Charles M. Shulz "The Complete Peanuts" June 1958

            Charles M. Schutz’s “Peanuts”, is one of the most popular and well renowned comic strip ever produced. Ranging from the 1950’s to the early 2000’s, Schultz’s stories have been able to entertain both children and adults alike, following the life of the Peanuts Gang, and its main protagonist Charlie Brown. In his work, Schulz highlights the fun and innocent lives of children, as they grow into a world full of valuable life lessons.

            Being a huge fan of the cartoon series, I chose to analyze an actual strip of Charlie Brown, in order to gage its effectiveness, in an attempt to become the basis for many of the children’s comics we see today. In particular, I looked at an excerpt from June 1958, which I found in an anthology of the complete “Peanuts” stories.

 To begin, it is important to look at the particular art style that has been chosen and displayed by Shulz. The characters are all very simplistic in nature each of which having a distinct wardrobe or hairstyle that helps in identification. For example, Charlie Brown is seen in his signature shirt that contains a black zigzag in the center. The overall style of the work is very cartoonish, which would appeal to a much younger audience. I believe this is extremely effective, as it gives a light and playful tone to the overall narrative. At the forefront, these comics are made with the intent of being comedic, which is clearly resonates with its target audience. As a consequence, the narrative is able to also teach children life lessons.

The metanarrative is a very important aspect of “Peanuts” as it helps in conveying meaning, and adds to the overall narrative of the work. For example, Shulz chooses to use bold face text, in order to emphasize that certain characters are yelling, and putting emphasis on their words. In the 6^th panel (as displayed right), the characters are screaming at Charlie Brown to catch the baseball for the final out, which will win them their championship. Without this use of bold face, meaning can be lost within the narrative, and readers would have a different imaging of how this text would sound if it were to be played out loud.  This element is used throughout the text, and helps the reader distinguish between what words are spoken casually, and which words are pronounced with different tone of voice, or moods.

           

Panel #12

Additionally, other non-sensory aspects, such as the speech bubbles help to give meaning to the overall narrative. In panel 12 of the first page (as seen left), there is only one speech bubble that is shared by the entire group of children. This relates to the reader that the characters are screaming in unison. Instead of creating multiple speech bubbles, Shulz chooses this aesthetic design in order to convey meaning, and increase the magnitude of this particular situation.  Moreover, in another instance, Shulz completely abandons the speech bubbles, and uses large text to again emphasize the screaming of the children when Charlie Brown figuratively and physically drops the balls. The screaming is so loud that it has literally gone outside the speech bubble, and invades half the panel. Through this effect, while reading it, you cannot help to hear this loud crying, as it is overwhelming in the frame. 

As well,  in the panel in which Charlie Brown is waiting for the ball to come down (left) , his speech bubble is linked by a chain of smaller bubbles, instead of a distinctive arrow point. This relates to the reader that Charlie Brown is not speaking out loud, but is instead thinking this text.

           To another point, there is an extensive use of interpretative imaging throughout the entire piece, which adds additional elements to the narrative of the work. For instance, Shulz uses water droplets, to signify that characters are crying. Because the art style is not distinctly detailed, Shulz must over emphasize this element, in order to convey this emotion. Additionally, in the very last panel, Shultz uses a “c” shape around Charlie Brown’s eyes. This acts as way to signify both depression, and fatigue, which is the state in which Charlie Brown is left with at the conclusion of the story. In the body language of Charlie Brown, the reader is able to see the distressed emotional state of the character.

       

            Another thing I noticed was how Shulz played with time. The fly ball is hit in the 4^th panel of the story arc, however, it is not until the 18^th panel in which Charlie Brown actually catches the ball. As a comedic element, Shulz portrays the characters having multiple conversations; all while Charlie Brown is patiently waiting for the ball to fall into his glove. For one, this adds comic relief, as it is unlikely that the characters would be able to have all these conversations, all while waiting for the ball to fall. Secondly, it helps is slowing down the overall narrative. The reader cannot rush these particular panels, and must linger in each individual panel, make meaning of it, and then move on to the next. This takes the reader a long time, which in a sense puts the reader in the similar shoes of all the characters who must wait until the ball is caught.

Lastly, there is a great amount of intertexuality throughout Charlie Brown, due to many re-occurring themes. Charlie Brown often drops the baseball, and is labeled as the “goat” of his terrible team. This is a running gag throughout the “Peanuts” comic strip, and is a direct reference to a variety of different scenes depicted throughout the entirety of the series' run.

            Overall, I enjoyed analyzing this particular work by Charles Shulz. This is a particular comic genre that I am not familiar with, and I enjoyed engaging with it. I will continue to look deeper into the "Peanuts" comic strip, and venture into other types of strips that are intended for children.