Peanuts #1 Review

Introduction:

One of the world’s most beloved comic strips is back in comic book form, this time through BOOM! Studios Kaboom! imprint. Peanuts is without a doubt one of if not the best comic strip out there. Many comic strip artists and webcomic artists owe a lot to series creator Charles M. Schulz, even if they may not know it. BOOM! has taken a big leap into revamping the series for comic books by combining classic Schulz strips with new stories for everyone to enjoy.

Vitals

Title: Peanuts #1
Writers: Charles M. Schulz, Vicki Scott, and Shane Houghton
Artists: Charles M. Schulz, Vicki Scott, and Matt Whitlock
Cover: Charles M. Schulz
Colors: Paige Braddock, Lisa Moore, Bob Scott, Justin Thompson, Alexis E. Fajarado
Content: Peanuts #1 is for all ages.
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Cost: $3.99

Story:

Peanuts #1 has many short stories in it, with some written by the legendary Charles M. Schulz, as well as others written and drawn by new talent. There are six stories in all with three classic Schulz stories. They run the gambit with stories about Lucy on the rampage and scheming to make a nickel to Snoopy waging war and fun in the snow.

There was also a great segment called, “How To Draw Charlie Brown” and was demonstrated by the character Lucy Van Pelt. This was a fantastic segment that I could see so many kids giving a try. I know I did and came out with a decent looking Charlie Brown if I do say so myself.

Review:

When I heard of Peanuts getting their own comic, my first thought was whether this was just going to be republished material or something new. I think BOOM! made the right choice in going with a mixture of both. I can see why they added new material though because Schulz’s comic pages were just one off stories and didn’t necessarily have a lot of meat to them in terms of length.

One thing that was very interesting was just how much the new artists and writers captured the look and feel of the classic Schulz comic strips. I think I glossed over the title page at first and didn’t notice the beginning story was not done by Schulz. It was a credit to the creators that they mimicked Schulz’s style and kept the cast a characters so much like the original. That was a good move in my opinion.

The stories themselves were all very good, with my favorite of the classic material being the snowball scene at the end. It just very much embodied my memories of Schulz from the newspapers and I enjoyed seeing Charlie Brown flying through the air.

Of the new material I liked, “Music Goes Round” by Vicki Scott. She did a great job of adding some artistic elements to the background, all the while keeping it in the vein of what Schulz is famous for. It was very well done.

Personally though, my favorite part of the comic was the how to draw Charlie Brown section. This was Vicki Scott again and she did a fantastic job by making it more than just your normal how to draw bit. This section was taught by Lucy Van Pelt and the lines that Lucy had in commenting were great and I could see the kids I work with laughing out loud at the silly comments. It even moved me to get out a piece of paper and follow along. I could also see this as a great time to share with my kids and show them how to draw.

Conclusion:

Bottom line, I think this comic nailed it for new and old Peanuts fans by giving them the classic work of Schulz, but also in bringing some fresh ideas to the world of Peanuts with new writers and artists. I greatly appreciated that they didn’t try to revamp the characters, but kept with the classic designs as I feel there is a bit too much of this kind of thing in the world today. The classic characters can just as easily tell fresh and funny stories, as is evidenced by this comic.

I really hope BOOM! hits it big with this one as I really think this is a winner and deserves to have a long life in comic books. This is the kind of comic that parents can read and share with kids or the kids themselves can jump into.