With a series as vastly wide as PeanutsIt’s hard to pin just one down as even among the best ever created by Charles M. Schulz. However, a comic strip that fits those exact criteria is exactly what readers get when they take a look back at the one published in August 1984 – among a host of other great Peanuts Comics fans will be glad they read.
Peanuts was created by Charles Schultz in 1950, and ran until the year 2000. That’s half a century of Peanuts Comics, not to mention the TV shows, feature films and holiday specials. In other words, the aforementioned point states: Peanuts is very broad. But even so, there are still some obvious standouts. And as of August 2024, a whole month’s worth of Peanuts Comics is just 40Meaning now is the perfect time to look back at the best that month had to offer — including one in particular.
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Peanuts perfectly captures 1 hilariously relatable annoyance
Peanuts – August 1, 1984
At 3 in the morning, Marcy hears a knock on her door, only to open it to find Peppermint Patty standing there, wanting to tell Marcy about her vacation to Paris. Utterly flabbergasted, Marcie basically tells Peppermint Patty to go home. After Marcy slams the door in her face, Peppermint Patty asks, “You don’t want to see my vacation pictures?“.
Although this is an extreme example, almost everyone has been in Marcie’s shoes. Someone is coming back from vacation, and they just won’t shut up about it. They want to impress their friends with vacation pictures, and it becomes all they can talk about for days on end. It’s like they’re knocking on the door at 3 in the morning, that’s how annoying this hilariously relatable situation can be – and Peanuts Capture it perfectly.
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Peppermint Patty continues to make her vacation marquee’s problem
Peanuts – August 2, 1984
It seems Peppermint Patty didn’t get the hint when Marcie told her to get lost in the previous comic strip. Rather than just go home, Peppermint Patty walks around Marcy’s house to her window, and tries to show Marcy her vacation photos through the glass. Marcy goes back to the front door to, once again, tell Peppermint Patty to go home, something Peppermint Patty is reluctant to do, given her jet lag-induced energy level.
As far as Peppermint Patty is concerned, 3:00 is basically lunch time, as her jet lag still has her on Paris time as a result of her vacation. Although this is understandable, what is not like Peppermint Patty makes her vacation marquee’s problem (Even if it’s hilarious).
8
Charlie Brown and Sally have 2 very different ways of dealing with their existential crisis
Peanuts – August 5, 1984
As Charlie Brown sits alone, reading a hotel magazine, he says that looking at pictures of empty hotel lobbies makes him sad and worried about moving out of the house once he becomes an adult. Sally then goes into the living room and says that she does not feel sad about the possibility of moving out, because she refuses to accept that she will ever have to.
Both characters experience the same existential crisis in polar opposite ways. Charlie Brown falls into a depressive state of anxiety, while Sally tries to distract herself of feeling something at all. While this is a great example of how people deal with stressful situations differently, it’s also clear that these kids really need to lighten up, which is exactly what makes this comic so funny.
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1 Shocking Peanuts character has access to cartoon logic powers
Peanuts – August 7, 1984
Peppermint Patty is clearly desperate to show someone, anyone, her vacation photos, and instead of harassing Marcy again, Peppermint Patty goes to Schroeder. Being the piano prodigy that he is, Schroeder plays the keys when Peppermint Patty approaches him, and the musical notes he plays are visually depicted above his mini piano. When Peppermint Patty realizes that Schroeder is not interested in looking at her pictures, she says, “Why don’t I just leave them here“, and then proceeds to put them on the musical staff for Schroeder to look at later.
The staff wasn’t literally there, it was just a visual representation of the music Schroeder was playing. so, When Peppermint Patty puts her pictures on the stick, she flexes a power in Cartoon Logic fans may not have known she had.Which is as shocking as it is hilarious.
6
Snoopy teaches his beagle scouts how to defend themselves (they don’t need a lesson)
Peanuts – August 12, 1984
For many years in Peanuts Canon, Snoopy was the troop leader of the Beagle Scouts, which consisted entirely of Woodstock and his family. One day while out in the wild, Snoopy decides that the scouts are going to work on self-defense. They are still small birds, and larger birds may try to eat them. So, Snoopy pretends to be a bird of prey, and tells the scouts to defend themselves against him – and they do just that.
