Book SynopsisPeanuts surges into the 1970s with Schulz at the peak of his powers and influence: a few jokes about Bob Dylan, Women''s Liberation and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex aside, these two years are as timeless as Peanuts ever was. Sally Brown elbows her way to center stage, at least among the humans, and is thus the logical choice for cover girl . . . and in her honour, the introduction is provided by Broadway, television and film star Kristin Chenoweth, who first rose to Tony-winning fame with her scene-stealing performance as Sally in You''re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.Two long Summer-camp sequences involve Charlie Brown and Peppermint Patty, who has decided that Charlie Brown is madly in love with her, much to his clueless confusion. Snoopy shows up at camp as well, as does Peppermint Patty''s new permanent sidekick, the one and only Marcie. The eternally mutable Snoopy mostly shakes off his World War I Flying Ace identity and turns into Joe Cool, college hipster extraordinaire. He writes a fan letter to his favourite author, Miss Helen Sweetstory, then goes on a journey to meet her, and finally enlists Charlie Brown''s help when her latest opus, The Six Bunny-Wunnies Freak Out, falls afoul of censors.Also, Woodstock attends worm school, falls in love with a worm (perhaps the most doomed unrequited Peanuts love story ever!), and is nearly eaten by the neighbours'' cat . . . Peppermint Patty is put on trial for another dress code violation . . . Snoopy turns Linus''s blanket into not one but two sportcoats . . . Lucy hits a home run . . . and the birth of one Rerun Van Pelt!Trade ReviewBeautifully designed . . . One of the high-water marks of post-war popular culture * * Daily Telegraph * *The world of Peanuts is a microcosm, a little human comedy for the innocent reader and for the sophisticated * * Umberto Eco * *A delicious wallow in a nostalgic world that has a lot more bite than readers may recall. Schulz portrays a children's world that's anything but idyllic, complete with fusspots, tortured artists, exclusive clubs, insecurities and kites that refuse to fly. The Peanuts landscape is the familiar neighbourhood, with trees, sidewalks, sandboxes, ball fields and remarkably generic interiors. As always, the illustrations are a marvel of simplicity and the insights are haunting * * Publishers Weekly * *Highly recommended to any Peanuts fan * * Salon * *These timely re-issues illustrate not only the skill and subtle brilliance of his work but also the origins of the form beyond simple merriment * * Sunday Times * *All sorts of important writers have marveled at the glorious simplicity of [Schulz's] draftsmanship and his unerring jokecraft, all underpinned by a quiet melancholy and stoicism . . . by some miracle, the entire Peanuts oeuvre is gradually being republished in this country, by Canongate . . . in lavishly appointed hardback . . . Unlike almost everything you read as a child, they are actually better than you remember them * * Spectator * *The Complete Peanuts is beautifully bound, a comprehensive resource and, with an index and introduction, a useful contextualisation of a modern legend. * * The Skinny * *The Complete Peanuts has framed Charles Schulz's enduring masterpiece about as well any lifelong fan could've hoped. * * "The Best Comics of the '00s: The Archives", The A.V. Club * *
Read more less
