|
| The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 | 
 enlarge | Author: Charles M. Schulz
Creator: Seth
Publisher: Fantagraphics Books
Category: Book
List Price: $28.99
Buy New: $16.63
You Save: $12.36 (43%)
New (23) Used (6) from $14.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  12 reviews
Sales Rank: 30249
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 344
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2
Dimensions (in): 8.5 x 6.6 x 1.5
ISBN: 1560978260
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN: 9781560978268
ASIN: 1560978260
Publication Date: April 23, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New! Save 30 - 50% off of retail prices on our wide selection of comic book graphic novels, manga and anime, role playing games, DVDS, Osprey military history books, and more!
|
| Customer Reviews:
Schulz sails through a turbulent era May 6, 2008
2 out of 5 found this review helpful
As America careened into the ghastly late 1960s with its pop culture literally fracturing in pieces, "Peanuts" stood virtually alone as the one creation with quite literally something for everyone. As revealed in this latest collection (and many earlier ones - virtually all of the strips in this volume have been reprinted at some time or other), the psychological discourses and keen personality conflicts that had boosted the strip to fame in the late 1950s and early 1960s were still very much a part of the mix, but they now existed cheek-by-jowl with Snoopy's burgeoning fantasy life, the initial introduction of ethnic diversity into the "Peanuts" "universe," and Schulz' first tentative stab at fashioning an entire continuity around Peppermint Patty, his one true breakout character of the decade. While some fans may have chided Schulz for not taking sides in the cultural conflicts rocking the nation, hindsight reveals that he had the right idea all along. The "Peanuts" strips of this era are still eminently fresh and readable in a way that a dog-eared copy of "Crawdaddy" or "Ramparts" is emphatically not.
Fantagraphics' back-cover blurb claims that Snoopy's identity as the "World War I Flying Ace" had "almost entirely taken over" his personality during this time. To the contrary: this era saw ol' Snoop go in so many different directions, both frivolous and un-, that it's a true challenge to list them all. On the serious side, we get the saga of Lila, Snoopy's previous owner, whose letters torment Snoopy (and, by extension, the baffled Charlie Brown) in a couple of powerful continuities. In the sequence that inspired the plot for the movie "Snoopy Come Home" (1972), Snoopy rushes to Lila's aid after his ex-owner goes to the hospital. Granted, Snoopy doesn't temporarily decide to return to Lila for good here, as he did in the movie, but it's easy to see why Schulz latched onto this relatively short sequence as ideal screenplay fodder. Snoopy also seeks psychological help from Lucy after hearing strange noises in the night (and needless to say, Lucy doesn't take kindly to being paid in dog food). After concentrating on "Red Baron"-battling shtick early in the volume, the beagle later kicks into high gear with visits to The Masters, the wrist-wrestling championship in Petaluma, and (at least until an ocean unexpectedly gets in the way) the Olympic skating finals in Grenoble, France. He also finds time to run for political office (don't ask me which one), wield an "iron paw" as the demanding new manager of Charlie Brown's baseball team, track Lucy as a secret agent, and pose as a "Cheshire Beagle." Snoopy hadn't gotten to the point of taking over the strip just yet, but one can sense Schulz beginning to lean ever so slightly in that direction.
The introduction of the black character Franklin in early 1968 is often cited as Schulz' acknowledgment of the changing racial climate of America and his need to get with the multicultural program. Schulz did get some flak from bigots who complained about Charlie Brown inviting Franklin home after the pair met at the beach. In retrospect, the flap hardly seems worth the trouble, as Franklin never developed a truly distinctive personality (nor even a "hook," as did the equally bland Schroeder with his Beethoven-mania). Earlier, Schulz essayed a lighter touch in diversifying the cast when Peppermint Patty, making one of her then-regularly-scheduled Summer pilgrimages to the main cast's neighborhood, brought along the pint-sized Mexican/Swedish slugger Jose Peterson. One can almost hear Schulz chuckling to himself, "Let's see how they try to categorize THIS guy!" Alas, Jose never officially appeared again, nor did he speak so much as a word of dialogue.
Peppermint Patty herself is still a fairly minor character at this point, with Schulz still working out some details - PP isn't even calling Charlie Brown "Chuck" consistently yet - but the June 1968 continuity in which she goes to summer camp represents a watershed of sorts. Rather than meeting Charlie Brown, Linus, or any other familiar figure at camp, she shoulders the burden of leading lady all by herself, taking charge of a trio of younger girls, one of whom (Clara) is the proto-Marcie. (For the record, Clara isn't the first one to call PP "Sir"; that honor goes to the freckled, pigtailed Sophie, who complains of homesickness - that is, until she meets Snoopy, who's at the boys' camp across the lake.) From this point on, Schulz permitted PP more and more "screen time" until she became a full-fledged regular. (Just before the camp sequence, PP got star billing in a Father's Day Sunday strip, indicating that she was very much on Schulz' mind at the time.)
John Waters' introduction to the volume is serviceable, but come on, Fantagraphics, isn't it about time to balance the political scales just a bit? Where are the famous right-wing fans of "Peanuts" to give us THEIR views on the strip? Given that Schulz was performing a delicate balancing act at this time, pleasing a mass audience at a time when that was proving harder and harder to do, getting views from all sides would only seem fitting.
