July 1, 1952: "I won..."

Charlie Brown's losing streak in nearly all games has yet to be firmly established, but it's coming. He somehow loses thousands of games of Checkers against Lucy in the coming months alone.

The storytelling in this one's excellent. Charles Schulz uses repetition in Peanuts in a way that no other comic strip, that I can think of, does. It's a really complex idea to get across in four panels too, of Charlie Brown getting beaten down by Patty's dismissal of his victory, yet I don't see the strip making its point more effectively with more panels.

June 30, 1952: Lucy and the balloon

The thing that confuses me about this strip? Lucy can't fill the balloon with air, right, so she drags it along the ground. But what if she had been able to blow it up, what then? She isn't breathing helium after all; the balloon would still be earthbound.

Sunday, June 29, 1952: Patty, Marbles Champion

It is interesting, and somewhat heartening, to see the girls in Peanuts take part in the same kinds of activities as the boys. Patty has played Cowboys and Indians with Charlie Brown and Shermy before, and here she slaughters him in marbles, and not for the last time. It is enough to bring one to mind the other Patty, although she won't turn up for years yet. And of course, Lucy eventually becomes the terror of the neighborhood.

How goes the plight of the little girl these days? Is it just me, or is gender norming as strong as ever now?

June 28, 1952: All is vanity

Schroeder has said a word in English before, but it's rare for him. Notice that Schulz considered that Schroeder's musical talent was well-known enough by now that he didn't have to establish it.

June 25, 1952: On the links

Generic sports strips like this I usually don't consider worth linking, but it is important to note that Charles Schulz eventually starts up a second, short-lived strip called It's Only A Game. Warning: link contains adult figures drawn in the Peanuts style!

It's Only A Game was a shallower gag strip devoted to various types of sports, including more cerebral ones such as Bridge, to which Schulz was devoted. The supplied link is to a discussion of the strip and its history, along with Schulz's assistant/eventual ghost artist for the strip, Jim Sasseville. The article is a bit of an eye-opener; Charles Schulz could be kind to friends, but apparently he could also cut them off at a moment's notice.

(Thanks RAB for the link to that one, from some time back.)

Juhe 24, 1952: Schroeder in German

He's said more words in German now, probably, than English. You can tell it's German because the letters are fancy, natch. (Schulz signs the strip in that script too, again.) Schroeder's lingual forbearance doesn't last too much longer though.

Sunday, June 22, 1952: For the Kiddies

I love this strip! I saw it when I was a little kid in an early Peanuts compilation and it's stuck in the back of my mind ever since. The "For the Kiddies" in funky script at the top drives the joke home.

Check out all the names: Mangle, Slaughter, Throttle, Jab, Terror, Choke, Crush, Run (something), Mob, War (twice), Thrill, Smash, Murder Comix, Killer, Hate, Ouch!, Hit!, Mur-something (maybe Murder again), Terror, Gouge, Stab!, Kick Komics, something I can't make out, Kill Komics, Murder Comics, Smash, and Blast Comics.

In addition to some rarely-seen cultural commentary from Charles Schulz in the form of those titles, we get Charlie Brown professing to being discouraged here. And the Druggist is basically an unseen character here.

Drug stores used to be an important center for the community. How far they've fallen since those days. I have never seen an operational soda fountain in a drug store in my life.

EDIT: Fixed comic.

June 21, 1952: Further development of the monster

Charlie Brown handles this a lot better than he does all those footballs later on. This is also the first "POW!" I remember seeing in the strip. POW is a word often connected with Lucy....

I've looked ahead a few months, and I have to say there are some excellent strips coming up. Linus makes the scene before long!

June 20, 1952: How does a little kid get so down on himself?

This is a major shift towards Charlie Brown's later personality.

June 19, 1952: They grow up so fast

A momentous strip: Lucy has lost her eye-circles then facing forward! And she's talking just like everyone else! And she isn't referring to herself in third-person anymore! And it reveals a glimmer of the raging inferno beneath the surface too! Oh, it's also a funny strip.

(Note that there is a Sunday strip coming up where she has eye circles. And in a couple of months she refers to herself in the third person one more time. This doesn't mean Lucy's early self is entirely banished just yet....)