April 3, 1953: Kid spite

So they asked Charlie Brown for his opinion specifically to go against it? That's not very friendly. The wide smile on Schroeder's face doesn't seem to bear much malice; they don't appear to be intending to pass judgement on Charlie Brown with their action. It's just the way they decided to pick a color.

After a few strips that appeared to fairly solidly clinch Snoopy's owner as Charlie Brown, this one throws the question back up in the air a bit. Why would they be painting Snoopy's house if he were exclusively CB's? Wouldn't they grant his opinion a bit more weight in that situation?

Chagrimace!

April 2, 1953: On the mound: I think they're scoring a little high

How does a team earn 89 runs in a game that's not even over yet?

One potential problem, avoided I think, with this strip is the use of the word "home" in the last panel, which is a baseball term. Schulz plants the idea of Schroeder's home life in the reader's mind in the third panel however, which allows CB's line in the last to be more cleanly read as referring to Schroeder's house instead of home plate, would would have confused the joke.

April 1, 1953: On the mound: Charlie Brown's fast ball

Between this strip and the previous one, we're establishing Charlie Brown's notable lack of skill as a pitcher.

There are a number of stages in establishing a trait for a character:

• First, the trait is exhibited in a joke, but isn't remarked upon. It just happens. The character is being used more as a stand-in for a kid rather than himself.
• Next, the character, after the trait has been exhibited a few times, becomes known for it. This stage comes when other characters begin remarking on the trait as being associated with the character. The remarking shows that Schulz is intent on taking the character in this direction, so he mentions it to it'll stick in the reader's mind.
• Later the character becomes so associated with the trait that Schulz can just use the character as a shorthand for the trait, without even having to explain it in the strip, relying on the reader's past knowledge of the character to supply the punchline. Schroeder is arguably in this state already with his distinctive musical ability, but the other characters are still gelling.
• Finally, the character may become so associated with the trait that the character's presence itself may become a punchline. I don't think we see this for quite a while, though.

March 31, 1953: On the mound: Schroeder the catcher

This is the very first of a staple strip-type of Peanuts throughout its history, Charlie Brown the pitcher interacts with a member of his team who has come up to talk to him during a lull in the game. It even has Charlie Brown's usual expression of annoyance at having to put up with one of his teammates. It is missing the pitcher's mound, but that's fairly minor.

This is also, to my memory, the first time Schroeder has been catcher, which pretty much becomes his set role on the team.

March 30, 1953: Lucy could take the circus or leave it

I didn't get this one as a kid, reading Peanuts compilations from the library of our elementary school. I didn't get the meaning of the phrase "holding it over my head". Just another demonstration that Peanuts isn't really made for children.

Circuses really aren't all that hot when you think about it. Too much forced joviality, too much seediness just off the sidelines. (Of course, the seedy atmosphere is why some people like it.)

Too many clowns.

March 28, 1953: Snoopy goes crazy

I think this strip illustrates pretty well why Snoopy is kind of jaded over Charlie Brown in later strips. He gets maudlin if you get too friendly with him.

We do get one of those rare, ultra-cute three-quarters drawings of Snoopy with his mouth open in the second panel.

A new tag introduced in this post: "allpurposeears". I wonder what that could mean.

March 28, 1953: Patty and Violet Reject Charlie Brown

They've done stuff like this before, but this time it seems explicit and personal, which positions the characters more towards being antagonists.

March 27, 1953: Back to the slaughter

This is the first time we've seen Charlie Brown in bed, and also the first time we see him fretting while laying there. Poor kid.

We're establishing Charlie Brown's classic personality here. Most of the time up to now he was, Schulz's own word, kind of a smart-aleck. Here we see him as the sensitive, put-upon type which is more in line with how we remember him.

March 26, 1953: How many marbles?

What use would a kid have for that many marbles? Could we project that they are to 50s schoolyards as cigarettes are to prison inmates?

I'll admit, as a kid I had a bit of a marble collection. I never played the game though; I just thought they were neat. I don't really know if anyone still plays marbles anymore.

March 25, 1953: More Marbles

This is one of the first genuine sequences in Peanuts, a set of connected, consecutive strips that present a kind of narrative.