The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 [Hardcover]

Charles M. Schulz (Author), Seth (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 23, 2008

As we rush toward the end of Peanuts' second decade, Snoopy looms large, Peppermint Patty ascends toward future stardom, Lucy antagonizes everyone and Charlie Brown is... Charlie Brown.

Snoopy finds himself almost completely engrossed in his persona as the World War I Flying Ace — to the point where he goes to camp with Charlie Brown and maintains his persona throughout the entire two-week period (much to Peppermint Patty's bafflement).

Still, Snoopy looms large, so this volume (a particularly Snoopy-heavy one) sees him arm-wrestling Lucy as the "Masked Marvel" and then taking off for Petaluma for the national arm-wrestling championship; impersonating a vulture and a "Cheshire Beagle"; enjoying golf and hockey; attempting a jaunt to France for an ice-skating championship; running for office on the "Paw" ticket; being traded to Peppermint Patty's baseball team, then un-traded and installed as team manager by a guilt-ridden Charlie Brown; as well as dealing with the return of his original owner, Lila. If you're surprised by that last one, imagine how Charlie Brown feels...

Lila makes only a brief appearance (as does José Peterson, a short-lived — and short — star member of Charlie Brown's baseball team), but this volume sees the appearance of what would be Schulz's most controversial major character: Franklin. (Yes, in 1968 the introduction of a black character caused a stir.) Peppermint Patty, working toward her ascendancy as one of the major Peanuts players in the 1970s and 1980s, also has several major turns, including a storyline in which she’s the tent monitor for three little girls (who call her "Sir" — a joke Schulz would pick up later with Peppermint Patty's friend Marcie).

Stories involving other characters include a sequence in which Linus's flippant comment to his Gramma that he'll kick his blanket habit when she kicks her smoking habit backfires; Lucy bullies Linus, pesters Schroeder, and organizes a "crab-in"; plus Charlie Brown copes with Valentine's Day depression, the Little Red-Haired Girl, the increasingly malevolent kite-eating tree, and baseball losses. In other words: Vintage Peanuts! All this, plus an introduction by beloved transgressive filmmaker John Waters and award-winning design by Seth. 730 black-and-white comic strips

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

During 1967–68, Snoopy accelerated his transition from simple family pet to World War I fighting ace (and secret agent, and figure skater, and golf pro). Schulz made a few stabs at contemporary relevance by introducing minority kids Franklin and José Peterson, destined respectively to remain a minor character and to disappear altogether, and a “hippie bird” that appears to be a proto-Woodstock. Most of these four-decade-old strips center on such comfortably timeless and familiar devices as Charlie Brown’s haplessness on the baseball diamond, his unrequited love for the Little Red-Haired Girl, and the kite-eating tree. --Gordon Flagg

About the Author

Charles M. Schulz was born November 25, 1922 in Minneapolis. His destiny was foreshadowed when an uncle gave him, at the age of two days, the nickname Sparky (after the racehorse Spark Plug in the newspaper strip Barney Google).

In his senior year in high school, his mother noticed an ad in a local newspaper for a correspondence school, Federal Schools (later called Art Instruction Schools). Schulz passed the talent test, completed the course and began trying, unsuccessfully, to sell gag cartoons to magazines. (His first published drawing was of his dog, Spike, and appeared in a 1937 Ripley's Believe It Or Not! installment.) Between 1948 and 1950, he succeeded in selling 17 cartoons to the Saturday Evening Post—as well as, to the local St. Paul Pioneer Press, a weekly comic feature called Li'l Folks. It was run in the women's section and paid $10 a week. After writing and drawing the feature for two years, Schulz asked for a better location in the paper or for daily exposure, as well as a raise. When he was turned down on all three counts, he quit.

He started submitting strips to the newspaper syndicates. In the spring of 1950, he received a letter from the United Feature Syndicate, announcing their interest in his submission, Li'l Folks. Schulz boarded a train in June for New York City; more interested in doing a strip than a panel, he also brought along the first installments of what would become Peanuts—and that was what sold. (The title, which Schulz loathed to his dying day, was imposed by the syndicate). The first Peanuts daily appeared October 2, 1950; the first Sunday, January 6, 1952.

Diagnosed with cancer, Schulz retired from Peanuts at the end of 1999. He died on February 13, 2000, the day before Valentine's Day—and the day before his last strip was published—having completed 17,897 daily and Sunday strips, each and every one fully written, drawn, and lettered entirely by his own hand—an unmatched achievement in comics.

Director, screenwriter, and well-known raconteur of American kitsch and camp, John Waters' films include Pink Flamingos and Cecil B. Demented. In 2002 his film Hairspray was made into a hit Broadway musical.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Fantagraphics Books (April 23, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560978260
• ISBN-13: 978-1560978268
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 8.7 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #366,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MISPRINT: Duplicate/omitted strip, May 1, 2008

By 

R2xA (Helena, AL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 (Hardcover)

Of course all the praise that the other reviewers are giving the strips themselves is entirely deserved. HOWEVER, in at least some copies of this book, there is an error on page 53: the May 1st strip appears twice and the May 3rd strip is left out. This is a small error, of course, but one that should be noted before purchase! I have spoken to the publisher's customer service department (so far I've been the only one to point out the error) and will update when I hear back from them regarding how widespread this error is and what steps will be made to rectify it.

