0:02

VO: Welcome to Unpacking Peanuts, the podcast where three cartoonists take an in-depth look at the greatest comic strip of all time, Peanuts by Charles M.

0:15

VO: Schulz. Jimmy: We're here in 1985, the 35th anniversary of the Comic Strip Peanuts, and we're going to be discussing tons of strips in-depth with you today.

0:32

Jimmy: I'll be your host for the proceedings. Jimmy: My name is Jimmy Gownley.

0:35

Jimmy: I'm also the cartoonist of Amelia Rules, Seven Good Reasons Not to Grow Up and The Dumbest Idea Ever.

0:39

Jimmy: Joining me as always are my pals, co-hosts and fellow cartoonists.

0:43

Jimmy: He's a playwright and a composer, both for the band Complicated People as well as for this very podcast.

0:47

Jimmy: He's the original editor of Amelia Rules, the co-creator of the first comic book price guide and the creator of such great strips as Strange Attractors, A Gathering of Spells and Tangled River.

0:58

Jimmy: It's Michael Cohen. Michael: Say hey. Jimmy: And he is the executive producer and writer of Mystery Science Theater 3000, a former vice president of Archie Comics and the creator of the Instagram sensation Sweetest Beasts, Harold Buchholz.

1:13

Michael: Hello. Jimmy: So listen, before we get into this, there's actually two things I want to bring up that we haven't brought up.

1:20

Jimmy: Well, one we should have brought up maybe last week or the week before.

1:23

Jimmy: And it's sort of sad and I normally don't talk about this sort of stuff.

1:26

Jimmy: But Trina Robbins passed away.

1:28

Jimmy: The great underground cartoonist Trina Robbins, who we loved and the reason I'm bringing it up here is because she's a great cartoonist and should be brought up.

1:35

Jimmy: But she was also a huge fan and supporter of Michael's work with Strange Attractors.

1:41

Jimmy: And she just recently had done something for you.

1:43

Jimmy: Didn't she, Michael? Jimmy: Not recently, but in the last few years.

1:46

Michael: Well, it was way back when I was doing Strange Attractors.

1:50

Michael: Yeah, she did a pinup because she was kind of famous for doing little fashion pinups in her comics.

2:00

Michael: And so I had an issue of Strange Attractors.

2:03

Michael: I was running some pinups by various readers.

2:07

Michael: I asked her for one and she provided a pirate peg pinup.

2:11

Jimmy: Very cute. Michael: You know, this little cutout thing.

2:13

Michael: You can put a paper doll. Michael: Paper doll, yeah, exactly.

2:17

Michael: And then shortly afterwards, she came out with one of her books on comics history called The Great Women's Superheroes.

2:26

Michael: And she put a couple of Strange Attractors characters in there.

2:30

Jimmy: As well she should. Michael: That's incredibly flattering.

2:33

Jimmy: That's awesome. Jimmy: So rest in peace to Trina.

2:36

Jimmy: We love you, buddy. Jimmy: And on a happier note, Peanuts icon and Michael Cohen favorite baseball player Willie Mays turned 93 just yesterday.

2:46

Michael: Yes, I did. Michael: I knew that birthday.

2:49

Jimmy: Nice. Michael: May 6th.

2:51

Michael: It was ingrained in my consciousness.

2:55

Liz: Let's get him on the show. Jimmy: Oh, that would be a good get.

3:03

Harold: And I want to thank everybody for helping make the Robot Monster comic a Kickstarter of success.

3:07

Liz: What's it up to now, Harold?

3:10

Harold: Gosh, last I checked, it was about 22,000.

3:12

Harold: We were asking for 20. Harold: So I think we're in good shape and we'll have a book out.

3:18

Harold: Looks like by the end of the year, I'll get to be writing those 10 pages of Fumeti.

3:22

Harold: In any case, thank you everybody for making it happen.

3:24

Harold: I look forward to writing my piece in it.

3:27

Harold: Congratulations. Jimmy: That's awesome. Jimmy: So cool.

3:30

Jimmy: So everybody get one of those books and laugh your head off at Harold's Fumeti.

3:36

Jimmy: So let's, what do you say? Jimmy: Do you guys want to get back to the strips?

3:40

Michael: Yes. Jimmy: All right. Jimmy: So as we may have told you last time, we are changing the format up a little bit.

3:47

Jimmy: We're going to take as many episodes as it takes to get a year done.

3:50

Jimmy: So that's just the way it's going to be. Jimmy: And the good news for you is you get to hear us talk even more.

3:56

Jimmy: Amazing. Jimmy: So if you want to do that and follow along with us, here's how you can do it.

4:04

Jimmy: Go to our website, unpackingpeanuts.com and sign up for the Great Peanuts Reread.

4:08

Jimmy: That will get you one email, a newsletter a month, and it will let you know both what we're doing but also what comic strips we're going to be covering in the episodes that are upcoming.

4:20

Jimmy: So if you just want to read along with the ones we're going to be talking about, you can do that.

4:25

Jimmy: Or we encourage you to read all of them just like we are.

4:28

Jimmy: And if you want to read them for free, you could just go over to gocomics.com, type in the word peanuts in the search bar.

4:35

Jimmy: Peanuts will come up and then you type in the dates and away you go.

4:38

Jimmy: So that's what we're going to do. Jimmy: And we hope you follow along with us for the next 15 years of peanuts.

4:46

Jimmy: And right now we're picking up on April 8th.

4:49

Jimmy: So panel one, Snoopy is atop the dog house.

4:52

Jimmy: He's typing away and he writes a sad story.

4:57

Jimmy: Lucy comes up in panel two and she reads the paper that Snoopy was typing on and says, this isn't a sad story.

5:03

Jimmy: And then she hands the paper back saying, this is a dumb story.

