In the early days of Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comics, the characters looked quite a bit different. They were smaller, rounder, and a bit more “cutesy.” The comic strip debuted on Oct. 2, 1950 and over the first decade of drawing the characters, Schulz found their distinct look, which was still cute, but with far more personality for each character, allowing you to tell them apart more easily.
But while Schulz was still figuring out the look and feel of Peanuts back in the 1950s, the early years contained sparks of absolute genius that would inform the strip’s 50-year run. Here are five such comics that show Schulz was always a genius, even when Charlie Brown didn’t quite look like the Charlie Brown we all know and love nowadays.
5
October 2, 1950
The very first Peanuts comic contains the now-forgotten characters of Shermy and Patty (not Peppermint Patty, another girl named just Patty). The two of them are sitting while Shermy goes on about Charlie Brown. “Well! Here comes ol’ Charlie Brown!” he says in the first strip as Charlie Brown approaches in the distance. “Good ol’ Charlie Brown… Yes, sir!” says Shermy as Charlie Brown passes by. “Good ol’ Charlie Brown…” Shermy trails off as Charlie Brown is still in earshot. Then, once Charlie Brown is far enough away, Shermy lets his true feelings be known by saying “How I hate him!”
While Shermy and Patty would be characters who would eventually be phased out in favor of others, this comic is still brilliantly funny. The slow-burn sweetness leading to a harsh punchline is still effective 70 years later, as Shermy seems like he’s fond of Charlie Brown until he reveals he isn’t. While it might be too much to say this was “edgy” for the time, it certainly was surprising. The contrast of such a cute character saying such a nasty, entirely unexplained thing about another child is still really funny, and it set the tone for who Charlie Brown is: a chump who other kids aren’t very nice to.
4
November 9, 1950
Charlie Brown isn’t just a kid who other kids poke fun at, he’s also kind of a sad sack. While it’s an unusual quality for a main character to have, it made Charlie Brown relatable. Schulz seemed to grasp that from the very start, as this comic strip is from just one month into his legendary run. In it, Charlie Brown tells Patty, “The future frightens me!” She tries to reassure him by saying, “I don’t see why.. You’re young and full of life… You’ll probably live for another sixty years!” In reply, Charlie Brown says the most Charlie Brown things he can say, “That’s what frightens me!”
While Charlie Brown didn’t quite look like himself yet, he sure did sound like himself.
3
November 14, 1951
This is the very first strip featuring Charlie Brown missing the football, and while the elements aren’t all here yet, there’s that initial spark of genius that would make this the best recurring gag in Peanuts history. It does feature Charlie Brown about to hit the ball and missing when it’s pulled away at the last second, causing him to fall flat on his back. However, this isn’t Lucy holding the football here, it’s the similar-looking Violet, another character that would fade over the decades.
Also the intent is different. Lucy would end up pulling the football away out of cruelty. She wanted Charlie Brown to look stupid and she knew he was a big enough blockhead to fall for the same trick over and over again. Violet, however, drops the football out of fear she will be kicked, which is funny, but not nearly as funny as Lucy’s sadism.
2
December 25, 1955
Thanks primarily to the 1965 TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas, the Peanuts characters would eventually become synonymous with Christmas, but Charles Schulz featured Christmas as a major theme well before that. In this Christmas day Sunday strip from 1955, Charlie Brown is asking for donations to buy his pal Snoopy a gift. He approaches Patty and Violet and they each give him a nickel; they also praise his idea of buying a gift for his dog. However, when Charlie Brown walks away, they express their real feelings, with Patty saying “Boy, what a dope that Charlie Brown is!” and Violet replying “You can say that again!”
Even on Christmas, Charlie Brown can’t catch a break.
1
December 31, 1959
By the end of the decade, Charles Schulz’s characters began to look more like the Peanuts characters we all know and love. You can see it in his very last strip from the 1950s, which ran on New Year’s Eve, 1959. In it, Lucy insults Charlie Brown repeatedly, and he complains that it’s only 8:00 in the morning. “I can’t help it, Charlie Brown…” replies Lucy, “You have so many faults it takes a whole day to list them!” — a funny, ingenious little joke by a man who changed American culture.