10 Funniest Peanuts Comics That Just Turned 50

Summary

• These Peanuts comics celebrate their 50th anniversary, highlighting their timeless appeal and universal humor from the ’70s.
• Peanuts strips focus on relatable character antics and timeless comedy instead of trendy topics, allowing for easy understanding and enjoyment even after 50 years.
• Snoopy, Lucy, and Peppermint Patty showcase memorable moments of humor and relatable interactions in classic Peanuts comics from the ’70s.

It’s time to break out the gold because these Peanuts comics have celebrated their 50th anniversary. These strips published in April 1974 range from relevant topics, fads, and interests of the time to typical childhood silliness or the outlandish antics of Snoopy that are able to exist outside any time period or decade. A great thing about Peanuts was its universal and timeless appeal. Even many comics that featured timely events still retained the ability to be understood and found funny in the years and decades following their publication.

In contrast to comic strips or jokes that rely on hot topics or current events, Peanuts focused on its core cast of characters and their idiosyncrasies. As a result, an audience gets a full grasp on who these characters are while also easily understanding jokes that were published 50 years ago.

10 “Proud Of You”

Published April 15, 1974

Lucy is not typically super warm, usually heckling Charlie Brown or nagging one of her little brothers. However, she is complementary to one unexpected population: bugs. She even spurs on a bug, saying that she has followed his career since he was tiny. Encouraging is not a word one would usually use to describe Lucy, yet to her insect friend, that is just what she is. Her psychiatry clients don’t even get that kind of warm, assuring encouragement. Rather than consider herself a psychiatrist, Lucy should shift to considering entomology instead.

However, what Lucy means when she claims she’s been following the bug’s career is less clear than her obvious appreciation and care for the bug of interest. As a result, another layer of humor is added to the comic, which already takes the reader by surprise due to Lucy’s enthusiasm and kindness that is shown.

9 “Bad Call!”

Published April 13, 1974

Snoopy may have a laid back, carefree alter ego known as Joe Cool, but Snoopy himself is anything but free and easy sometimes. He becomes anxiety-stricken if icicles are present over his doghouse. Likewise, he has completely lost his cool numerous times, as seen if his supper is late, when there is a disagreement while playing baseball, or when he gets in an argument with Lucy or Woodstock.

When Snoopy gets a bad call for his tennis serve, he pulls a John McEnroe and berates the referee, explaining passionately exactly where the ball was hit.

Tennis is not exempt from the small beagle’s big temper, as seen in this comic. When Snoopy gets a bad call for his tennis serve, he pulls a John McEnroe and berates the referee, explaining passionately exactly where the ball was hit. Interestingly, this strip was very current for the time it was published, as tennis saw a boom in popularity in the 1970s that lasted all the way to the mid ’80s.

8 “The Names Are Great”

Published April 2, 1974

Coming up with names for characters is not as easy a task as it may seem to the uninitiated. Sometimes, coming up with compelling yet appropriate names is even harder than the actual writing of the story. Ironically, Snoopy seems to have no talent for writing but a knack for coming up with character names (in his mind, anyway).

It’s a funny touch that Snoopy’s fictional character creations are skaters, as Snoopy himself gave himself the alter egos of World Famous Skater and World Famous Roller Derby Star, proving that he sticks to the adage to “write what you know.” Moreover, Snoopy writing characters who are famous skaters ties into the decade in which it was published, since skating experienced a surge in popularity in the 1970s. Regardless, Snoopy doesn’t hold much hope in his fictional creation, but he’ll be sure to keep those names he came up with in his back pocket for later.

7 “It Could Have Happened”

Published April 10, 1974

It has been said that Abraham Lincoln had to do his homework on the back of a shovel because his father could not afford to get him pen and paper sometimes. Peppermint Patty takes this historical and presidential anecdote a step further in her school presentation until she is corrected that the liberties she has taken with the Abe Lincoln story are likely incorrect. Peppermint Patty does not take the correction too well, emphatically stating that her story could have happened.

While Peppermint Patty rarely does a stellar job in school, she is at least partially correct in her statements, something that does not commonly happen for her. As the comic was published two years before the United States’ bicentennial, America was possibly feeling more patriotic than usual, contributing to the inclusion of U.S. presidents in Peanuts around the 1970s.

6 “Making Me Sick”

Published April 29, 1974

Sally, despite herself, can get on her Sweet Baboo Linus’s nerves. Linus often tries to remain patient and calm, but sometimes he loses his temper with her, as seen in this comic. When Sally will not stop talking about throwing up and the movie they are about to see, Linus has had enough and discards going to the movie entirely because all her talk is making him sick. Sally’s response is to comfort him by suggesting that maybe the movie will only have killing instead of throwing up, showing a troublesome reply from a young child.

