Charles Schulz

Hallowe’en Countdown VI, Day 1

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« 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.

October 30, 1966, virtually a Snoopy solo.
October 25, 1967.
October 26, 1967.
October 25, 1967.
A year later: October 29, 1968.
October 31, 1967.
November 1st, 1967.
The October 29, 1967 strip.

-RG

Hallowe’en Countdown II, Day 17

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« You’ve disgraced yourself! You’ve offended the Great Pumpkin and the spirit of Halloween! » Linus Van Pelt to Peppermint Patty, Oct. 31, 1975

You all know how this one goes! An image from the third Peanuts animated special, « It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown » from 1966.

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« I got a rock. »

« Charlie Brown’s bad luck trick-or-treating earned him a lot of sympathy amongst young viewers, to the extent that some mailed candy for Charlie Brown to the TV channels that aired the special. In recent years, many fans have viewed the gag as disturbing, viewing it as a conspiracy among the adults to torture Charlie Brown by denying him candy. »

(quotation gleaned from the Peanuts wiki)

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Interestingly, the gag about Charlie Brown’s inadvertent rock collection was introduced here, not in the strip, though it was alluded to in the November 1st, 1975 strip, a whole nine years down the line. Found it in my copy of « Think Thinner, Snoopy » 

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As  a bonus, here’s a clever modern update on the classic sequence, from the long-defunct ifyouseesomething.net.

– RG