Reviews

The Complete Peanuts 1953-1954: Vol. 2 Hardcover Edition by Charles M. Schulz

Only show reviews with written explanations

ursineultra's review

3.0

Snoopy is going through some weird growing pains and looks super odd at several points in this one, like he's been run over or something.

Also, first instances of pig-pen are so grim, he looks like a biblical plague as portrayed by a small child.

Also also there are occasional instances of nightmare fuel, such as:

alboyer6's review

Go to review page

4.0

Vol. 2 in my goal to read all of the Complete Peanuts (at least the ones published). These two years really saw the individual characters that we know today forming their personalities. Lucy is crushing on Schroeder, Pig Pen prefers to be dirty though adults are speaking off frame. It is really fun going back and reading from the beginning.

dantastic's review

Go to review page

4.0

The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 2: 1953-1954 collects the Peanuts strips from 1953-1954.

On the heels of finishing the first volume, I had to restrain myself from going out and buying more. Fortunately, I got the second volume in a slipcase with the first.

The strip and Shulz's art evolve quite a bit in this volume. The strip looks brighter and the characters look more familiar. Lucy goes from being a toddler herself to having a baby brother named Linus. Pig-Pen and Charlotte Braun are introduced and Shermie, Violet, and Patty continue heading for the door.

Charlie Brown still has some life to him and isn't the doormat he'd be for the last 30 years of his life. I didn't really understand why Violet got phased out in favor of Lucy until I read this volume. Lucy is a pain in the ass but still likes Charlie Brown on some level. Violet is just a stone cold bitch.

This volume isn't quite as gritty as the previous volume but still has a lot more grit than the MetLife Presents Charlie Brown we all grew up with. So when does Snoopy officially become Charlie Brown's dog? He seems not to belong to any of the gang so far in his life, although there might be a long life of Snoopys that die and get replaced throughout the life of the strip.

The evolution of the Peanuts gang continues in The Complete Charlie Brown Volume 2. They aren't hawking insurance policies yet! Four out of five stars.

neilrcoulter's review

Go to review page

5.0

Classic Peanuts from the very first years is the pinnacle of comic strips. The humor anticipates much that was to come later in strips such as Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side. Charles Schulz was incredibly perceptive and found the perfect tone in having preschool kids voice grown-up struggles with social life and self-understanding. As I read this volume, I was frequently sharing specific pages with people who would share my appreciation for the absurd beauty of them. I have too many favorites to be able to pick out just a few to mention in a review. Best to pick up the book and read just a few pages at a time.