Customer Reviews

The Complete Peanuts Boxed Set 1975-1978 (Vol. 13-14) (The Complete Peanuts)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you are looking for a place to start a collection of these Fantagraphics volumes try the collections from the mid 50's through to around 72. On the other hand if you have collected the others these are still most worthwhile. The difference is that these are quieter and in a lower key and volume. Lucy has quietened down and CB is not as anguished and hysterical. If you can believe David Michaelis author of 'Schulz and Peanuts' this is because Charles M was now happy in his second marriage and his first wife had been a model for Lucy in the 50's and 60's. OK so these are a bit less strident than the strips on which he made his reputation but they are still better than 95% of other people's work. Peanuts changed constantly throughout it's history and continues to change here. I for one will be glad to stay on board.

I had made the decision last year to no longer purchase the wonderful and amazing Fantagraphics box sets of Peanuts "Featuring Good Old Charlie Brown." But... well, the sets are so amazing I went ahead and purchased this year's four year collection. As others have pointed out, Schulz was in decline over the last half of his career, but pinpointing the exact point is difficult, at least for me. I am not unhappy with my purchase, as Schulz is one of the most consistent writers, mixing humour with philosophy and religion, and usually hitting me just right. While I had decided that the box set ending with 1974 was the last of the strips I would re-collect, I cannot say that the downward slope is especially noticeable in the present set, and all that I can say is that I miss the 50's and 60's mindset. These are not bad strips at all, it is just a new philosophy of cartooning, and while it is not the path I would have chosen for the characters to go down, I would not have been able to create the characters and the series in a million years, so I will just try my best to enjoy the ride. It is enjoyable, just different than the past.

Funny, though, to think back to a musing I made in my twenties, hoping that Schulz would have the sense to go out on top, and not decline like Ernie Bushmiller and the Nancy series. I think I sensed that "Superstar" Snoopy was beginning to be the tail wagging the dog, so to speak, and unfortunately I was making that observation right about the time the un-hoped for began to happen. I agree with some of the other reviewers that Bill Watterson got the timing right with Calvin and Hobbes (but wish he had as long a prolific period as Schulz had.)

For all that, I still can recommend this set, as Schulz is still the best. We are so fortunate to have had him.

In my opinion this is the last of the truly good 'Peanuts' years. After this Schultz started to copy other success' of the time. Garfield and his love affair with lasagna mirrored by Snoopy and his love affair with cookies and the single panel gag sometimes reminiscent of 'The Far Side'. So this set for me is bittersweet. In these volumes are collected strips that I had cut out of the newspaper and glued into a scrapbook.

Very funny years: 'Truffles' and the waterbed saga were ones that I remember very well from my youth. This could also be the beginning of the end of the longer stories too. I quit reading the funnies around 1980 and didn't pick them up again for a few years so I'm not sure when the strips started becoming one-liners.

I sold my scrapbook to my great surprise at a comics shop in 1980 or thereabouts. Like many things I didn't give much thought about in my youth I now wish I had that fat old scrapbook still in my possession.

For me, this is when Peanuts really started to hit its stride. A child of the 80s, I had little exposure to most of the early Peanuts strips. So for me, these strips hold a lot more nostalgic value. While I respect the opinions of the reviewers who believe this is where the strip started to decline, I firmly believe that these strips more than hold their own. Maybe it's a generational thing, much like the way every generation thinks its own music/morals/styles/whatever is superior to everything that came before and after.

These volumes contain the strips that I started reading when I was a boy. I have some of the older volumes and they are all great!!

My wife just adores these! It helps her relax. I give them to her as presents: Birthday, Mother's Day, achieving a goal, etc. And Amazon always has the best price!!

If you are a big PEANUTS Fan this is for you.
Of course you would be tempted to get each set as they are released...
Well worth it.

Incredible amount of comics and nice to have them in cronological order.
Charles M. Schulz does not need any more praise...

These are very well made and wonderful for peanuts fans. Will buy all in series as they come out.

One more in the series of all Peanuts comics.
I look forward to buying the remaining volumes and having the entire clooection.