July 26, 1951: Graffiti

An entertaining thing about this strip is how similar the fence-scrawled depiction of Charlie Brown is to the boy himself. And yet, despite his "correction" of the image, Charlie Brown doesn't actually smile in this strip.

The Peanuts characters of this phase of the strip exist in a kind of archetypal comic strip land of childhood that doesn't really exist anymore. Fences on which things are drawn is one aspect of it. Drugstores that sell comic books is another. You expect characters to pop knotholes in fences through which to spy on ball games. It's the same land that Nancy and Sluggo live in.

July 25, 1951: Conversations From the Sandbox

The characters' playing in the sandbox here is one of those things it's hard to picture the later characters doing, when most things were depicted in profile. Note the three-quarter perspective on Charlie Brown's toy truck.

How big is that sandbox anyway? Are they at the beach? And is Snoopy's grassy hilltop an ancestor of CB's place of perdition, the pitcher's mound?

July 24, 1951: Sis Boom Bah

This is a rather sharp strip that could be taken as critical of the idea of parades. Were Schulz's midwestern sensibilities offended by such ostentation displays of pride? Heck, I'm not from the midwest at all and I consider them overblown.

Mostly though, I linked to this one because I like the third panel.

July 22, 1951: Borrowed time

Remember, this was an era when parents routinely spanked their children for misbehaving. Seems weird now.

Charlie Brown's smile in the last panel is interesting.

July 21, 1951: Hey, it's funnier than Jim Cramer

Last strip was an odd one in which Violet suggested that Charlie Brown roughly steal her flowers.

This one's a little stereotypical, but I like it a lot more. In particular, I like the matter-of-factness of Patty's attitude towards the whole thing. She doesn't have an angry expression when she whacks CB with her purse, and the doesn't use any exclamation points in describing her "mad money." To her this is just how the world works, girls smacking boys with their cash.

July 20, 1951: Oh that Charlie Brown! ♥♥♥

This is a strange strip. I don't even think I want to get into this one. Draw your own conclusions, I'm kind of disturbed.

July 19, 1951: Schroeder's still a baby

It won't be long....

July 18, 1951: This would make Wii Golf a lot better, in my opinion.

I'm pretty sure they don't let dogs on golf courses. Something about "digging holes" or something similar. Of course, there aren't many four-year-old kids on them, either.

July 16, 1951: Snoopy, the refined dog

Snoopy has too much ambition to shoot his mouth off.

July 11, 1951: Schroeder's first words

They are "bye-bye."

Note: NOT "Beethoven!"