The beagle scouts are more than capable of fending off large predatorsProved true by how easily they handled Snoopy during this exercise. While Snoopy is just trying to help them, it’s still hilarious to see the iconic pup get beaten up by a group of tiny birds who don’t need a lesson in self-defense.
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Snoopy would rather defy the laws of physics than get on Lucy’s bad side
Peanuts – August 16, 1984
As Lucy is relaxing in an inflatable pool on this hot August day, Snoopy decides to join her, although not in a way that Lucy would prefer. With a running start, Snoopy goes to dive head-first into the pool, which would have created an annoying splash, hitting Lucy right in the face. Lucy, foreseeing this annoyance, shouts to Snoopy, “Oh, no you don’t!“, and Snoopy immediately listens. Snoopy stops in the air before hitting the water, and then turns his entire body completely around To avoid landing in the pool.
What Snoopy does in the comic is physically impossible, meaning that he literally has to break the laws of physics to spare Lucy’s full wrath. To be fair, shattering the fabric of the physical plane would be preferable to facing a ticked off Lucy, and Snoopy came to this conclusion in the air.
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Snoopy quickly learns to fly against Lucy’s wrath
Peanuts – August 17, 1984
Even after stopping in the air to avoid splashing Lucy, Snoopy tries to dive into her pool again. Just like last time, Lucy tells Snoopy to stop what he’s doing, with a clear undertone of ‘or else’ – and, again, Snoopy listens. Rather than stopping and turning his body completely around in the air, this time Snoopy decides to break the laws of physics in a new way: by flying.
As experts and non-experts can attest, dogs cannot fly. However, they have never met a dog that was in danger of facing Lucy’s wrath (for the second time). Learning to fly on the fly quickly becomes the most reasonable thing for Snoopy to do in this situation, and if not reasonable, then certainly hilarious.
3
Charlie Brown is afraid to be happy, and he explains why
Peanuts – August 23, 1984
In the comic, Linus tells Charlie Brown that he thinks Chuck is afraid to be happy, to which Charlie Brown replies, “What are the side effects?“. Charlie Brown confirms that he Is Afraid to be happy – literally. He is not so afraid of achieving happiness, but of learning that being happy does not make him truly happy. Charlie Brown is really afraid of the side effects of happiness, these being the results of true happiness itself.
Charlie Brown wants nothing to do with happinessBecause he is not ready for everything, the happiness can bring him, and He is much more comfortable being his normal cynical self. Even the thought of being happy makes him uncomfortable, confirming that he is not ready to change who he is, even if it could be beneficial for himself. While the comic isn’t exactly funny, it’s certainly darkly humorous and pretty revealing about Charlie Brown’s character.
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Franklin may be a little too honest for his own good
Peanuts – August 29, 1984
When Franklin comes to Peppermint Patty to tell her that they won’t be in the same class at school this year, he says that he will miss seeing her every day. It’s a pretty solid start to a conversation, though it quickly takes a nosedive when Franklin says the real reason he’s going to miss Peppermint Patty is, “I remember one time, I thought I heard a jet fly over our school… I turned around, and it was you snoring…“To which Peppermint Patty replies,”Don’t count on me talking to you at the high school prom, Franklin!“.
Based on Peppermint Patty’s response, it seems that there was a possibility of romance between Franklin and Peppermint Patty. however, Franklin is a little too honest about the real reason he’s going to miss Peppermint Patty in classHilariously shattering that possibility right then and there.
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One of the funniest Peanuts strips ever is equal parts cute and surreal
Peanuts – August 19, 1984
Lucy is jumping rope alone one day when she is approached by Charlie Brown, who starts talking about his shoe totally unprompted. Charlie Brown just got new shoes, and he’s so proud of them that he wants to show off his new laces to anyone he sees. Lucy is totally unfazed, and tells Charlie Brown that his shoes look nice. The two then exchange an awkward goodbye, and the comic strip just ends.
This Peanuts Comic is like a strange dream, totally surreal and randomBut just ‘normal’ enough to feel real during the experience. It’s cute that Lucy shares Charlie Brown’s excitement, especially since not very many things make Charlie Brown feel excited, but the whole thing undeniably goes off in a totally wild and totally hilarious way. That’s why this is arguably one of the funniest Peanuts comics of all time, and definitely one of the 10 funniest who just turned 40.