July 3, 1953: Slow approaching doom

We haven't actually seen many of those tricks. I guess it's comforting to know that Lucy will keep on with them for a long time to come.

One thing about this strip... Linus never does catch up with Lucy in height. His development slows down due to the Peanuts Time Warp effect and he always remains just a little behind her.

Maybe Schulz ran out of ideas for baby jokes, because he now seems in a hurry to have him achieve parity with the other characters. The kid doesn't have much infanthood left.

July 2, 1953: Lucy and Linus, sister and brother

This is the first time the two have actually seemed to be "together" in anything. Fellow-feeling is a remarkably uncommon trait for the Peanuts characters to have; most of them are loners at heart. Exceptions: Snoopy and Woodstock, "Peppermint" Patty and Marcie. Maybe Patty and Violet, although we haven't seen much of that yet.

July 1, 1953: That's a big outfield

At some point Lucy's problems with outfielding become more the result of her fussiness and ill-temper than more personable factors. At least her absence from play doesn't see to have caused Charlie Brown's team any problems this time.

June 29, 1953: Lucy in the outfield

The beginning of a long-standing Peanuts theme, Lucy as problematic baseball player. Note here her position is center field. I'm not sure, but I think most of the time she is a right fielder.

June 30, 1953: Linus' first steps

Linked for notability.

When Rerun joins the cast much later, in a way it's almost like these early strips with Linus return. Rerun looks so much like Linus, even if his personality is a little different, that it's hard to escape the conclusion that Schulz named him as a self-referential joke.

June 28, 1953: This isn't an argument, it's just contradiction!

Charlie Brown has a bright future ahead of him in cable news.

June 27, 1953: He who hesitates is lost (or at least gets no ice cream)

Lucy is what we might call an expert drinker of other peoples' milkshakes.

Chagrimace!

June 26, 1953: August 4 is Snoopy Day!

Mark it on your calendars!

How did Snoopy communicate his desire to have a specific day to Charlie Brown? It's not like he's learned to type yet.

June 25, 1953: Stop that draft

This is Lucy more as we recognize her, gloriously unreasonable.

June 24, 1953: Snoopy vs. the Yard

Another of those strips in which Snoopy, naive in the ways of yard equipment, investigates something and gets surprised by it. Here the reaction shot from Charlie Brown is needed to complete the joke.