Given that comic strips are a form of literature, it is not surprising that Peanuts has had comic strips that prize writing in all its many forms. Whether through references to famous literary works or multiple characters acting like they are authors, writing is an important component of Peanuts – especially in the letter-writing comic strips.
Portraying the perks (and foibles) of writing letters in the adored Peanuts way, the comic strips make one want to make pen pal writing popular again. Almost all the Peanuts characters get into the habit of letter writing, especially Charlie Brown, who had a pen pal in another country. Writing letters to pen pals is not exclusive to the comic strips, however, with animated specials and The Peanuts Movie calling back to the pen pal motif from the comics.
10
“It’s Hard to Write When You’re Nauseated”
December 10th, 1957
In a Christmas-themed storyline, Linus asks Charlie Brown to write a letter for him – that he will dictate since he does not know how to write yet. Charlie Brown, being the affable kid he is, agrees to help. He ends up getting more than he bargained for when Linus lays it on thick in his letter to Santa, going overboard with seeing how Santa Claus has been doing.
Charlie Brown feels instant regret in the form of nausea, having to write out Linus’s many questions for St. Nick. Funnily enough, as long-winded as Linus is in this comic strip, it is not the last of what he wants to include in his letter. Eventually, he drives Charlie Brown so up-the-wall that he refuses to write anymore for Linus.
9
“He’s Kind of Crazy”
September 1st, 1958
Wanting to share a little about his family life with his “pencil-pal,” Charle Brown shares what his parents do for a living as well as about his dog. That said, Charlie Brown does not have a garden-variety dog. Instead, he has got Snoopy, who Charlie Brown admits to his pen pal is a little bit kooky and crazy. Snoopy adds to this by doing his little happy dance as Charlie Brown writes.
This comic strip was the first one to outright say that Snoopy is Charlie Brown’s dog.
Seeing as this is an early comic strip, if Charlie Brown thought Snoopy was a bit kooky at this point, he would go on to see that his dog gets even more eccentric and off kilter (in the best way) as the years go on. From the forming of new outlandish personas to the friendship he would go on to form with a bird, Snoopy’s happy dance was just the beginning of his unique kind of crazy.
8
“How Have You Been?”
February 1st, 1972
Much like her big brother, Sally has a pen pal of her own. She asks her pen pal how they are doing, along with asking about how just about every family member imaginable is doing. Charlie Brown, overseeing her letter, is a bit confused until Sally explains that her asking about her pen pal’s family ad nauseam is because she does not know where to stop without offending her pen pal.
It is not all that often that Sally thinks of the feelings of others, showing a more sensitive side of her that is not typically seen in her comic strips. Sally’s experience with a pen pal does not go as smoothly as Charlie Brown’s, with her pen pal never responding to her letter. So much for not wanting to offend, because when there is no answer from the pen pal, Sally writes another letter, this time addressing the letter to “Stupid Pen Pal.“
7
“I Won’t Be Able to Write as Often”
September 20th, 1994
As usual, Charlie Brown struggles to write with his pen, splattering ink all over the page. In a new letter to his pen pal, Charlie Brown explains that since school started last week, he will not be able to write as often as during the summer. Sally figures that his pen pal will be glad about the reduced number of letters from Charlie Brown.
Related
Charlie Brown Has It Hard, And These Peanut Comics Will Make You Agree
Charlie Brown is the most hapless characters in history, and that’s put on full display in these 10 Peanuts comics where he has it especially hard.
Since a lot of the Peanuts gang likes to poke fun at Charlie Brown – or just outright roast him – Sally’s quip is nothing new for him. As much as Charlie Brown would like to write to his pen pal, a part of him is likely glad that he won’t be writing as much given his frustration with his pen never working right. However, as Charlie Brown explains to Sally, he appreciates being a pen pal because it promotes cultural understanding.
6
“You Did Not Show Up”
August 30th, 1973
When Snoopy has completed a new book, he writes a series of letters to his publisher. The first letter teases how amazing his novel is – so amazing that he is not even going to send his new novel out to them but that they can come and get it. The publishers, unsurprisingly, do not clamor over each other to rush to get Snoopy’s novel with no one showing up even though Snoopy waited for them all day.
