My Cartoon Collection (#18)

I grew up eating peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.

The Peanuts cartoon stips are full of rep, rep, repetition. Here, all four panels are pretty much the same. So simple. And simplicity works. I’m learning that less words can make for more humor. Write a fun story with 500 words and cut it down to 250 to see what I mean. Yes, it’s a painful process, but see if your humor isn't made more direct and to the point. What gets cut are the so’s, and’s, but’s, very’s, and a crapload of blah.

Pull up a chair and let’s get personal. This Snoop Dogg cartoon is deep. It’s obvious to me and you that a dying leaf wouldn’t, couldn't smile back. Well, sometimes people are like leaves. They’re hurt or frightened or angry and they do not, they can not smile back. They were far from being healthy Snoopys before your attempt at a friendly connection. Don’t take it personally. And don’t stop connectin’.

Snoopy the dog sits beneath a tree. A leaf falls to earth as he watches, smiling. After it lands Snoopy looks away, thinking, “Not very friendly...”

Cartoon image from The Art of Paper Model Instructions. Thanks!
Got some time? Enjoy Snoopy.com (yay!) and the Charles M. Schulz museum. He's on Wikipedia too.

Comments

Rick Rockhill said…
can I just tell you that 'peanuts' was one of my favorite cartoons as a kid, and to this day is the only one I'll still glance at. I love snoopy....
P.L. Frederick said…
Love it too. As a kid I used to check out "really old" 1960's Peanuts library books. In the early days of the strip, Charlie Brown and clan had more rounded features. When I was 7 or 8 years old this made it seem like a different strip altogether. But the grown-up humor was the same and Snoopy was there to hold it all together.

Charles Schulz took some heat originally because readers couldn't figure out which character was Peanuts.

My younger siblings may insist that I was Lucy but today I feel more like Linus.

P.L. Frederick
SMALL & big
Love that Snoopy! I can almost "feel" myself back at our kitchen table sharing knowing glances with my dad over that leaf falling, Snoopy's forced grin, and then the worried look with the naive judgment--"not very friendly" all reminding me it was fall-- time to start back to school and find new friends.

In Brownies, we used to sing: "make new friends, but keep the old, some are silver, the others, gold--Make new friends, make new friends.

Will we? Snoopy casts some doubt!
Anonymous said…
Ah Shultz. No competition against Calvin and Hobbs though...
Brian Narelle said…
I agree. Schulz was something of a Zen master at cartooning. I teach cartooning at the Schulz Museum and aspire to greater and greater simplicity.
P.L. Frederick said…
A cartoon teacher at the Schultz Museum has visited SMALL & big?! My! Brian Narelle, you are my officiallist favorite reader for the day. Your narelleworld blog and professed benign schizophrenia are nifty. Also, nobody else bothered to leave a comment today.

P.L. Frederick
SMALL & big

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