first multiple-strip storyline (starting with a four-Sunday series of Lucy joining a golf tournament coached by Charlie Brown, May '54) in this period, and provides us with a glimpse of the 1950s--deco furniture ("What in the world is a 'rocking chair'? asks CB), 3-D movies, H-bomb testing, and even what in hindsight looks like a prediction of the troubles in Vietnam (May '54). The second volume maintains the high quality of the first volume; even if it doesn't have the same extent of extra materials, it has an introduction by Walter Cronkite, a note on one strip that had to be partially reconstructed, and that handy index of characters and topics. --David Horiuchi
Very nice gift item I gave this as a gift to my brother and he loved it. He is excited to collect all of them. Great gift idea for any age category!!
The Complete Peanuts Great book, I was impressed by the artistry and its nice to see charlie brown in his early days.!!!
Exactly what I have been waiting for! I started reading the Peanuts when I was in elementary school, and followed the strip until its end. When it ended I hoped that Schultz's work would be compiled into a collection, and it was. When I hear Fantagraphics was going to publish all of the Peanuts strips I didn't give the collection much thought, with regard to the design, packaging, etc. I was just happy that there was going to be a collection!
When I recieve my order from Amazon, and first lifted the box that The Complete Peanuts 1950-1954 came in I was pleased to discover that the box was quite heavy. Why? The publisher didn't just throw the strips together in a cheap package. Fantagraphics gave the Peanuts the packaging and presentation it deserves. Two hard cover books...with wonderfully designed cover jackets...slips into a very sturdy box; I have the other 3 box sets and each box's design features a character and related artwork...its simply amazing and I couldn't ask for more. These books are going to last a long time, not to mention look great on a book shelf. I highly recommend this product and the other box sets as well. You can't beat the price Amazon is asking either. I was at Borders a while ago and they were asking $35 just for ONE book...not for the box set. Another thing to keep in mind...this endeavor by Fantagraphics is likely to be a one time deal, because it is so expensive to publish all of the strips.
Not too long ago, retailers sold out of the 1950-1954 box set, and it looked like they were not going to get anymore in. Fortunatley they did, but during this shortage the box set was selling for $250+ on eBay. So, buy it while you can...you won't regret it if you are a fan of the Peanuts...or a casual reader!
another rave review for the beginning of "Peanuts" I am in my mid-forties and am enjoying this wonderful journey back into my childhood. Although I caught Peanuts and Schultz in the 1960s, I still grew to have this huge spot in my heart for the world of Peanuts. As an adult (I think) now, I can also enjoy the strip for its sometimes unexpected, intimate peek into the life of Charles Schultz.
It is, therefore, with great joy that I started at the beginning, pre-Peanuts, when Schultz's comic strip was named "Lil Folks." It is fascinating to see how early he had developed some characters' features (Lucy and Charlie Brown). It is also possible to see how far Snoopy comes along as a character with a ripe, expansive internal life, when he was still "just a dog" in the 1950s.
I won't bore you with the details; if you're a Peanuts fan, you already know who's who and all that. Suffice to say that, for Peanuts fans or those wanting an overview of the Great Charles Schutlz's work, this is a fine place to start the journey.
I loved this set so much that I would rate it more than 5 stars if I could!
Must have! The box set is awsome. Hard cover, high quality paper and tons of Peanuts. Must have item!
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