5:06

Jimmy: And then Snoopy looks at it and says, that's what makes it so sad.

5:09

Michael: I don't know why, but this is actually one of my favorite strips from the whole period.

5:15

Jimmy: It's funny. Michael: Something about this, which is so perfect.

5:20

Michael: It's the fact that he's not like arguing with her or he's not upset about it.

5:24

Michael: He really believes in this story. Michael: And the fact, I don't know, the fact that it's dumb, it makes it sad.

5:31

Michael: I guess that's true. Michael: It's sad in a different way.

5:36

Jimmy: It's not exactly this, but it sort of reminds me of Norm MacDonald, the stand-up comedian who also did the news on Saturday Night Live for years.

5:46

Jimmy: He said his goal as a comedian was to find a joke where the setup and the punchline are the exact same thing.

5:53

Jimmy: And he said the closest he got was Christie Brinkley and Billy Joel divorced this week.

5:58

Jimmy: The reason cited is she realized she was Christie Brinkley and he was Billy Joel.

6:03

Jimmy: This sort of reminds me of that in the sense that it's a sad story.

6:07

Jimmy: Yes, of course it's a sad story. Jimmy: It's a dumb story because that's what makes it sad.

6:10

Jimmy: I just love the economy of the structure of it.

6:15

Jimmy: And I love that Lucy's kind of mean, because we love mean Lucy.

6:20

Michael: Well, she's just being honest. Jimmy: She's just being honest, that's true.

6:24

Jimmy: April 12th. Jimmy: It's a baseball game.

6:27

Jimmy: Schroeder comes out to the mound and he says to Charlie Brown, one finger will mean just try to get it over the plate.

6:33

Jimmy: Two fingers will mean try not to throw it over the backstop.

6:37

Jimmy: Panel three, he says, and three fingers will mean we'll all be glad when the season's over.

6:44

Jimmy: And in the last panel, Charlie Brown concludes it by saying, catchers are weird.

6:49

Michael: This is the odd case where the first three panels are funnier than the punchline.

6:55

Jimmy: That's another structure that when I made my little list of things did not exist.

7:01

Jimmy: So we could actually add that. Jimmy: That's really funny.

7:04

Jimmy: Three jokes and then a non-punchline.

7:08

Jimmy: Not very many cartoonists would be willing to try something like that.

7:12

Jimmy: I think it's really funny. Jimmy: I also think, I don't know if you guys played Little League, but like Little League, they were very big.

7:19

Jimmy: The catcher would always be one will be a fastball, two's a curve, all this stuff.

7:23

Jimmy: But in Little League, you can't throw curves. Jimmy: All you can throw is a straight ball.

7:27

Jimmy: So it was always very fun, I think, to watch kids giving signals.

7:30

Jimmy: It would just go 30 miles an hour right over the plate every time.

7:33

Liz: And it's got those clouds with the shadow on top.

7:38

Jimmy: What do we call those? Jimmy: The clouds of despair? Michael: That is a trademark, I think.

7:44

Jimmy: I do see, we're definitely seeing a general loosening of the line, I think partly due to the tremor or mostly due to the tremor, but also just, you know, just age and familiarity and whatever.

7:59

Jimmy: He's definitely, I feel like he's getting more, you're seeing a little more juice in the line, whether it's intentional or not.

8:08

Harold: Yeah, the clouds of smog. Michael: So I have a question for all you cartoonists there.

8:17

Michael: What, okay, given that he's doing one a day, what percentage of that workday do you think was done actually drawing the strip?

8:26

Michael: I have a feeling that 90% of the time was thinking about coming up with the idea and maybe half an hour to actually draw it.

8:36

Jimmy: Yeah, I think most of the time is put sitting there with his yellow legal pad working stuff out.

8:44

Jimmy: And I think it's drawn very quickly. Harold: Yeah, and don't forget the answering the mail and the deals and the sentence, all the stuff he had to deal with outside of that.

8:55

Harold: I bet he spent more time answering mail than drawing the strip.

8:57

Jimmy: He has like four jobs, four full-time jobs every day.

9:01

Jimmy: I don't understand how it happened. Jimmy: And when you see that he would really answer the mail, it wouldn't just be, thanks, Sparky.

9:07

Harold: That blows my mind, yeah. Jimmy: Yeah, blows my mind.

9:10

Jimmy: April 20th, Sally's watching TV in her beanbag chair and she screams to the heavens, I can't believe it.

9:18

Jimmy: They canceled my favorite program.

9:20

Jimmy: And she sighs and in the fourth panel leans back into the beanbag chair in despair and says, I never knew life was going to be so hard.

9:29

Jimmy: This is me in the aisle. Jimmy: I watched so much television.

9:33

Jimmy: It was absolutely, I would have felt this way.

9:37

Michael: Well, when they canceled Star Trek after three seasons, I think it was three.

9:41

Jimmy: I think it was only two. Michael: Yeah, nobody could believe it. Michael: Like, how could they do that?

9:45

Michael: We like it so much. Michael: Yeah.

9:48

Harold: I wonder what her show was in 85.

9:51

Jimmy: She's an A-Team fan for sure. Jimmy: There's no question.

9:54

Jimmy: She's an A-Team fan.

9:57

Jimmy: Are you kidding? Jimmy: She has a BA thing.

9:59

Jimmy: Mr. Jimmy: T, she likes the violence. Jimmy: There's no question that's what it is.

10:03

Jimmy: Actually, I don't know what would have been canceled in 85.

10:05

Jimmy: It might have been the A-Team. Liz: I pity the fool who watches A-Team.

10:08

Jimmy: No, I guess that would have been the height of the A-Team. Liz: Yeah.

10:11

Harold: Well, that's the era of what, Kate and Allie and Alf and who else?