UPDATE: Customer service has acknowledged the error and stated that the comic strip from May 3rd 1967 will appear as a supplement at the end of the next volume. Presumably (but not certainly), future printings of 1967-1968 will include the correct strip.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Nyah to you, Lucy! And nyah to you, too, Charlie Brown!", April 30, 2008

By 

take403 - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 (Hardcover)

1967 and 1968 were both great years in Peanuts. This was sort of the beginning of the Peanuts gang of the "later" days. Many of the cartoons found their way in You'll Flip, Charlie Brown, You're Something Else, Charlie Brown, You're You, Charlie Brown and You've Had It, Charlie Brown. Peppermint Patty premiered in 1966 and while a talented athlete, she wasn't the greatest scholar. She introduced one-shot wonder Jose Peterson of Mexican-Swedish descent. She also pressured "Chuck" into trading Snoopy (aka the kid with the big nose). Franklin would make his debut in 1968 as the 1st African American in the Peanuts gang. Featured on the cover is Violet, who though not as crabby as Lucy, could sometimes be even meaner (she'll even "nyah" her mentor!). Snoopy temporarily takes over as baseball manager and won't tolerate any blunders or backtalk (just about everyone on the team gets a kick in the pants, especially if they lose!). Of course, Charlie Brown gently but firmly advises his dog Snoopy not use one of the bases for a pillow, lest "He's gonna stomp right on your stomach! That's what's known as meaningful dialouge!" Snoopy continues his facades of the World War I Flying Ace (the opener for 1967), World Champion Skater who, though Lucy, Violet and Patty have refused to skate with him finds a partner with Peppermint Patty (and Snoopy hopes of getting to Petaluma for the 1968 Olympics), Head Beagle candidate (he was written in across the country in 1968 during the real-life elections!) and introduces a new alter-ego in 1968- the Easter Beagle. Linus, of course, is the only believer in him and has no trouble collecting all the Easter eggs! He has a new hobby, patting birds on the head, which infuriates Lucy. Lucy keeps trying to get Schroeder's affections and all she gets is a few sarcastic remarks and a furious teeth-gnashing from the maestro when she tries to tickle him with her feather duster! He almost resigns as catcher when she gives him the nickname "Dear Heart" (one of the few times Lucy has the final laugh on her unrequited beloved) and won't invite her to his own private Beethoven's birthday party (don't feel so bad, Lucy, not even Charlie Brown or Linus were invited!). Lucy hosts the 1st ever "crab-in" (a pun on "love-in") attended by Violet and Patty. She has Linus bring logs in for the fire "You can pretend you're Abe Lincoln while doing that..." Linus gets a visit from his blanket-hating Grandma and foolishly promises he'll sacrifice his blanket if she gives up smoking (and she does just that!). Peppermint Patty is a camp counselor and in her cabin is a girl who looks just like Marcie (alas, she's got another name, so who knows? It could be a twin cousin!). Charlie Brown also goes to camp (much of this story would be used in It Was A Short Summer, Charlie Brown). Sally tries to get her "boyfriend" Linus to stand up to a bully who's been teasing her, but at no avail. Snoopy gets a letter from his original owner, Lila, much to the shock and heartbreak of Charlie Brown (later used in the movie Snoopy Come Home). He later finds out he wasn't the original owner of Snoopy and that he "got a used dog!" Charlie Brown asks Schroeder for advice when the team is losing and he quotes Job, which starts a religious discussion turning the team into, to quote Charlie Brown, "a theological seminary!" Every time he tries to fly a kite, it gets eaten up by the kite-eating tree (this also features one of the few 8 page daily cartoons). Lucy raises the price on Psychiatric Help to $.07 and rebukes anyone who asks why the rate change with a snappy "Mind your own business" and then wonders why nobody wishes her a happy New Year! Linus gets Snoopy to join him at the Pumpkin Patch and all that appears is a bird hippie! So get this collection, because as Charlie Brown says "Reading the wrong chapter is like cutting your fingernails too short!"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Peanuts At Its Peak, May 4, 2008

By 

John D. Cofield - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Peanuts 1967-1968 (Hardcover)

In this volume of the collected Peanuts strips Charles M. Schulz's world has reached its peak and, just possibly, started to descend. We still enjoy Charlie Brown's neuroses, Lucy's arrogance, Linus' philosophies, and the other inimitable idiosyncracies of the main characters. We laugh at Snoopy's Red Baron, vulture, and other fantasies, but here and there we start to notice a few things that are missing. Shermy, Patty, Violet, and Pigpen rarely show up anymore and when they do, its just as a walk on part to say a few words here and there. Snoopy's imagination is as fascinating as ever, but its beginning to dominate more and more of the strips, to the detriment of some of the other characters. Its a sad foretaste of the later 1970s, when Snoopy and Woodstock (who makes his first appearances, unnamed, in this volume) basically took over the strip!

I don't mean to denigrate this volume, which is full of classic Peanuts humor featuring the characters at their best, like Charlie Brown's encounters with kite-eating trees, Linus' love for the Great Pumpkin, and Lucy's psychiatry booth therapy sessions. I enjoyed the many topical references to life in the 1960s, some of which may puzzle younger readers. How many people know who Twiggy is nowadays? This volume and the two or three preceding it, will probably be regarded as the Peanuts at its best.