1999, and the Golden The-
atre, New York City, 1971
– CMSM
| opposite:
Original Schulz mockup
of You’re a Good Man,
Charlie Brown theater
production, c. 1990 –
CMSM
V
alentine’s Day is a bittersweet holiday for most
of the gang. Charlie Brown can’t work up the
nerve to give a valentine to the Little Red-Haired
Girl, Lucy never receives a valentine from Schroeder,
Peppermint Patty and Marcie don’t receive valentines
from Charlie Brown, and Sally never gets a card
from her “Sweet Babboo,” Linus. As Charlie Brown
observes each year, “Nothing echoes like an empty
mailbox.” Snoopy, however, always seems to receive
more valentines than he can handle and spends
the holiday enjoying a steady stream of cards
from his many admirers.
Valentine’s Day is, in many ways, one of the
saddest days of the year in
Peanuts
. Charles
Schulz noted many times that the cruelty of
children is one of the strip’s most poignant recurring
themes. “Nothing in life ends with a pow! And
aren’t all kids egotists? And brutal? Children
are caricatures of adults. We grown-ups don’t
change so much, except on the surface,
because we get along better that way.
Maybe I have the cruelest strip going.”
VALENTINE’S DAY
1–8: Style Guide art – CSCA; 9: Waiting for
Valentines, Parts One and Two, Peanuts
Digital Edition – CSCA; 10: Be My Valen-
tine, Charlie Brown; Artist: Jayson Weidel;
Limited Edition Print; Courtesy: Dark Hall
Mansion; 11: Snoopy Love; Artist: Laurent
Durieux; Limited Edition Print; Courtesy:
Dark Hall Mansion
8
first OBserved
02/14/1952
2
4
1
5
3
7
6
9
10
11
44
THE COMPLETE PEANUTS FAMILY ALBUM
above: Patty model sheet, 2010 – CSCA | below: Style Guide art – CSCA
45PATTY
PATTY
p
atty grew up in the same neighborhood as Charlie
Brown and Shermy, and the trio—plus Snoopy—
were inseparable in their early childhood days. Like many
girls in the neighborhood, she has a complex relationship
with Charlie Brown, happily playing house with him one
day, mercilessly teasing him the next.
When another girl finally moves to their block, Patty
is thrilled, and Violet joins their circle of friends. The two
have many mutual interests, from dolls and records to
taunting Charlie Brown, and become best friends right
away. As more kids move to their part of town, Patty and
Violet spend less and less time alone with Charlie Brown,
but they all remain friends and continue to play outfield
on his baseball team.
Patty’s presence in the strip was in decline by the
mid-1960s, but the introduction of Peppermint Patty
cemented Patty’s status as a background character.
Schulz narrowed the core cast of the strip over the
years, and there just wasn’t room for two different
girls named “Patty.”
above: Patty model sheet – CSCA
first aPPearanCe
10/02/1950
46
THE COMPLETE PEANUTS FAMILY ALBUM
O
ne of Charlie Brown’s oldest friends, Shermy is
always ready to jump in and join a game of
catch, go to the movies, or enjoy a nice stroll around
the block. His even temper and affability make him
one of the most reliable kids in the neighborhood, and
you can always count on him to join your baseball
team or lend a hand.
Because of Shermy’s reserved demeanor, however,
he seems to fade into the background when new kids
like Lucy and Linus move into the neighborhood. As
Charles Schulz noted, Shermy’s role diminished over
time, and he soon appeared only when the cartoonist
“needed a character with very little personality.”
Shermy’s last official appearance was on June 15,
1969, and his expression and single word of dialogue
(“Really?”) seemed to indicate that he knew his time
was up. Lest it be forgotten, though, Shermy was
there from the beginning and was the only character
to speak in the very first strip, on October 2, 1950.
His introduction of the strip’s star set the tone for
everything that followed: “Good ol’ Charlie Brown . . .
How I hate him!”
SHERMY
first aPPearanCe
10/02/1950
47SHERMY
opposite, left: Design by Cameron + Co | opposite, right: Spot art from
strip – Charles M. Schulz
| above: Shermy model sheet – CSCA | right: Spot art
from