A review by dantastic
The Complete Peanuts Volume 4: 1957-1958 by Charles M. Schulz

3.0

The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 4 collects all the Peanuts strips from 1957 and 1958.

This is my fourth dip into the Peanuts pool. There wasn't a whole lot of innovation in these two years beyond some of the focus switching over to Snoopy, who finally achieved his final metamorphosis, and Linus.

I'm finding these aren't my favorite strips to read in big whacks. Charlie Brown manages to be the sad Milhouse of his own strip. Lucy continues to remind me of my cousin Teena when we were kids and is lucky Schroeder hasn't broken her fingers in that piano of his. Linus is easily my favorite character, an optimistic philosopher in Charlie Brown's pessimistic world.

If I didn't know Charles Schluz was an only child, I'd think he had an overbearing sister. Maybe he had an overbearing neighbor girl? Anyway, it seems like Patty only exists to torment Charlie Brown. Lucie torments Charlie Brown, Schroeder, and Linus, but seems to actually like them on some level.

This won't be my last Complete Peanuts volume, since I do find the strip amusing, but maybe I'll ration the next one.