10:15

Jimmy: Alf, which some people believe was completely stolen from the character of Seribus and has the worst finale apparently in the history.

10:25

Jimmy: I didn't watch it, but I guess the series ends on a cliffhanger with aliens coming down and abducting everybody and ends to be continued, and you never find out what happens.

10:36

Harold: I guess some people would think that's the best. Jimmy: Maybe it's the best finale.

10:39

Jimmy: That's true. Jimmy: Yeah, I guess it depends. Jimmy: April 27th.

10:44

Jimmy: Snoopy and Woodstock are walking along in the grass.

10:47

Jimmy: Then they come up upon a pavement.

10:50

Jimmy: You can actually see they're kind of on the road and step onto the pavement.

10:53

Jimmy: And in the third panel, Woodstock is standing on the road with the arrow pointing in the direction opposite of the way he was coming.

11:02

Jimmy: And then in the last panel, they continue on their way with Snoopy rolling his eyes.

11:08

Jimmy: Well, I could talk about this for a half hour.

11:11

Jimmy: I don't understand this at all. Michael: No, no, here's a case.

11:15

Michael: I think he randomized the panel order.

11:17

Michael: You can read them in any order, and it'll make as little sense.

11:23

Jimmy: Okay, so nobody understands this? Michael: I have no idea what he's going for.

11:26

Jimmy: Okay, thank God. Harold: I mean, my only thought is that Woodstock's following Snoopy and they're going a certain direction, and then Woodstock sees an arrow going the opposite direction, considers it, and Snoopy is kind of thinking, well, how dumb is that?

11:43

Harold: Because we were walking this direction. Michael: This really is like abstract art.

11:47

Michael: It's like black and white shapes. Jimmy: Yes.

11:52

Liz: Listeners, please explain. Jimmy: This would make the list of strange...

11:59

Michael: Oh, yeah. Michael: I mean, why would there be an arrow on a...

12:03

Michael: It's clearly a hallway or something, because there's a step.

12:08

Jimmy: Oh, see, no, I thought... Jimmy: That's the sidewalk. Jimmy: That's the curb.

12:10

Jimmy: That's the sidewalk. Harold: Yeah, curb, curb, yeah, yeah.

12:13

Michael: Why would there be an... Michael: It looks like the arrow is pointing across the street, not down the street.

12:18

Jimmy: Well, no, no, no. Jimmy: Wouldn't it be great if we talked about this strip that none of us understand for an hour?

12:27

Jimmy: That would be Unpacking Peanuts. Jimmy: Okay, here's what I...

12:30

Jimmy: Let's just focus on panel three.

12:33

Jimmy: All right, so the line at the top, which definitely looks like a baseboard, I believe is the curb of the sidewalk.

12:43

Jimmy: So that doesn't mean the arrow is running the correct way.

12:46

Jimmy: It's running parallel to the street because the line on the sidewalk is also parallel to the street.

12:52

Jimmy: The only place where that stuff would be on, painted on a street, I think, are in parking lots and drive-throughs.

13:01

Jimmy: I don't think there's many places where you would be walking down the road and see a one-way arrow on the road.

13:07

Jimmy: You would see it on a sign. Michael: But they're not walking down the road.

13:10

Michael: They're walking across the road. Jimmy: Oh, in panel two.

13:15

Harold: Well, but he's been walking next to the grass in panel one, so it looks like there's a lot of time in between these panels.

13:21

Jimmy: Yeah, but what Michael is saying is that, but then on panel two, they're clearly walking onto the sidewalk, right?

13:26

Harold: Yeah, I get that.

13:29

Harold: I'm just saying, if you were ever walking along the grass the first time, the assumption to me is that this is five minutes later, five minutes later, whatever.

13:36

Jimmy: Yeah, but then what about between two and three? Jimmy: Right, between one and two.

13:40

Jimmy: What about between two and three? Harold: Well, if it's five minutes later, then they were in a different part.

13:47

Jimmy: What? Michael: And why is that so weird, then?

13:52

Jimmy: It's baffling to me. Jimmy: And actually, when I saw this on the list that people picked, I thought, oh, no, everybody's going to talk about how brilliant this is.

14:03

Michael: Oh, it's just like, I'm already a genius. Harold: Well, I mean, to me, the oddest thing is Snoopy's reaction.

14:11

Harold: It's like, why would he be rolling his eyes at Woodstock looking the direction of the arrow?

14:19

Harold: It doesn't seem like it's that ridiculous.

14:22

Michael: This is fascinating. Harold: Yeah.

14:25

Jimmy: I think we need to do a new podcast. Jimmy: It's just about this strip.

14:28

Harold: Well, if you were to give Snoopy a line at the end to try to make some sense of this, what would you say?

14:35

Jimmy: They can't all be winners. Jimmy: I have a deadline.

14:39

Michael: This has to be the biggest puzzle.

14:42

Jimmy: It's totally baffling. Harold: I would think it would be something like, Woodstock is such a rules follower or something like that.

14:53

Harold: Just to suggest that when he sees an arrow, he's got to consider it even though it's not.

14:58

Jimmy: I don't know. Jimmy: But I kind of wish... Jimmy: Well, it doesn't matter.

15:02

Jimmy: But it feels like if that was the case, Woodstock wouldn't be following him in panel four.

15:09

Harold: Well, that would probably be funnier to me if he did that.

15:14

Jimmy: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Michael: Maybe he was just testing the readers.

15:20

Michael: See if they're paying attention. Jimmy: Paying any attention.

15:22

Jimmy: Well, that goes back to my tater tot theory.

15:24

Jimmy: I am fairly certain that whoever was drawing Snuffy Smith in the late 90s, early aughts had tater tot commit suicide, to see if anyone noticed.

