THE COMPLETE PEANUTS FAMILY ALBUM
“There’s always something that keeps me home . . . something that
makes me stay . . . That ol’ supper dish!”
—Snoopy
C
harlie Brown loves Snoopy unconditionally. Snoopy,
on the other hand, is a complicated, independent
dog who doesn’t always remember his owner’s name and
seems to appreciate Charlie Brown’s ability to fill a supper
dish more than his other qualities. Deep down, he loves his
faithful owner, even if he won’t openly admit it.
“Snoopy is a very contradictory character,” observed
Charles Schulz. “In a way, he’s quite selfish. He likes to
think of himself as independent, and he has dreams of
doing great things. Without Charlie Brown he couldn’t
survive, but Snoopy won’t even give Charlie Brown the
love and affection he deserves. That’s part of the humor.”
The boy and his dog
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37
“Having a dog for a friend can make an ordinary life a beautiful life.” —Charlie Brown
opposite, left: Peanuts, Issue #9, Boom! Studios comic book covers – CSCA | opposite, right: Suppertime, Peanuts Digital Edition – CSCA
top: Style Guide art, 2011 – CSCA | center: Style Guide art, 2011 – CSCA | bottom left: Peanuts, Issue #1, Boom! Studios comic book cover – CSCA
| bottom right: LIFE® magazine cover, March 17, 1967 – CMSM
CHARLIE BROWN
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38
THE COMPLETE PEANUTS FAMILY ALBUM
The Lovable Loser
“As soon as I get up in the morning, I feel I’m in over my head ” –Charlie Brown
above left: Style Guide art, 2012 – CSCA | above right: Comic-Con postcard, 2013 – CSCA | opposite: Style Guide art – CSCA
C
harlie Brown rarely comes out on top, but he never
stops trying. When he strikes out with the bases
loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning, misspells the
word “beagle” in the spelling bee, and fails to get even
a single piece of candy when he’s trick-or-treating, we
can all relate, even if our own failures pale in comparison
to Charlie Brown’s.
Charles Schulz drew from personal experience when
creating tales of Charlie Brown’s comic mishaps, but often
exaggerated the results. “Charlie Brown is a caricature,”
he observed. “We all know what it’s like to lose, but
Charlie Brown keeps losing outrageously. It’s not that
he’s a loser; he’s really a decent little sort. But nothing
seems to work out right.”
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39CHARLIE BROWN
YOU’RE A GOOD MAN,
CHARLIE BROWN
I
n 1967, the musical comedy
You’re a Good Man,
Charlie Brown
, featuring music and lyrics by
Clark Gesner, debuted. A loving tribute to
Peanuts
,
the beloved musical has been performed worldwide
in venues from New York’s Broadway to London’s
West End, and remains a popular stage production
to this day.
Charles Schulz counted himself among the
musical’s biggest fans. “[
You’re a good Man, Charlie
Brown
has] become the most performed musical
in the history of American theatre . . . every school
and church and high school and grade school and
kindergarten you can think of has put this thing on
and it had taken a terrible beating but it survives.
And, of course, the music is good and it’s not cute.
That was the main thing. It was incredible that they
could have made so many mistakes putting it together,
but everything just fell right into place just right
and that’s very gratifying. I used to go down to the
theatre in San Francisco and it was a great pleasure
to stand out in
the lobby when
the show was
over and seeing
the
