Peanuts may be the funniest comic strip of all time, and that’s something that can be said for every era of its half century of syndication. Charles M. Schultz created Peanuts in 1950, and produced new comic strips until his death in 2000. Throughout that time, Schultz crafted truly timeless jokes and gags that stick with readers long after they’ve read them—including one in particular.
As of September 2024, a whole month’s worth of Peanuts Comic strips turned 60 years old. Although many may think that because of their age, these jokes would not hold up for modern readers, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, one running gag alone proves that sentiment true, as it will have readers laughing hours after reading it – and it’s far from the only one. Here are those 10 funniest Peanuts Comics that just turned 60!
10
Snoopy is confused but supportive to see a bird with a sign
Peanuts – September 1, 1964
One day, while sitting on the grass minding his own business, Snoopy sees a single bird marching with a sign. There is nothing on the sign except an exclamation mark, but the bird seems objectively to spread their unclear message. When the bird leaves, Snoopy says, “I can’t argue with that“, partly because he had no idea what the bird was trying to say, and also in a show of support despite the confusion.
Snoopy has long been an ally for birds, proven true by his friendship with Woodstock as well as the formation of Snoopy’s Beagle Scouts (which consists entirely of Woodstock’s family). So, if the bird has something to say, Snoopy will be happy to listen – even if he has no idea what he’s listening to.
9
Snoopy becomes even more enraged at the bird’s unclear message
Peanuts – September 2, 1964
After noticing the protesting bird, Snoopy decides to stop and hear more about what it has to say. Snoopy can confirm that, whatever the bird says, they say it passionately. And that’s the real point of this running gag, because it highlights something that’s just as true in the real world as it is in the comic strip: how people say something is often more important than what they say.
This bird is passionate about their cause, waving their sign around with vigor and excitement. Snoopy feels that passion, even if he can’t understand their reason. And Because this bird is so passionate about what they believe in, Snoopy wants to support. It’s an interesting piece of social commentary that can be applied to almost anything.
8
Things start to heat up during this ‘bird demonstration’, and Snoopy is caught in the middle
Peanuts – September 3, 1964
While Snoopy looks at the ‘calling bird’ clutching around their sign, he sees another bird walking towards them, and this one is holding a sign with a question mark on it. Snoopy can immediately feel the tension growing between them, and before long, the two birds begin to fight each other. It seems that they stand for different reasons, and Their demonstrations quickly turn violent as a result – and Snoopy finds himself right in the middle.
This is another interesting piece of social commentary, as it shows one side of an argument passionately ‘shouting’ about their cause, while the other side is questioning the stance. The ‘reading bird’ does not want to be questioned, while the ‘reading bird’ will not be satisfied until they have an answer, which leads to conflict. Again, this can be applied to almost any sociological situation, all while delivering a visually hilarious comic strip.
7
Snoopy meets another bird standing for a different reason
Peanuts – September 4, 1964
After the ‘Exclamation Mark Bird’ and the ‘Question Mark Bird’ maintain their invisible display of physical violence during what should be a peaceful demonstration of their respective beliefs, Snoopy sees yet another bird with their own mark. This bird has a mark with a hemisphere on it. Perhaps the bird wants to bridge the gap between the ‘call mark’ and ‘question mark’ levels, or perhaps it represents another reason entirely. Either way, Snoopy is left more confused than when the whole thing started.
It means Snoopy can’t keep track of the birds’ different reasonsWhether they are political parties, specific issues or personal beliefs. The whole thing started when Snoopy saw a bird with a sign and thought it was interesting, but now he is completely involved in a seemingly political argument that he obviously does not understand.
6
Snoopy meets one ultimate ‘token bird’ with the power to change the minds of other birds
Peanuts – September 11, 1964
As the demonstrations continue, one final bird joins in with their own sign. The bird is holding a shield with a comb on it, and at first the ‘calling bird’ is strongly opposed to what the ‘coming bird’ stands for. The ‘come-bird’ screams and shouts in the face of the ‘calling’ bird, and feeds their message in an aggressive tirade. but then, The ‘Comma Bird’ makes one quick point about their cause, and as Snoopy points out, that’s all it took for the ‘Exclamation Mark Bird’ to give up on their cause. completely.
