« There are three things I have learned never to discuss with people… Religion, Politics, and The Great Pumpkin. » — Charles M. Schulz
And… we’re back, as promised, in time for our sacrosanct (or should that be ‘impious’?) annual Hallowe’en Countdown.
I’ll keep it brief, as we’re still in the middle of an arduous longish-distance move. Oof!
To kick off this edition, I thought I’d reach for a true classic of the season. It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to claim that few (if any!) have done more to disperse the pumpkin seeds of Hallowe’en than Mr. Schulz has — but in his ubiquity, he’s easy to take for granted.
Here’s a handful of choice strips from my favourite Peanuts period, the mid-to-late 1960s, just before Snoopy more-or-less pulled the lead rôle from under good ol’ Charlie Brown’s feet, to the strip’s detriment… though its decline was an elegant and leisurely one.
-RG
Who's Out There? 
As a lifelong Snoopy (and Linus) fan and a lifelong Halloween fan, bless you for this column.
P.S. Knowing my love for Snoopy, my mother-in-law went overboard for approximately a decade buying me nothing but Peanuts items for my birthday and Christmas. Looking over the vast loot — Snoopy pull toys, Peanuts erasers, Snoopy cups, etc. — I would joke that a stranger could look at these hauls and reasonably assume they were bought for a 6-year-child rather than a middle-aged man. (My wife was finally able to remind her that variety is indeed the spice of life, so I now only occasionally receive Peanuts gifts.)
P.P.S. Despite my fondness, I did find the strip mostly unreadable from about the mid- or late 1980s until its end, thanks largely to the growing focus on secondary characters I disliked (specifically, Peppermint Patty and Spike).
LikeLiked by 1 person