Peanuts: Search and Destroy

*Schulz

The strip for Super Bowl Sunday: It's the last sports strip in "Peanuts" (from January 2, 2000). A little more than a month after it was published, Charles Schulz would pass away, and I've always considered this one to be about mortality, about realizing the end is drawing near. pic.twitter.com/ZdHtPYk1f9

— Luke Epplin (@LukeEpplin) February 12, 2023

Such finality in those last two panels...

Really the whole last row.

kind of the perfect ending, really.

oof

That 1973 storyline starts here, got to be one of the best examples of Schulz going fully dark, but still with jokes:

https://www.gocomics.com/peanuts/1973/01/29

In an introduction to the 1975 compilation Peanuts Jubilee, he wrote: “Just as I have resented the size that I have been forced to work in, I have resented the title Peanuts that was forced upon me. I still am convinced that it is the worst title ever thought of for a comic strip.”

from zs's link. amazing! i never knew this.

Wow @ that 2000 strip

xpost Oh yeah he was very vocal over the years about never liking the title at all. But it was essentially too late to change it by the time it was as successful as it became and he had more clout. But there's a reason why none of the animated specials or movies had 'Peanuts' in the title, for instance. (At least, when he was alive.) My copy of that Jubilee book is one of my home library cornerstones.

https://www.peacock-panache.com/2013/01/charlie-brown-on-gun-contro.html

https://attitudeofgratitude.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451c62a69e2017ee7b2d375970d-pi

That gun strip is such an oddity. The first time I saw it was in one of the Complete Peanuts books, after I was surprised to find "AK-47" (iirc) in the index.

“Li’l Folks” is perhaps an even worse title, though.

it really is. was thinking about this yesterday, trying to think of what is unambiguously a better title than Peanuts. it's surprisingly difficult!

“Snoopy”

Snoop Troop

"Charlie Brown's World"

"Peanuts and his dog"

You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

"Peanuts and his dog"

this changes everything!

Jan 2000 strip has officially ended me

depression team

good game, good game!

ended

Funky Winkerbean

Moby-Dick

August 16, 1972 pic.twitter.com/mLFQGFY3pD

— Peanuts On This Day (@Peanuts50YrsAgo) August 17, 2022

that's a great one

50 years today since Rerun's first appearance!

Today in Comics History: The Little Red-Haired Girl, the unseen and unrequited secret crush of Charlie Brown, was first mentioned in "Peanuts" on November 19, 1961. (It’s also among the most brutally poignant strips Charles Schulz produced.) pic.twitter.com/urL84d0V9L

— Tom Heintjes (@Hoganmag) November 19, 2023

Chat gpt insists that charlie brown had hoes

Any idea what collection that strip above appears in?

You could get it in this collection:

https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/peanuts-every-sunday-1961-1965

Or this one:

https://www.fantagraphics.com/products/the-complete-peanuts-1961-1962-hardback

Thanks - appreciated.

There’s also a paperback for the 1961-62 collection.

By the way, my mom owns two original strips in frames. Her boyfriend in high school in the 50's wrote Schultz and said his girlfriend loved Peanuts, did he have anything he could give her? He sent two originals. She's thinking about donating them to the archives, since she is an archivist herself.

― sleeve, Thursday, November 29, 2007 6:22 PM (sixteen years ago)

so

she gave them to me

https://i.imgur.com/uSEJtcR.jpeg

(sharpie for scale)

Whoa very very cool!!

Wow. I would seriously consider getting them framed asap and making sure they are never exposed to direct sunlight. Avoid any other forms of restoration or retouching.

Looking again, maybe they’re under glass already? Would still think about getting them reframed.

Really cool - I mean, there are thousands out there, but they're still one of a kinds

Very! And I say this having a hand-drawn Snoopy from him with a 'for Ned' intro!

The second strip is very hilarious in a 'oh Calvin and Hobbes summarized in a one strip existential crisis' way.

xps yes they were framed back in the day, fortunately. noted on the direct sunlight!

and yeah they could use a reframing, the cardboard backing is old and flaking

Beautiful! I have a signed Charlie Brown "print" (just a photocopy his office sent out) from when I wrote to him in 2nd grade that my mom kept with my old report cards and pulled out for me one day in my 30s after I'd completely forgotten about it. It's framed on my wall now.

You probably know this already but I'd also look into getting these insured. He may have drawn thousands of strips but each one is highly sought after by collectors.

And yes, I'd have them professionally reframed with UV protective glass, acid-free backing, etc.

Ward or dinnerboat or others, how would I get an appraisal on these for insurance, are there specialists? I do have regular homeowners insurance fwiw.

You might try Heritage Auctions. They're one of the big comics art auction houses in the U.S.

ty!

If you have a local art museum, you could reach out to them to see who they use for appraisals for works on paper. They have to get works appraised for insurance as well, and they are not allowed to do it themselves.

Heritage Auctions might be able to recommend someone, but auction houses have an interest in how much something is worth. Meaning, I don't know how legit their appraisals will be, if that makes sense.

Get it professionally framed, with archival materials and spacers that keep the paper off the glass. If for any reason moisture got into the frame and the paper is against the glass, it's probably trash. You can also get special plex that reduces UV impact, but if you want them on view keep them away from any areas that get sunlight. Even indirect sunlight is bad if it's on view for a long time.

That last strip is solid gold. Sometimes I forget how good Peanuts could be.

I do have a local museum, also I know local librarians, thanks all!

Agreeing with dinnerboat abt Heritage Auctions. They are the biggest players in the sale of original comics art and often get eye-watering prices for pieces. So while their valuation would not be disinterested - they would want to sell them and make a profit obv - their high-end estimate would be good for insurance purposes alone. These look to be relatively early strips - what's the copyright date on them? - so would be at the top end of the market, especially as they both have Charlie Brown and Lucy on them. In the last ten years or so, fine art and institutional collectors have bought into the comics art market and overinflated prices, but even if there's a bubble burst I don't think it would particularly affect Peanuts originals, which have always been highly prized and valued.

Schulz never needed to sell his originals, although he did give them away to fans (as with your mum), or in trade for other original comic art (especially Krazy Kat originals). So while, yes, he did draw thousands of strips, there aren't that many in private hands - I think most are still held by the Schulz Museum, who might also be worth contacting for advice.