What the ‘comma bird’ stands for, it seems to be indisputable, as the point that the bird made is enough to make the most passionate bird among those demonstrating completely change sides.
Peanuts – September 12, 1964
In the grand finale of the ‘bird gag’ run, the ‘come bird’ united the entire bird community. The birds used to be at each other’s throats, marching for different things and having the birds that stood for another thing. of them. But, it seems The “come-bird” could gather all the birds togetherBecause their reason certainly makes the most sense to the vast majority of birds (even if it still doesn’t make sense to the reader).
While this running gag is filled with sociological metaphor and political commentary, it’s important to take what’s going on at face value. When one does, they will see how hilariously absurd the whole saga truly was. Birds fighting over punctuation for reasons that are never clear to anyone, including Snoopy? Ridiculous – and hilarious.
4
Snoopy’s Dog House gets a ‘Sistine Chapel’ upgrade thanks to Linus
Peanuts – September 21, 1964
Linus crawls out from inside Snoopy’s dog house while Charlie Brown stands out front. Charlie Brown asks Linus how the mural is going, and Linus admits that it’s hard to paint while lying on his back. Linus then says that the hardest part is not the painting itself, but setting up all the stems – which is obviously absurd and completely ridiculous.
The comic strip is a play on the Sistine Chapel And how it was painted by Michelangelo. The real artist made a stand so that he could paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Chapel, lying on his back. And now, Linus is doing the same thing to Snoopy’s dog house, which is a decidedly less intense job that really shouldn’t require scaffolding at all. However, if Snoopy’s dog house is getting the ‘Sistine Chapel treatment’, at least Linus is making it authentic.
3
Linus is a perfectionist to a fault, and Snoopy thinks he should lighten up
Peanuts – September 23, 1964
Linus shows Charlie Brown the mural he’s painting on the ceiling of Snoopy’s dog house, while Snoopy lies on the roof, listening to the conversation. Snoopy listens as Linus explains each historical image to Charlie Brown, and allows certain creative freedoms for some of the historical figures, because he does not know what some of them looked like. Snoopy then responds to Linus over-stating his creative freedom in a comment he makes to himself, “A lack of knowledge forgivable in a mural painter who is only six years old!“
Linus is clearly a perfectionist (a direct result of his above-average intelligence), and Snoopy definitely thinks he should lighten up. – After all, he is only a six-year-old child!
2
Linus aggressively supports Snoopy’s cause (but in the wrong way)
Peanuts – September 20, 1964
It seems that Snoopy was inspired by the birds he encountered before, because in this Peanuts Comic strip, he has his own sign with his own cause that he wants to make people aware of. Snoopy’s sign reads, “This is National Dog Week“, and he goes around with it to spread awareness and get support. When Linus sees Snoopy and his sign, the six-year-old tells Snoopy that he’s totally behind him, saying, “I think it’s wonderful when a person like yourself takes the time to promote such a truly worthy cause“.
While Linus’ words were supportive, and exactly what Snoopy was looking for, his phrasing was condescending and made Snoopy feel embarrassed. It is as if Linus gave Snoopy unsolicited validation for promoting his own cause rather than simply supporting the cause itselfWhat is the wrong way to offer support to a person or group.
1
Snoopy thinks that 1 leaf didn’t fall, he was pushed
Peanuts – September 29, 1964
On this autumn day, Snoopy is enjoying the outdoors by sitting under a tree and watching the falling leaves. like Snoopy watches as one leaf gently falls to the ground, he has a dark thought: the leaf has been pushed. It seems that – to Snoopy – the idea that a leaf would just fall by itself is unthinkable, therefore foul play has to be involved. Obviously, this is absurd, although this is not the first time Snoopy has expressed his concern about falling leaves.
throughout PeanutsSnoopy constantly expressed his concern over the falling leaves, with the thought of them being raking and bags his most pressing concern. However, it seems that the mere act of falling is enough to scare Snoopy, especially when he believes that the leaf didn’t fall, he was pushed. And that’s why this is one of the 10 funniest Peanuts Comics that just turned 60!