15:35

Jimmy: Because there is a strip where they're like, I wonder where tater is.

15:39

Jimmy: And the next strip is him just jumping off a cliff.

15:43

Jimmy: And then I've never heard anyone ever discuss it again because nobody was reading.

15:48

Jimmy: Even though millions of people probably cross their eyes every day.

15:52

Jimmy: Made no impact. Harold: Tater tot.

15:56

Jimmy: Tater tot. Jimmy: That's his name, right? Jimmy: Tater. Jimmy: No, no, it's tater tot.

16:01

Harold: But he is a tot. Jimmy: I love calling him tater tot because I know it's one thing that will always get a giggle out of Harold.

16:07

Harold: Oh, yeah. Harold: That's great.

16:10

Jimmy: May 5th. Jimmy: We start off with one of those them there symbolic panels.

16:15

Jimmy: And it's Sally. Jimmy: And she is surrounded by various punctuation marks, quotations, periods, semi-colons, exclamation points, et cetera.

16:24

Jimmy: Found too she's just kind of looking at it. Jimmy: Because remember, those first two panels on any Sunday strip can be just taken out at the discretion of the editor of the paper.

16:32

Jimmy: So they don't often connect directly with the main strip.

16:36

Jimmy: The main strip starts in the next tier, where Sally is drawing a bunch of commas on a piece of paper.

16:42

Jimmy: And Charlie Brown is looking at her. Jimmy: She holds up her paper to Charlie Brown and says, These are commas and these are possessives.

16:49

Jimmy: Commas do all the work and possessives get all the credit.

16:52

Jimmy: They hate each other. Jimmy: So then in the next panel, we see Sally drawing some quotation marks as Charlie Brown watches.

17:01

Jimmy: She holds up the paper again and says, These are quotation marks.

17:04

Jimmy: They're always together like pair skaters.

17:07

Jimmy: Then she whispers to Charlie Brown, They don't ever associate with commas and possessives.

17:12

Jimmy: Then in the last panel, Sally declares, Stay tuned for the inside story of what goes on in The Glamorous World of Punctuation.

17:20

Michael: Pretty interesting. Michael: I don't understand panel five.

17:25

Michael: Are there such a thing as upside down quotation marks?

17:29

Harold: Uh-huh. Michael: There are? Michael: When would you use that?

17:33

Harold: I think some fonts do that for the beginning of a quote and then the end of the quote is the upper.

17:40

Jimmy: I've never noticed that either. Harold: Maybe it's archaic now for a lot of fonts.

17:44

Harold: But yes, I have seen that before. Harold: It's just maybe out of favor now.

17:49

Jimmy: Well, 1985 was a super long time ago, believe it or not.

17:53

Jimmy: Hard to believe that it's going to be 40 years next year for this Back to the Future year.

17:59

Jimmy: It's now further away from 1985 than 1985 was from where Marty went in Back to the Future.

18:05

Harold: Wow, that's an interesting way to look at it.

18:08

Jimmy: Further away from the future of Back to the Future than he was from the past.

18:14

Michael: Okay, yeah, here's my time warp analysis here.

18:19

Michael: When I started collecting comics, or really seriously hunting for comics, in 1963, I was 13, and you find something from 1940, and it's like, oh my God, how can this exist?

18:33

Michael: When I started Strange Attractors, that's the equivalent of finding Superman No.

18:40

Jimmy: Right. Michael: When I started doing a comic in 1993, we're talking 30 years ago, like no one's going to go, oh my God, a 30-year-old comic, I can't believe it.

18:50

Jimmy: Yeah, right, exactly, it's so strange. Harold: I'm looking at the line here.

18:55

Harold: We were talking about how his style is loosening up, and in that second panel, Sally is looking at this paper that she's writing her punctuation marks on, and she's holding it up vertically, and examining it, and you can see that rhythmic line where he would start to move down, basically a vertical line, and then there's the tremor, and then he moves down a little further, and there's a tremor, and it's about eight, maybe, of those tremors before he hits the beginning of the top of the page to the bottom of the page.

19:31

Harold: And then I look at, say, the back of Charlie Brown's head, and we all know who, anybody who's ever tried to draw Charlie Brown, how hard it is to draw Charlie Brown and get that perfect arc.

19:45

Harold: He must be zipping through that arc.

19:48

Harold: He just, and he's able to do that before he hits a tremor.

19:51

Harold: I don't know how he does it, given what we're seeing he's doing when he's trying to manage a more straight line.

19:58

Harold: But I'm kind of in awe of this, either that or he's moving so slow, because I do see a little bit of move that he's really taking his time.

20:09

Harold: And how he's controlling that, I don't know. Michael: Yeah, but he looks like he's having a lot of tremor on the table edge.

20:18

Michael: Which, isn't that a brush? Michael: You'd think left to right with a brush would not create a tremor.

20:25

Harold: I think that's a pen line that's filled in. Jimmy: Yeah, I think that's exactly what it is.

20:28

Jimmy: I think he drew the pen line and then filled in. Jimmy: That's what I would do, too, which now that I, having done it for 35 years, and Michael saying you could just do it with the brush, that never once occurred to me.

20:39

Jimmy: 35 years of drawing comics.

20:42

Jimmy: All right, write that down. Jimmy: Just use a brush.

20:45

Jimmy: But yeah, yeah, you're right. Jimmy: You know, I think it has to be on the head that he's going fast because, and all I'm going by is what I have to control my hand when it gets like that.

20:59

Jimmy: And I'm using a brush pen, which I'm able to like basically stab onto the page and make sure it's not going to tremor.

21:06

Jimmy: And then I can go from whatever that look that thinnest mark is from the initial stab.

