Recently stumbled across the Peanuts Dell Archive, and found this tome too delightful to leave on the stands. It's gathers together Peanuts strips from scores of issues of vintage Dell Comics like Nancy and Fritzi Ritz and Tip Top Comics. Some very few of these are by Peanuts creator Charles Schulz, but most are by other artists in his style. These are light four-page and six-page and sometimes eight-page strips featuring the Peanuts gang before they became the darlings of American pop culture. I have to say I'm not a Peanuts devotee necessarily, but I have enjoyed the strip all my life and this handsome little book adds to that enjoyment.
The book also features a cover gallery of Dell Peanuts comics, though none of the stories in the book are from these. Here they are for your viewing pleasure.
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"Book of the Year" as far as I'm concerned.
ReplyDeleteI know some have taken issue with the "out of character" aspects of the Dell/Gold key adaption, but I consider that part of their charm. Some of the scripts in the uncredited stories towards the end of the book - especially "Mechanical Maniac" - I find to have all the earmarks of John Stanley's work, with their cynicism, smartass attitudes, and, as in the aforementioned story, a surreal, nightmarish quality. I have found no evidence that Stanley ever worked on this series, but its interesting to contemplate.