Product Description

The New York Times best-selling series continues!

The third volume in our acclaimed series takes us into the mid-1950s as Linus learns to talk, Snoopy begins to explore his eccentricities (including his hilarious first series of impressions), Lucy's unrequited crush on Schroeder takes final shape, and Charlie Brown becomes...well, even more Charlie Brown-ish! Over half of the strips in this volume have never been printed since their original appearance in newspapers a half-century ago! Even the most dedicated Peanuts collector/fan is sure to find many new treasures. The Complete Peanuts will run 25 volumes, collecting two years chronologically at a rate of two a year for twelve years. Each volume is designed by the award-winning cartoonist Seth (It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken) and features impeccable production values; every single strip from Charles M. Schulz's 50-year American classic is reproduced better than ever before. This volume includes an introduction by Matt Groening (The Simpsons) as well as the popular Complete Peanuts index, a hit with librarians and collectors alike, and an epilogue by series editor Gary Groth.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #137503 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-16
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 346 pages

Amazon.com Review
In 1955-56, the Peanuts gang may have still been in first grade (or lower), but the characters continue to grow into their distinctive and unmistakable personalities. Snoopy overcomes some embarrassment to reveal his talent for impressions (wolf, rhino, alligator, kangaroo, Violet, etc.) and his joyous dance-the-day-away attitude. Linus adopts the same attitude ("Five hundred years from now, who'll know the difference?") and continues to show his genius in such diverse activities as square balloons, snow sculptures, and air sketches, even though he has to resort to wishful violence against his bullying sister. Lucy, now a ripe old 4, has to face such concerns as the Earth being worn down by people's feet and whether Santa exists. And already concerned about getting married, she tries to divert Schroeder's attention from Beethoven either by logic (what's the sense in learning Beethoven sonatas if you don't win a prize?), by sympathy ("My favorite piece is Bach's Toccata and Fugue in Asia Minor"), or by violence, and pulls away the football from Charlie Brown for the first time (December 1956). She also teaches her brother "little-known facts" about the world (palm trees were so named because people can fit their hand around them), which gives Charlie Brown stomach aches and formed part of the stage musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. But she'll never lose an argument as long as she can end it with a well-placed insult. Such is the misery of Charlie Brown, who also has to endure his failure to fly a kite, his complete failure on the baseball diamond, and misery during any holiday. That he does endure, however, makes him one of the heroes of our time. The third volume of Fantagraphics Books' handsome Complete Peanuts series includes a foreword by Matt Groening and a Charles M. Schulz retrospective by Gary Groth. --David Horiuchi

From Booklist
The uniform hardcover series reprinting all 50 years of the classic comic strip Peanuts continues. Many ingredients that would sustain the strip for a half-century are already in place, from Linus' dependence on his security blanket to Schroeder's rejection of Lucy in favor of Beethoven to Snoopy's efforts to impersonate other species. A few elements on view in this third volume in the series would soon vanish, however, such as Charlie Brown's loudmouthed counterpart, Charlotte Braun. On the other hand, a long-lasting device debuts when Lucy first snatches the football from Charlie Brown's impending kick. Only a few topical references--coonskin caps, Willie Mays, Howdy Doody--betray these strips' age. As Simpsons creator Matt Groening points out in the introduction, "there was nothing cutesy or condescending about the Peanuts gang." These early strips show that as well as timeless humor, it is such melancholic aspects as natural-born fussbudget Lucy's bitterness and Charlie Brown's frustrations over baseball, kites, valentines, and just about everything else he attempts that make them resound to this day. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
A treat...a package with mass appeal. -- Publishers Weekly starred review

As essential as pop texts get. -- The Onion

Consider replacing those tattered old Peanuts paperbacks with this definitive series. -- Booklist

Even the most demanding Peanuts fan couldn't ask for more. [Grade:] A+. -- Comics Buyer's Guide

I was surprised by how insanely funny the early strips were. -- Aaron McGruder, creator of The Boondocks, writing for Spin