21:11

Jimmy: And then it can get thick and thin based on that because I'm pressing so hard in the paper.

21:16

Jimmy: I think if he was doing that with that pen, I don't think you'd be able to successfully do that because I think you would get blobs of ink and, you know, just a mess trying to do that with a dip pen.

21:27

Jimmy: So I think he's just whipping through that because he's drawn it so many times, I guess.

21:33

Jimmy: I mean, I don't know. Jimmy: I can't swear to it.

21:35

Harold: Well, I would think that. Harold: But then I like in the fifth panel, when you look at Charlie Brown, there does seem to be a little bit of a waver, but along a really beautiful arc.

21:46

Harold: And I don't quite get that. Harold: And then I go down and look at like his arms.

21:51

Harold: He's drawn the arms twice as tight, many times he's drawn the arms.

21:57

Harold: And those arms are the weirdest little blobby things that, you know, if he has a tremor, he's OK with it.

22:04

Harold: And I kind of get that from because you know the guy's a genius.

22:08

Harold: You know he's been dealing with this for years now.

22:11

Harold: He's struggling with it. Harold: He's trying to find how to make the very best he can with what he's got.

22:17

Harold: And one of the things that I've noticed, the cleaner the line is, the more your eye, I think, is drawn to it.

22:27

Harold: It's like a design-y iconic thing. Harold: The more something looks rough or shaded, it's almost like something being out of focus, you know, when you're looking with your eye.

22:38

Harold: I think he's dealing with that and grasping that and thinking that through.

22:42

Harold: And he's saying, hey, if I can get these classic eyes and nose and head shapes quick and clean, then everything else around it can be more rough and loose and blobby, and it really does direct the eye to the things that he wants you to see anyway.

23:00

Jimmy: Yeah, I can definitely see that. Jimmy: We talked about that a long time ago, and that's been something I've been thinking about when I've been working on my new comics, that I'm trying to actually work that in to have a little bit more abstraction and out-of-focus kind of effect around the edges, but not to do it with a filter.

23:18

Jimmy: You know, you could obviously do it easily, but to do it with just pure drawing.

23:22

Jimmy: And I think I've accomplished it once out of maybe 50 attempts to try it, but that one's going in the comic.

23:28

Jimmy: I'm pretty proud of it. Jimmy: Tanner, I'm looking at it right now.

23:31

Jimmy: Tanner's feet on the ground. Harold: That's interesting.

23:34

Harold: Yeah, that's really cool. Harold: I mean, and you see that he's doing it with how we talked about before about how he does the shading.

23:41

Harold: He's adding things that have texture and roughness to them that he didn't really do before.

23:47

Harold: And the roughness of it makes the line that is rougher than it used to be look clean.

23:55

Jimmy: Yeah. Jimmy: May 19th, Sunday page.

23:59

Jimmy: So we start with the old symbolic panel. Jimmy: This time it's a giant question mark and Lucy and Linus on either side of it.

24:06

Jimmy: Panel two, it starts up with Lucy saying, You are kidding.

24:09

Jimmy: And Linus sitting in his bean bag and reading a book says, No, I'm serious.

24:13

Jimmy: Linus continues in the next panel. Jimmy: You don't care anything about anybody.

24:18

Jimmy: Then he stands up and is confronting Lucy saying, You never show any interest in what anyone else is doing.

24:23

Jimmy: You never ask questions. Jimmy: You never ask me what I'm reading, how I'm doing in school, where I got my new shoes.

24:29

Jimmy: You never ask me what I think about something or what I believe or what I know or where I'm going or where I've been or anything.

24:36

Jimmy: Then Linus walks away saying, If you're going to show interest in other people, you have to ask questions.

24:42

Jimmy: Then in the next panel, Lucy is alone.

24:44

Jimmy: She stands there, thinks about it for a few seconds and approaches Linus from the other side of the bean bag and says, Have you been?

24:52

Michael: I don't think this is a great punch line.

24:56

Jimmy: Oh, my gosh. Jimmy: Well, you are wrong.

25:00

Michael: Really? Michael: You guys like this? Michael: This is hilarious. Michael: I think it's a really interesting strip that Kennedy flates.

25:06

Jimmy: Oh, my God. Jimmy: Have you been? Jimmy: I love that. Michael: I mean, because Lucy could be saying, like, how did you get so stupid?

25:13

Jimmy: No, no, because she's, well, I mean, yes, and that could have been funny, too.

25:16

Jimmy: Yes. Jimmy: I'm not saying that. Jimmy: But this is her.

25:18

Jimmy: I love the fact that she's actually taking it in and then attempts it.

25:23

Jimmy: This, to me, I'm not saying I've known any narcissists in my life or were raised by anything, but I would just say that this is how a narcissist handles that type of confrontation.

25:37

Jimmy: Okay, fine. Jimmy: How have you been? Jimmy: It's meaningless, but I'm doing the thing that you said to me.

25:41

Jimmy: And now I'll go back to my other way of life. Jimmy: I find it hilarious.

25:44

Jimmy: Absolutely hilarious. Harold: I'm kind of halfway between Michael and Jimmy on this one because wishy-washy!

25:51

Harold: I think... Harold: Or correct.

25:58

Harold: No, I think the thing is, I think that was the appropriate response for Lucy.

26:04

Harold: And that's that Linus is like, what?

26:06

Harold: It's like he's she's doing all the things that he said that she doesn't do.

26:11

Jimmy: Yeah, but she's doing it. Harold: She makes her first little salvo.

26:14

Jimmy: She's doing it immediately after it. Jimmy: That's the problem.

26:18

Harold: Why is that the problem? Harold: Because that should be the solution, right?

26:21

Jimmy: The solution should be, you're right. Jimmy: I'm sorry.

