Sonderbooks Book Review of

by Charles M. Schulz

introduction by John Waters

Hooray for Fantagraphics Books! This is now the ninth volume of The Complete Peanuts series, publishing every single comic strip from Peanuts, from the day it began in 1950.

In the 1967 to 1968 volume, we're getting into the classic Peanuts that I knew and loved as a little girl.

There's a strip that I think epitomizes this golden age of Peanuts: Franklin comes into the neighborhood, looking for Charlie Brown. He meets Lucy in her psychiatrist booth and Snoopy wearing his Red Baron goggles. When Linus tries to tell him about the Great Pumpkin, that's the last straw. Franklin can't handle it. As Franklin tells this to Charlie Brown, Schroeder comes up and says, "Hi! Did you guys know there are only sixty more days until Beethoven's birthday?" Franklin's comment is "Like, wow!" (Remember, this is the Sixties.)

Yes, in this period, each character was fully into his own neuroses.

I was also surprised to discover, in this volume, a strip about military musicians. Naturally, it's between Lucy and Schroeder:

Lucy says, "In a way, you're quite lucky Schroeder.. If you ever go into the army, they won't put you in the front lines... You could play the piano for the officers while they eat!"

Schroeder's reaction? AAUGH!