Showing posts with label thoughtballoons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label thoughtballoons. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

April 7, 1954: Snoopy doesn't "do" fetch


Read this strip at gocomics.com.

Snoopy is both centered a bit more as being owned by Charlie Brown here, he uses a thought balloon, and shows some of the Snoopy-like personality at the end.

On the matter of Snoopy's ownership, there is a quite informative, unofficial FAQ on Peanuts hosted on www.fivecentsplease.org.  It is item 4.29.  It is detailed and informative and is probably the definitive statement on the growing certitude over who owns Snoopy, and I'm pasting that item here.  It's seems to be pretty much the last word on the matter:


Casual fans generally assume that Snoopy always has belonged to Charlie Brown, at least since the beagle was returned to the Daisy Hill Puppy Farm after briefly being taken homeby his first owner, a little girl named Lila (this story lending itself to the second big-screen Peanuts film, "Snoopy Come Home").

But it didn't start out that way. When Peanuts first began in late 1950, with its small roster of characters, Snoopy was more a "neighborhood dog" who might pop up with any of the newspaper strip's first stars: Charlie Brown, Patty or Shermy. On October 25, 1950, for example, Snoopy can be seen eavesdropping as Patty makes a call from her toy telephone ... which definitely seems to be inside her house. In the November 7 strip that year, Snoopy is in Charlie Brown's house; and on several occasions Snoopy is shown keeping company with Shermy. On February 2, 1951, Patty quite clearly tells Charlie Brown that Snoopy lives in "that direction" ... which does NOT point to Charlie Brown's house.

The first suggestion that Snoopy might have a specific connection to Charlie Brown comes on April 11, 1951, when the beagle shows up dressed in a zig-zag shirt just like Charlie Brown. But even here, it's hard to be sure; Snoopy might simply be making fun of poor ol' Chuck.

Stronger evidence comes September 12, 1951, when we see that Charlie Brown has a picture of Snoopy in his room ... which seems to suggest that the beagle is, at last, specifically bonded with Chuck. (Or maybe not. A few weeks later, Snoopy goes "home" ... to Shermy's house!)

On December 15, 1951, Charlie Brown repairs Snoopy's doghouse ... which certainly suggests that our beagle's home is in Chuck's yard. Unfortunately, on April 3, 1953, Patty and Schroeder ask a passing Charlie Brown what color he thinks THEY should paint Snoopy's house!

That latter incident notwithstanding, by 1953 Snoopy still is visiting other kids in their homes, but there are no strong indications that he lives with anybody except Charlie Brown. On November 28, 1953, for example, Charlie Brown tells Snoopy to go to bed, and both definitely are in Chuck's house.

But ambiguity creeps in once more. On December 5, 1954, after slipping Snoopy a piece of candy that came from Pig Pen's pocket, Charlie Brown says, "Psst ... Snoopy, ol' pal ... you'd better come home with me, and have a drink of water." Take note of the words "with me" ... one would think, if Snoopy lives with Charlie Brown, that Chuck would simply say, "You'd better come home."

Finally, on October 15, 1955, Charlie Brown gives Snoopy some food from the dinner table, while saying, "There you are, old friend" ... a phrase that strongly suggests ownership. A few weeks later, on November 1, Charlie Brown gives Snoopy his dinner in front of the family TV set ... definitely in Chuck's house. On November 3, Charlie Brown tells Violet that "All the dogs in the city [now] have to be kept tied up." Violet asks if he has tied up Snoopy, and Charlie Brown says "Of course ... what else could I do?" Clearly, at this point, Violet is identifying Snoopy as Charlie Brown's dog. And a few weeks later, on November 18, Charlie Brown tells Patty that he has Snoopy (who's no longer roped to a tree) "tied up with a sense of obligation" ... another strong indication of ownership.

Feeding Snoopy becomes more of a habit; on December 8, Charlie Brown tells Shermy that he'll be out in a minute, after he "attends to the hound." On March 10, 1956, Charlie Brown tells Lucy that Snoopy always brings his supper dish to him when he (Snoopy) is hungry.

On December 14, 1956, Charlie Brown buys Snoopy a new collar ("...something more masculine"). On November 14, 1957, Charlie Brown refers to Snoopy as "My pal" and says that "Everyone should have a dog to greet him when he comes home."