Customer Reviews

"Never fall in love with a musician!"
In this series of The Complete Peanuts (1955-56), the Peanuts gang has established themselves as we now know them. Portions of this volume were used in Good Grief, More Peanuts (a collection of Sunday comics), Good Old Charlie Brown, Snoopy and You're Out of Your Mind, Charlie Brown (another exclusive collection of Suday Peanuts comics), all released on Holt Reinhart and Windsor books. Lucy has become crabbier and bossier to her kid brother Linus. When Lucy teaches Linus about the "facts of life," Charlie Brown says "It'll take 12 years for Linus to unlearn everything Lucy has taught him!" This leads to one of the 1st Peanuts stories where Lucy's inane lectures make Charlie Brown's stomach hurt (and later Linus's!). There is, however, a soft spot to Lucy, she's infatuated with Schroeder. But Schroeder loves only Beethoven and can't stand Lucy. In this volume, Scrhoeder uses the piano as a weapon against Lucy whenever she uses it a headrest for the 1st time (KLUNK!) or just drives him crazy, which is most of the time. He also won't tolerate Snoopy using his piano as a mini-dancefloor (Bill Melendez and Lee Mendelson used this gag in A Charlie Brown Christmas). Also used in one of the animated specials is a cartoon featured here where Lucy, fed up with Beethoven, smashes Schroeder's Beethoven bust only for Schroeder to go to his closet and get a new one! It was also used on GAF viewmasters, a toy many of you probably remember. Charlie Brown has become more melancholy and "wishy washy," as the gang seems to see him. He often complains he has no friends and has trouble flying a kite or winning a baseball game. He especially has trouble kicking the football from Lucy ("AUUUUUUUGH!" Did we mention that Lucy can be sneaky?). Linus grows up a little and is seen often with his blanket (Snoopy would often try to steal the blanket, leaving Linus flying in the air) or would sometimes shoot Lucy with his finger pistol ("BANG!"). Glimpses of the great philosopher Linus would become are already underway here. Pig Pen, who is featured on the cover here, is still a mess but can also be a great philosopher sometimes ("I tried cleaning up, Mom, but couldn't get the dirt off. I think I've reached the point of no return!"). Shermy is rarely seen, as Schroeder has replaced him as Charlie Brown's buddy. The 2 of them love to argue over which is better, Beethoven or Davey Crockett (Charlie Brown often wears a coonskin cap, in honor of his hero). It looks like Beethoven won in Charles Schulz's eyes, luckily for Schroeder! Violet and Patty, once friends of Charlie Brown, have become Lucy's Greek chorus for insults to the "blockhead." When Charlie Brown sees the 2 of them laughing, he thinks they're laughing at him! "Oh, good grief, Charlie Brown! We weren't even thinking about you!" Then he asks them "How come you never think about me?" And then of course, there's Snoopy, a lovable smart-allecky beagle who's often seen standing on his 2 feet, doing impersonations of a rhinocerus, Violet and Lucy, Mickey Mouse and (much to Schroeder's offense) Beethoven. For Patty, he can be a sad dog or a cheerful dog for Violet (or both at the same time!). He also could dance like Fred Astaire (much to Lucy's annoyance, but what doesn't bother her?) and once cost the other team a point when he refused to spit out the baseball he caught. Charlie Brown is often seen saying to his dog in frustration "You drive me crazy!" Snoopy also has one accident on the ice and his master (more like humble servant) Charlie Brown has to carry him home (Snoopy thinks to himself "When? When? When will I ever learn?"). Snoopy will probably learn his lesson the day Lucy lets Charlie Brown kick the football!

So- so
It would have been better if the description said this was a library book. Overall the item was fine, just had the library name printed on it, and I had to remove a plastic cover from it.

Absolutely great!
There's almost nothing to complain about in this set of books - the print quality is great, the accompanying artwork good, the commentary insightful and useful!

I give this five stars, and yet I have some desires...

Color!! The Sunday funnies were great because they were longer and had color! Without color, they are just long daily strips. Reprint the color, guys, at least, if you can.

More history! What happened in those two years? How many more newpapers picked up the strip, and what other things did Sparky do during that time?

Even so, these books are very well done, nicely thought out, and bring back all the classic strips without any obstrusive other stuff. I am thrilled to have these on my shelf!