26:23

Jimmy: And then walk away and then give him some space.

26:26

Jimmy: And then the next day say, hey, how's school going?

26:28

Jimmy: And be a different person, not do the thing the person just criticized you so that you can check off on a list that you're a good person because you did it.

26:37

Jimmy: I mean, that's the whole thing. Harold: Well, she looks very thoughtful in the Second Life panel.

26:41

Harold: That's why I thought she actually did take it in and she did what he said that she shouldn't do and that she shouldn't do it.

26:48

Jimmy: Yeah, no, absolutely not. Jimmy: I mean, she should get hit with that book if I...

26:54

Michael: Well, actually, what I'd like to see is... Jimmy: Looks very sincere, you are a sucker.

26:58

Michael: I'd like to see the prequel to this trip because after all these years, something set Linus off to finally be honest.

27:07

Michael: And what could have that been? Jimmy: I don't know.

27:09

Jimmy: And I love it too because that's actually an interesting point and an interesting way to think about this because it starts in medias res.

27:18

Jimmy: You know, Linus has already said whatever, you know, like that inciting incident, like you're saying, has already happened and just picks up with him reiterating it.

27:27

Jimmy: That's very interesting. Harold: Right in the middle or a prelude.

27:31

Harold: Hey, here's an idea. Harold: Someone's got to put out a book of just the symbolic images.

27:37

Harold: Yes, that's all it is.

27:39

Harold: Just none of the strips, just the images.

27:43

Jimmy: Oh, that would be amazing. Jimmy: I would sign up to preorder that.

27:47

Jimmy: All right. Jimmy: So while we're contemplating that one a bit further, we're going to take a break now.

27:52

Jimmy: I'm going to get I decide this is going to be the finale of my milkshake thing, because you know what?

27:57

Jimmy: I'm actually getting sick of these milkshakes. Jimmy: So we're going to guess what milkshake I have and then we're going to do the mail and then we'll finish these these strips up.

28:06

Jimmy: So come back on the other side of the break and we'll be here. Jimmy: I have a big announcement.

28:11

Jimmy: There's going to be a new Amelia verse comic this summer.

28:15

Jimmy: July 24th is Tanner Rocks is coming out.

28:20

Jimmy: It is it's my first Amelia rules related comic since 2012.

28:26

Jimmy: I'm not saying much more about it other than you'll be able to read it on July 24th.

28:31

Jimmy: But I'm really, really excited to share this this Tanner comic.

28:34

Jimmy: It came together really quick and I'm really happy with it.

28:37

Jimmy: So Tanner Rocks, July 24th, be there, be square.

28:41

Michael: Good boy. Michael: I can't wait. Jimmy: Okay, we're back.

28:47

Jimmy: I hope you guys all got a snack or a beverage.

28:50

Jimmy: I, of course, have my snack beverage combo.

28:52

Jimmy: And this will be the grand finale of the What Jimmy Drinking segment.

28:57

Jimmy: As always, it can be chocolate, vanilla or strawberry.

29:01

Jimmy: I'm going to ask my pals here what they think. Jimmy: And we'll see who wins.

29:04

Jimmy: And if you're out there, you're allowed to play along.

29:07

Jimmy: But please, no wagering.

29:10

Jimmy: All right. Jimmy: Harold, what do you think it is?

29:13

Jimmy: Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry? Harold: Well, I think Liz mentioned she thinks it's strawberry.

29:18

Harold: And if this is getting old and you're getting toward the end of the box, and you're like, I don't think I want to do this anymore, you had to save some strawberry for last.

29:26

Harold: So that's my guess. Jimmy: Strawberry.

29:28

Jimmy: Liz, you're sticking with strawberry? Liz: I am. Liz: I am.

29:31

Michael: Am I supposed to use logic here? Michael: I didn't realize there was logic involved.

29:35

Michael: I'm going to say chocolate just because I don't particularly like logic.

29:42

Jimmy: Strawberry is the answer. Michael: Detectives win.

29:46

Harold: Okay. Michael: I've mentioned this before.

29:49

Michael: Does anybody remember flavor straws?

29:52

Jimmy: I remember them. Jimmy: I don't know that I ever had them. Michael: I think they were only strawberry.

29:58

Michael: You buy a flavor straw and you get a glass of milk, and you put the straw in, it flavors the milk as you drink it.

30:05

Liz: Nope. Harold: That's got to be some powerful flavor. Michael: Well, it was strawberry, I seem to recall.

30:10

Liz: Never heard of it. Michael: Really? Jimmy: And are they then edible straws?

30:14

Jimmy: Like, are they candy straws or something? Michael: No, no, no, but because people who don't like milk, they think milk tastes terrible, suddenly has strawberry milk.

30:24

Harold: You can like game the system if your school only had regular milk.

30:30

Jimmy: Yeah, you pull that out of your pocket. Michael: Ha ha.

30:34

Liz: Nope. Liz: I do Bosco and Nestle's Quick, but never flavor straws.

30:40

Michael: Hmm. Michael: Time for it to come back.

30:43

Jimmy: So Liz, I'm hanging out in the mailbox. Jimmy: You got anything?

30:46

Liz: We do. Liz: We do got a message from Pooey McCleary who writes, Mammy Yocum is the best comic strip mom.

30:52

Michael: Hey, how are you? Liz: And he adds, anyway, a few days ago at Free Comic Book Day, I was sure to pick up the Snoopy and the Beagle Scouts free comics from my nieces and nephews.

31:04

Liz: The store had one copy of the actual Beagle Scouts book, which I purchased, and I suppose the Munchkins will just have to share it.

31:13

Liz: As for the name Snoopy, I'm sure it was mentioned in an earlier podcast how it was a common dog's name among immigrant Norwegian families in Schultz's youth.

