Lucy Rules OK?
by Charles M. Schulz (Hodder and Stoughton, 1978)
At time of printing there were fewer than 1,000 Peanuts Sunday strips to choose from. Still this is a very patchy collection. Of the forty-three selected (colour, A4), few do Lucy justice. In most she is an incidental character (or absent altogether!).
Classroom Peanuts
by Charles M. Schulz (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1982)
A 200-page large-format compendium, five black-and-white dailies or one colour Sunday per page. Peppermint Patty and Sally feature most often, and school is where Sally is at her funniest. Given how wearisome themed collections can be, this one holds up remarkably well.
Snoopy Treasury
by Charles M. Schulz (Book Club Associates, 1981)
A large-format book combining much of “Peanuts Treasury” (1960s dailies and Sundays, black and white) with the colour Sundays from “Sandlot Peanuts” (1960s-1970s baseball themed). The result is nearly 200 pages of wit and wisdom, somewhat lopsided in favour of Charlie Brown.
You’re a Good Scout Snoopy
by Charles M. Schulz (Hodder & Stoughton, 1979)
A collection of Sunday strips, only four of which feature Snoopy as scout leader (the remaining thirty-nine have a more generic Snoopy focus). This is unfortunate, as the scouting expeditions’ visual nature and last-panel sight gags benefit from the large-format colour presentation.
The Snoopy Festival
by Charles M. Schulz (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1974)
A big collection of Snoopy-focussed strips—five weeklies or one colour Sunday per page across just shy of 200 pages. The colour strips are beautifully reproduced and the selection of dailies is good, albeit that a few ongoing storylines are left incomplete.
The Peanuts Gang
by Charles M. Schulz (Hodder & Stoughton, 1979)
A slim volume showcasing one Sunday comic per A4 page. While Peanuts has more life in colour (the characters’ stock outfits evince a surprising number of variations!) the selection of strips is narrow and over-magnification leads to a dotty sort of pixilation.
Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Me
by Charles M. Schulz (W.H. Allen 1981)
A short, simply written autobiography that extends to Schulz’s inspirations, working process and general thoughts on cartooning, illustrated piecemeal (in black-and-white) with Peanuts strips and unremarkable family photographs. Schulz is justifiably proud of his achievements but comes across rather blandly alongside them.
The Complete Peanuts: 1985-1986
by Charles M. Schulz (Fantagraphics, 2012)
Snoopy’s brother Spike remains a weak link and Tapioca Pudding is beyond doubt a character experiment gone badly wrong. Desert strips and pointless riffs notwithstanding, Schulz crosses the mid-80s with vigour, sharing his attention amongst old favourites and tapping rich new veins.
Peanuts Revisited: Favorites Old and New
by Charles M. Schulz (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1959)
A compact collection of Peanuts comics from 1955-1959. Schulz’s drawing style isn’t yet fully developed, nor his humour, nor indeed the characters, yet several long-running Peanuts themes are on display here in their early form, and the choice of strips is astute.
The Complete Peanuts: 1989-1990
by Charles M. Schulz (Fantagraphics, 2013)
With the change of decades, Schulz took an increasingly wistful eye to drawing Peanuts—particularly through Charlie Brown, who hankers back to days past and the simple pleasure of spending time with his dog. (Granted, he is also allowed a successful romance!)