And finally -- FINALLY -- we get the smoking gun on September 1, 1958, as Charlie Brown is writing a letter to his pencil-pal. As his faithful friend peers onto the table to see what's going on, Charlie Brown adds, "Oh, yes, I also have a dog named Snoopy. He's kind of crazy." As of that moment, Snoopy is -- without question -- Charlie Brown's dog!



Wow, not until September, 1958 huh?

Thursday, June 2, 2011

March 15-17, 1954: Three for free

Read these strips at gocomics.com.

Three more conjoined strips, caused when whoever scanned these forgot to crop.

March 15, 1954:
A funny strip in general.  Charlie Brown is not one to let a card go to waste, even if it's not really suited for its purpose.  At least we should be glad Schroeder isn't giving out Beethoven's Birthday cards.  Yet.

March 16, 1954:
Snoopy is using thought balloons!  I think he used them one time before, but this time I think it "takes."  Good faces on Snoopy here.

March 17, 1954:
Patty is unexpectedly a marbles shark.  Not as bad as Lucy at checkers, but still.  What do marbles champs do with all their winnings?  She must have a huge collection of the things by now.  I wonder if the marbles companies engineered the whole "playing for keeps" idea, the same way Wizards of the Coast put playing "for ante" in the official rules to Magic: The Gathering?

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Sunday, June 21, 1953: Linus thinks

Peanuts

Being thoughts, this doesn't count as Linus' first words. I'm not even sure this counts as Linus' first thought balloons, but I can't find the strip in the archives in which he complains about "big kids," which is the prior use I remember so maybe that comes later. But I think it is the first example of Linus' voice really coming through clearly to the reader, even if it isn't audible to other characters.

Linus is interesting because we first get a few strips with him thinking before he actually starts talking. Sally also does this when she shows up. I think Rerun gets it too.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Sunday, May 31, 1953: Snoopy's not fond of fetch

Peanuts

Another of the earliest strips in which Snoopy gets thought balloons. He becomes much more of a real character with them, instead of just a creature that does funny things and has funny things happen to him.

Snoopy refers to chasing the ball as a way of making a living. Is kind of a throwaway line, but it does imply that Charlie Brown must be feeding him, putting another point in the owner column.

I'm not sure why I'm fascinated by the symmetrical gasping and panting in panel six. Seems a bit overdone, though.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Sunday, February 8, 1953: J'ACCUSE

Peanuts

This is an excellent strip.

I love Lucy's direct, indignant accusation of Snoopy: "You took TWO!" Although nowhere in her counting panels does she say the word "two," which makes me wonder if the spoken-aloud counting is a sham.

If the counting is taken to be real, my explanation is that Lucy has developer her own, personal representation of the number system, which she uses internally and translates when speaking to others. When she's speaking out loud as an aid to counting however, she uses her own symbols.

The question marks (excusing the fact that there are three of them) in the last panel are a bit weird, like he's questioning now Lucy's counting system but his own inability to comprehend it.

Oh, and Snoopy has thought balloons with word balloon tails here again.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

November 24, 1952: Linus' shirt

Peanuts

This strip is a continuation of the gag of Snoopy's hypersensitivity towards potential sources of treats, but it's also the first strip in which Linus wears his familiar striped shirt, or indeed a shirt of any kind. He's also out of diapers.

It's another strip, too, where Snoopy gets a thought balloon, and one with a thought-tail instead of a word-tail. Schulz still hasn't gotten the convention down entirely though, and in upcoming strips both kinds of tails are seen on Snoopy's thought bubbles.

Monday, December 21, 2009

Sunday, March 16, 1952: CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Peanuts

If your opinion of Peanuts has been determined entirely by "Happyness is a Something Saccharine" plaques, then take a look at panel 5 here. SNOOPY in an ELECTRIC CHAIR. It is also Snoopy's first thought balloons, although there are no words in these. The dog has not yet learned the rudiments of human language.

Dogcatcher jokes have been a staple of cartoons since at least the Termite Terrace days. Snoopy, being ownerless at this time, would have a special cause for avoiding the Homeless Police.

An ice cream bone? Just this one I envy those papers that clipped off the top panels.