31:24

Liz: He says, A glance at Wiktionary shows that in current Norwegian, Snoopy is a word meaning one's girlfriend, as in chick or babe.

31:35

Liz: So I'm guessing that in Schultz's youth, this word or a word similar to it meant something like lassie when applied to a pet dog.

31:44

Harold: Whoa. Harold: Well, it's all coming together here.

31:48

Jimmy: That's pretty good research. Jimmy: I'm not sure if he was thinking about a Norwegian language tie-in, but it could be that it's just a common thing, I guess.

31:59

Jimmy: I'm not sure. Michael: No, the lassie thing makes sense to me, because when you're a kid, you don't think about things.

32:06

Michael: So lassie, the dog, that makes sense.

32:09

Michael: But then you realize, wait a minute, that's what they call girls.

32:13

Michael: Right. Michael: Yeah.

32:16

Harold: So yeah, well, I do like to hear Snoopy pronounce with a Norwegian accent.

32:20

Harold: I think that's pretty cool. Jimmy: So do we got anything else in the old mailbag?

32:25

Michael: Nope. Liz: That's it for today. Liz: How about you? Liz: Did you get anything on the hotline?

32:28

Jimmy: Yes. Jimmy: Super listener Jim Meyer wrote in and said, is there a word or phrase from Schulz that has made it into your daily conversations?

32:37

Michael: I'm sure there is. Michael: I got to think of it.

32:40

Liz: I say rats all the time. Michael: Good grief.

32:45

Jimmy: I actually I knew this beforehand coming in and I'm like, oh, I know which one it is.

32:49

Jimmy: And now that I'm recording it, it is completely.

32:54

Jimmy: Harold, I know you say things from peanuts all the time.

32:57

Jimmy: What are they? Harold: There's so many things from the Christmas special because I guess you heard it spoken.

33:02

Harold: Like you didn't answer me right away. Harold: You had to think about it or I'll give you a reason.

33:10

Michael: Yeah, we should come up with some, but I didn't have to think about it, too, because I know there's a bunch I've been saying for the last 50 years.

33:17

Jimmy: I think I love let's not overlook the possibility of genius.

33:21

Jimmy: And actually, I remember the one I was thinking of that I do say all the time, which is has that ever occurred to you that you might be wrong?

33:29

Jimmy: Because for the first 40 some years of my life, that never occurred to me.

33:35

Jimmy: And I'd like to go back to that. Jimmy: I think that was the right attitude to have.

33:40

Jimmy: So I'm going to try to try to go back to that.

33:43

Jimmy: But for right now, that's a big phrase of mine.

33:46

Jimmy: Has it ever occurred to you might be wrong? Harold: Those are good reasons.

33:52

Jimmy: So if you guys want to, you know, hear your, have your question answered, or if you have a comment or anything you want to say to us, you can send us an email, unpackingpenus at gmail.com.

34:04

Jimmy: Or you can call us on the hotline or leave a message like Jim did there.

34:08

Liz: And that number is 717-219-4162.

34:13

Jimmy: And we would love to hear from you. Jimmy: All right.

34:16

Jimmy: So let's pick it up. Jimmy: Back to the strips.

34:20

Jimmy: May 26th. Jimmy: Snoopy and Woodstock have been out fishing and they've caught a whole bunch of fish, it seems.

34:26

Jimmy: And that's at least in the symbolic panel. Jimmy: Because in the next panel, it seems like the fishing trip is just starting.

34:32

Jimmy: So Snoopy comes over to Woodstock's place and says, you know, implies, I guess, hey, we're going fishing.

34:37

Jimmy: And they go out to a dock with Snoopy's homemade fishing pole and Woodstock has a can of worms, which he's carrying.

34:45

Jimmy: Of course, the can is as big as he is. Jimmy: Then in the last panel in the second tier, the worms sort of leap out of the can and attack Woodstock.

34:55

Jimmy: And there's a giant fight. Jimmy: There's a giant fight.

34:59

Jimmy: Snoopy hears it coming from behind him and goes back to see what has happened.

35:04

Jimmy: And we see Woodstock has been tied up by the worms.

35:08

Jimmy: And the worms made a break for it because the cans there empty.

35:12

Jimmy: That's awesome. Michael: I know, Shultz is definitely Into the Weird this year.

35:19

Michael: That is our idea. Harold: I mean, the little Woodstock can be jumped by some worms.

35:25

Michael: And tied up. Michael: And when you don't have hands, that ain't easy.

35:31

Michael: Woodstock was like, he loved the worm.

35:35

Michael: He was in love with the worm back in the days.

35:38

Jimmy: Yeah, well, did you reject them? Michael: Well, yeah, now they're fighting.

35:42

Harold: Maybe these are relatives. Harold: Maybe, yeah, I think he jilted her or something.

35:46

Harold: I don't know. Jimmy: I think they're just realized what's happening at the end of that hook and they're not into it, so they split.

35:53

Harold: What do you think of the Snoopy and his fishing hat, kind of old man Snoopy kind of feel here?

36:00

Jimmy: Well, yeah, I mean, Michael said in the 70s he started feeling middle-aged Snoopy and now we have Snoopy and the old man's hat fishing, which is like possibly the most retired activity a person could engage in is fishing.

36:14

Jimmy: I'm assuming neither of you have ever gone fishing.

36:17

Liz: I love fishing. Liz: I used to be good at it.

36:20

Jimmy: Oh, yeah? Liz: Yep. Jimmy: I'm terrible at it.

36:23

Jimmy: I used to go all the time, but I don't think I ever caught a fish legitimately.

36:26

Michael: Well, look at the torture, poor little animal.

36:30

Harold: Yeah, our family went once and I opted out.

36:33

Harold: I think I hung out in the little lodge area.