Snoopy is at a loss as to why they did not show up, because his new novel will make him rich and famous. The only reasonable explanation he can come up with for their collective absence is that they were not feeling well. Despite never hearing back, Snoopy waits yet another day and sends yet another letter, delivering the threat that he will just have to send his novel to another publisher, which will not go much better.
5
“Dear Pencil-Pal”
August 25th, 1958
Charlie Brown writes to his new pen pal, excited to get to writing, but an obstacle stands in his way: his ink squirting pen. Despite repeated attempts, Charlie Brown cannot get enough of a handle on this wacky pen to even write the first line of the letter. With each new word that gets ruined by an ink blot, he gets more and more angry. After the third time, Charlie Brown has had enough and decides to be a pencil pal instead.
This comic strip marks the first time that Charlie Brown writes to his pen pal.
Charlie Brown knows when to pivot, as seen in this comic strip, as he makes the good decision to forget about the pen and embrace the more easygoing pencil. Charlie Brown admits to his inability to print well in pen to his pen pal in his letter, being an open book with his new friend from the jump.
4
“A Love Note”
August 1st, 1994
Having a long-held crush on the Little Red Haired Girl, Charlie Brown finally gets up the courage to write her a love note but asks Sally if she will be up to delivering it for him. She has one question for him before she answers: in the case that she gets captured, she wonders if she will have to swallow the love note. It sounds like Sally has been spending too much time around the Flying Ace.
Sally is acting like Charlie Brown’s love note is a piece of espionage with highly-valued information on it – that if enemies got hold of it, the information would need to be discarded any way possible, even by eating it. While she may be a bit on the dramatic side, Sally is at least trying to help her big brother for a change.
3
“Tell Him We Don’t Miss Him”
July 7th, 1994
Marcie writes a postcard to Charlie Brown from camp, while Peppermint Patty insists on including in the letter that they do not miss him, and they do not even care if they see him again. Peppermint Patty then adds one last important request in the postcard to her pal Chuck: to send them cookies.
Related
You Missed It, But Charlie Brown Tried (and Failed) to Find Snoopy’s Brother a Family
A storyline from May 1996 saw Rerun so desperate for a dog that he had Snoopy arrange for his brother Spike to go live with the Van Pelt family.
Peppermint Patty’s anger at Charlie Brown may seem like it is coming out of nowhere, but this comic strip belongs to a storyline where Peppermint Patty keeps trying to get Charlie Brown to miss her while she’s at camp with Marcie. When that does not work, she tries to make him jealous. All her efforts do not work, and Charlie Brown is just as oblivious as ever. She may be mad at him, but she might as well get some cookies out of him.
2
“Six Times?!!”
May 16th, 1967
Charlie Brown receives the most dreaded kind of letter (well, one that is not from the IRS): a chain letter. After receiving a chain letter, the unfortunate receiver is supposed to copy the letter six times and send it to friends or receive bad luck if they do not comply.
Charlie Brown starts off his chain letter with his pen, which is notorious for causing him trouble and being difficult, before he has a full on meltdown about having to write in pen even more due to the repetition needed for the chain letter. As if chain letters were not annoying enough! Nothing in Charlie Brown’s life goes off without a hitch, with even something as seemingly easy as writing out a chain letter being a massive pain and a huge ordeal for him.
1
“Frowns”
February 4th, 1983
When Sally writes an angry letter to the editor, she writes some unintelligible signs that Charlie Brown struggles to understand. Given that it is an angry letter, Sally deems it appropriate to draw frowns in her letter to really nail the point home that she is upset. Readers are never told or shown why she is mad or who the editor is, so there is a mystery as to what has gotten her so heated.
However, Sally is not the most level-headed or laid-back kid in Peanuts, so the offense probably isn’t anything that crazy. Regardless, she isn’t one to take things lying down, already adept at writing angry letters at a very young age. If only this beloved Peanuts character was as good at book reports as she is at disgruntled letters.
Peanuts
Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.
- Created by
-
Charles M. Schulz
- Cast
-
Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Bill Melendez, Sally Dryer, Peter Robbins, Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Lisa DeFaria, Venus Omega Schultheis
- Character(s)
-
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown, Pig-Pen, Marcie (Peanuts), Peppermint Patty, Woodstock
