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From the Bookshelf: The Complete Peanuts 1997-1998
I dallied again on pre-ordering the latest volume of The Complete Peanuts, thinking instead of waiting until I saw it at the local bookstore, where I would have a chance to see just what the introduction said. At first glance there, I wasn't sure who Paul Feig was, but I soon understood him to be a producer of the new Peanuts Movie. I may not have gone to see that film at the movies, but the introduction did seem positive, so I bought the penultimate volume of the series. Now, I just had to see how I'd take the comic strips themselves.
I've finished the last several volumes convinced I've enjoyed the experience, but I guess I'm still always conscious of those who would dismiss the later years of the strip (even if those "later years" can stretch back by decades in some cases). It can even seem someone wouldn't necessarily have to dwell on "Schulz was just keeping the merchandising revenue stream rolling" or even "Schulz was obviously comfortable enough in his later years to not be producing art" to think the strip "wasn't funny the way it used to be." One of the most charitable ways of putting things does seem to be the strip had become ruminative and melancholy (as the D-Day remembrances get added to Veteran's Day tributes, among other things), and a lot of the characters can sort of feel like they've reached moods of calm acceptance to most things (although that can lend an odd yet intriguing sort of feeling to a Sunday page where Schroeder is telling Lucy about "a new piece composed by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich," "Peanuts Gallery." "My part should be longer," Lucy says after examining the sheet music.)
However, I'm also aware of more positive comments from other people about Rerun's new role in the strip as he questions the calm assumptions around him, wishes he had a dog of his own, and creates artwork on mighty themes at school (with the "Little Pigtailed Girl" in his class offering her own calm yet undercutting take on them). There's also a recurring storyline with Andy and Olaf wandering from place to place trying to find their way to Spike, who's now wearing not just "Mickey Mouse shoes" but "Mickey Mouse's shoes." Every so often they do manage to drop in on Snoopy, who types up summaries of what's been happening; one of them did get pretty melancholy and final before they showed up again.
I've finished the last several volumes convinced I've enjoyed the experience, but I guess I'm still always conscious of those who would dismiss the later years of the strip (even if those "later years" can stretch back by decades in some cases). It can even seem someone wouldn't necessarily have to dwell on "Schulz was just keeping the merchandising revenue stream rolling" or even "Schulz was obviously comfortable enough in his later years to not be producing art" to think the strip "wasn't funny the way it used to be." One of the most charitable ways of putting things does seem to be the strip had become ruminative and melancholy (as the D-Day remembrances get added to Veteran's Day tributes, among other things), and a lot of the characters can sort of feel like they've reached moods of calm acceptance to most things (although that can lend an odd yet intriguing sort of feeling to a Sunday page where Schroeder is telling Lucy about "a new piece composed by Ellen Taaffe Zwilich," "Peanuts Gallery." "My part should be longer," Lucy says after examining the sheet music.)
However, I'm also aware of more positive comments from other people about Rerun's new role in the strip as he questions the calm assumptions around him, wishes he had a dog of his own, and creates artwork on mighty themes at school (with the "Little Pigtailed Girl" in his class offering her own calm yet undercutting take on them). There's also a recurring storyline with Andy and Olaf wandering from place to place trying to find their way to Spike, who's now wearing not just "Mickey Mouse shoes" but "Mickey Mouse's shoes." Every so often they do manage to drop in on Snoopy, who types up summaries of what's been happening; one of them did get pretty melancholy and final before they showed up again.