The comic is a funny and intriguing look at the selective desensitization experienced by young kids during the ’70s. Sally is abhorred at the idea of seeing someone vomit on screen, yet is completely unfazed and even prefers the prospect of a cinematic killing instead.

5 “One For The Next Story”

Published April 5, 1974

Snoopy may have stuck the “World’s Best” moniker in front of his many hobbies and professions. However, that statement rarely lives up to the lofty promises it denotes. An example of Snoopy falling short of his “World’s Best” name is in his World Famous Author persona. He has called himself this, yet it is a frequent occurrence to see comics where is writing is constantly rejected. He has jumped the gun on giving himself the World’s Best Author name.

As this comic shows, Snoopy receives a letter back from the magazine he’s submitted his writing to, only to see that he has not received just one rejection slip but two for the next project he will reliably submit. Ouch, that’s a shot to the writer’s ego if there ever was one. Yet, like any determined individual, Snoopy keeps sending his writing in, making him one persistent pup.

4 “Did You Know That?”

Published April 17, 1974

Lucy may never get the hint that Schroeder is more interested in his music and his hero Beethoven than her. Despite her yelling and attempts to persuade him to pay attention to her, she rarely emerges with what she wants from him. A running gag in Peanuts, Lucy’s attempts at his attention and Schreoder’s non-participation have elicited several hilarious comics from multiple different decades.

In this 50-year-old comic, Lucy tries to not so subtly point out that people can have many loves. In Schroeder’s case, this could mean there’s enough froom to love both music and Lucy. Schroeder instead chooses not to respond and would rather play his piano, angering Lucy so greatly that she feels the need to yell, asking if Schroeder is aware of the possibility to simultaneously care for two things. For someone who claims to be a psychiatrist, one would think she could find better ways of communicating.

This particular strip was adapted into an episode of the 2014 animated French-Italian TV adaptation of
Peanuts
.

3 “Go To Sleep!”

Published April 19, 1974

While Snoopy and Woodstock may be the best of friends, that doesn’t mean that they always get along. Sometimes Woodstock gets on Snoopy’s nerves and vice versa. When Snoopy is trying to get some sleep, Woodstock cannot stop talking, much to his pal’s annoyance and frustration. After having enough, Snoopy snaps at Woodstock to be quiet, leaving the poor little bird finally quiet but dejected.

It is not very often that Woodstock and Snoopy argue but, like all friends, they are not immune from the occasional disagreement, making this comic all too relatable. While Snoopy may not be in the mood to talk, he seems to be the only one who understands what Woodstock is saying. It’s no wonder the little bird can’t stop yammering, even in the late hours of the night; he has no one else to talk to!

2 “My Pride Had The Flu”

Published April 8, 1974

She even thought that Snoopy’s doghouse, which genuinely looks like a doghouse, was a guest cottage, something she discovered when she tried to stay there and ended up accidentally destroying the house.

In a side-splitting and odd storyline, it was revealed that Peppermint Patty thought that Snoopy was a human child instead of a dog this whole time. She even thought that Snoopy’s doghouse, which genuinely looks like a doghouse, was a guest cottage, something she discovered when she tried to stay there and ended up accidentally destroying the house. Her revelation was just one in the many mounting pieces of evidence that Peppermint Patty is not the sharpest tool in the shed.

It’s understandable that she would be embarrassed enough about this to not go to school or hang around Charlie Brown for a while given the misunderstanding she has been operating under since her introduction to Snoopy. It would hurt anyone’s pride to make the whoopsie she’s made, but credit has to be given to Peppermint Patty for being willing to cop to her mistake and to her reason for lying low.

1 “P.S. April Fool”

Published April 1, 1974

Snoopy has submitted countless pieces of his writing to magazines in the hopes of becoming a published author. Despite his numerous submissions, he has had no such luck. He has so many rejection letters that he could wallpaper his doghouse with them.

Given Snoopy’s history with submissions, it is understandable that he is bowled over with excitement and surprise when he gets a letter saying that his new story is fantastic and will finally get printed. That is, until he sees that it is an April Fools’ letter, much to his disappointment. As much as Snoopy has a sense of humor, it’s highly doubtful that he thinks that this April Fools’ joke is funny. For any aspiring writer, this would be the most deflating prank ever, something Snoopy can agree with as seen in this Peanuts comic.