"Well, there was this ocean, see..." May 11, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Tongues are stilled to silence. Commentary fails. By 1968, the neurotic and often surreal Peanuts comic strip ruled newspapers' daily fibers. Another decade would roll by before any real competition emerged. Though Ruminations on the 1960s rarely include "Charlie Brown and Snoopy," their utter ubiquitousness in papers, magazines, toy stores, television and, after 1969, film makes that lacuna seem almost irresponsible. The stunted ageless self-conscious Freudian windbags were simply everywhere. Only very recently, following Charles Schulz's passing, the closing of the Mall of America's "Camp Snoopy" and the glacial disappearance of Peanuts reruns, does its grip on popular culture seem at an ebb. Nonetheless, historians of popular culture will doubtless continue to acclaim Peanuts as the pinnacle of the comic medium. Especially as the classic comic strip format fades into history, with the inevitable dissolution of newspapers into web bits, Peanuts represents something that will not likely occur again. Thankfully, Fantagraphic's magnum opus, "The Complete Peanuts," lets readers revisit the strip's colossal 50 year run. Fanatics unite!
This ninth volume includes every strip, including Sundays (though not in color), from 1967 to 1968. By this point the development of the strip's main characters plateaued. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy, Linus, Schroeder, Sally, Peppermint Patty, and the "birds" that would become Woodstock (next volume - try to hold it!) appear in familiar form (though some characters began to appear with less frequency, such as Violet, Frieda, and "Pig-Pen" - Violet's appearance on the cover remains a little enigmatic since she appears only 15 times in minor roles; "Pig-Pen" only appears 3 times). Snoopy's "WWI Flying Ace" transformation (in the previous volume) arguably represents the strip's peak. This level of quality was maintained until the 1980s. Schulz became a multimillionaire in charge of a global empire. Peanuts gradually seeped into every possible crack, including junk food and insurance. Snoopy became as recognizable as Mickey Mouse. This cultural domination did not ruin the comic's self-consciousness or self-deprecating undertone. As profits and honors soared, it kept reflecting on the lives of losers, misfits, and the depressed.
As with all volumes, this one contains many highlights, including: Lucy sort of meets her arm wrestling match in "The Masked Marvel" ("Succumb you dark-haired fiend!" 2/14/67); Snoopy attempts to compete in the Grenoble Olympics, only to be deterred by an ocean (12/21 - 12/22/67); Snoopy trips over a blighter (5/11/67); Linus pats birds on the head, which many find socially unacceptable; the birds rebel (5/22 - 6/3/67); "Bird Hippies" appear (7/12/67, 7/13/67, and 11/1/67); the baseball team loses again ("Winning isn't everything, Charlie Brown..." "That's true, but losing isn't anything") and Charlie Brown trades Snoopy to Peppermint Patty's team. Guilt ensues (11/8 - 11/20/67); a rare and bizarre front view of Snoopy (1/13/68); "Even stupid questions have answers!" (2/21/68); The "Easter Bunny" (later "Easter Beagle") appears (4/14/68); Snoopy tries to find Petaluma with a globe (4/30 - 5/1/68); a proverbial "sad" strip: "But who cheers up the World War I flying ace?" (5/16/68); Bird chomps on worm, Snoopy gets sick (5/20/68); Lucy serves "Goop" (5/27, 5/28 and 6/1/68); a proto-Marcie, named either "Clara," "Sophie," or "Shirley," appears at Peppermint Patty's camp (6/18/68); Birds carry election signs (7/1 - 7/6/68); Franklin appears, for the first time, on the beach (7/31/68); Charlie Brown finds out the truth about Lila, and Lila appears - a rather bizarre sequence (8/20 - 8/31/68). Here's yet another great collection in a series planned to continue until 2016. That's exhausting even to think about. But please keep them coming!
 Annoying Mistake by Publisher June 13, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
My excitment at getting this the latest in the wonderful "Peanuts" reprint series, was tempered when an accidental double printing of the May 1st,1967 strip was brought to my attention by a previous reviewer.With the omission of the May 3rd,1967 strip it really isnt "The Complete" Peanuts any more is it? Bad job all around by Fantagraphics.I will not feel complete until the missing strip is finally printed.Thus far the only black mark on a truly wonderful series.Incidentally, has any one else ordered the first volume of "The Complete Little Orphan Annie"? I ordered it back on February 23 because of Amazon's published date of February 25th. It is is now mid-June and they have just changed the date for the third time.I have called Amazon and gotten no answer.Does anyone have any idea when the First volume of Little Orphan Annie is being published???
Simply cannot be praised enough. May 7, 2008
The Complete Peanuts 1967 to 1968 continues Fantagraphics Books' marvelous definitive compilation of Charles Shulz's iconic newspaper strip, including both daily and Sunday strips (all strips are reproduced in black and white). Featuring an introduction by John Waters - which draws the reader's attention to Shulz's uniquely expressive art style when drawing facial expressions such as a "total-warfare frown", and his starkly accurate portrayal of the crushing humiliation of defeat. In the 1967 to 1968 comics, Peppermint Patty tries to trade Charlie Brown five baseball players for Snoopy the shortstop; Charlie Brown makes a new friend in Franklin (who is initially scared off from the local neighborhood when Linus tells him about the "Great Pumpkin"); and Snoopy (a.k.a. the "Masked Marvel") and Lucy get into a championship arm-wrestling match! Like all previous volumes in the series, The Complete Peanuts 1967 to 1968 is highly recommended for comic lovers of all ages and backgrounds, and simply cannot be praised enough.
Peanuts rule! June 11, 2008
I love Peanuts, but there is no doubt it deteriorated in the last 10-15 years it was made, one was bound to run out of original ideas sooner or later. However, this book is from what was the heydays of the series, and is great reading.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
