The Complete Peanuts, Vol. 1: 1950-1952

One of the defining comics in the industry and a wonderfully poignant look at life.

The first two years of the Peanuts comic strip (1950-1952) collected into one volume, the first volume of 26 that collects all 50 years of the strip. There are characters (Sherm, Patty, and Violet) who don't appear in later years (Sherm almost disappears by the end of this volume), and a few (Schroeder, Lucy, and Linus) who make their first appearances later in the volume. The only two who are there from the beginning are Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

But they look a lot different than what most of us are used to seeing. Schulz's lines in these early strips are bolder, which sort of compresses their features, but also makes them a bit more dynamic. And Charlie Brown is less of a sad sack than he is in the later years. He is more impish, and a bit of a trouble-maker. Some of the humor is dated and obviously from the 50s (lots of “housewife” and mother-in-law jokes), but the seeds are all there for Peanuts would eventually become.