36:36

Jimmy: June 6th, Charlie Brown and Franklin are hanging out at the thinking wall.

36:40

Jimmy: Franklin says to Charlie Brown, You never miss the water till the well runs dry.

36:45

Jimmy: Then he says to Charlie Brown, That's what my grandfather always used to say.

36:49

Jimmy: Charlie Brown says, He must have been a very wise man.

36:52

Jimmy: Franklin says, No, that's all he ever said.

36:55

Michael: Now, I thought this was a great punchline.

37:00

Jimmy: Great punchline. Michael: And then it occurred to me that well, this might be Franklin's first really great punchline.

37:05

Jimmy: Yeah. Michael: Then I realized he's not being funny.

37:09

Michael: He's being literal. Michael: That's what makes it funny.

37:12

Jimmy: Yeah, that's what makes it funny. Michael: It'd make a good joke, but it's not a joke.

37:18

Jimmy: And that's what makes it doubly funny. Jimmy: Yeah, yeah.

37:22

Jimmy: This ends up being something that really becomes part of Franklin's character, where he's talking about his family, particularly his grandfather with Charlie Brown.

37:30

Jimmy: This one implies that he's past tense.

37:32

Jimmy: I think later on, Franklin's grandfather might get a revival.

37:37

Harold: Oh, OK. Harold: Another grandfather. Jimmy: Or yeah, that's right.

37:40

Jimmy: You're entitled to a couple of them. Harold: So yeah, and well, here we are in the the old guy theme here with this fishing and grandfather.

37:49

Harold: So yeah, look at that first panel.

37:53

Michael: Can you tell the difference between those two characters?

37:57

Jimmy: Well, one's black, Michael. Michael: Oh, OK.

38:02

Jimmy: One has hair. Michael: But look at, I mean, look at.

38:05

Jimmy: Yeah, no, it's the same face. Michael: It's the exact.

38:08

Michael: It is Charlie Brown. Harold: Yes, it is head shape.

38:11

Jimmy: Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Michael: There's no difference.

38:14

Michael: I mean, no size distance from the mouth to the nose.

38:19

Harold: The fact that Schulz does that in the first panel, do you think that's a conscious thing?

38:22

Harold: He's kind of saying, hey, I don't think so.

38:25

Michael: But generally, most of the characters have some.

38:28

Jimmy: Yeah, the nose would be a different shape. Jimmy: Or you have the parentheses.

38:32

Michael: Depperman Patty, who's always talking about her nose.

38:35

Michael: Does she actually have a bigger nose? Jimmy: It is slightly bigger than the others, but you're talking about like a sixteenth of an inch in the Peanuts world.

38:43

Jimmy: No, it's a good observation.

38:46

Harold: It just seems like the way he's drawn the two of them, they're so simpatico in that first panel because they're so alike in their pose, everything about them.

38:57

Harold: It's really interesting. Jimmy: Yeah, and it's interesting because Franklin constantly is thought of as maybe an afterthought among the general population, and Schilt certainly doesn't focus on him.

39:12

Jimmy: But when he does, it does add a little something.

39:15

Jimmy: I feel like I know Franklin, even if he's not the funniest, even if he's not the wildest personality or anything like that, I totally feel like I know him.

39:22

Jimmy: And in some ways, he feels more real than not real in the sense that I can imagine a full life of him, but real in the sense of he seems more like people I would meet than say, Linus or Lucy.

39:35

Jimmy: You don't really meet Linus's and Lucy's in the world.

39:38

Harold: If there was a word you could use to describe Franklin, what comes to mind first?

39:43

Jimmy: Solid. Harold: Yeah, I think dignity is what I think.

39:47

Jimmy: Yeah, I feel like Franklin's the guy like...

39:50

Jimmy: Oh, everything's gonna be all right.

39:55

Jimmy: Oh, Franklin's here. Jimmy: Everything's gonna be all right. Jimmy: You know, I don't think he seems like an even keel.

40:00

Jimmy: He seems, you know, together.

40:03

Jimmy: Yeah, he's a calming presence on the craziness of the rest of the story.

40:08

Jimmy: June 17th. Jimmy: Okay, so this is part of a longer sequence where everybody's at camp again in the summer.

40:14

Jimmy: And of course, spoilers, everybody's miserable.

40:17

Jimmy: This time Sally in particular is miserable because it has been raining the entire time she's been at camp.

40:24

Jimmy: So, panel one, she and Eudora are standing there and Sally says, this is ridiculous.

40:29

Jimmy: Ever since we got here to camp, it's been raining.

40:32

Jimmy: Then Eudora and Sally go back inside to their bunkhouse and Sally says, I've never been so miserable in all my life.

40:39

Jimmy: And she climbs up on her bunk and says, if I ever get drafted, this should count as time served.

40:44

Michael: I find it interesting, Ned.

40:47

Michael: I mean, this sequence goes on for a while and it turns out that they're all at camp.

40:52

Michael: At first, I thought maybe just Sally. Michael: But Schulz really focuses on Sally.

40:57

Michael: He makes her the star of the sequence and he seems to be relying on her a lot more this year.

41:04

Harold: Yeah, she's around a lot here.

41:07

Harold: It's interesting that Schulz is taking camp.

41:11

Harold: He's already alluded to this before, but the idea, you know, we know he was in World War II and he had a tough time of it there.

41:18

Harold: And, you know, he's quoting, he's talking about Bill Malden just a few days earlier.

41:24

Harold: Linus is referring to Bill Malden during this camp sequence in World War II.

41:29

Harold: So, you know, the connections are pretty obvious here that Schulz is equating summer camp with being forced to go off to war.

41:39

Jimmy: Well, that's why I picked this one because we've talked about that every time the summer camp stuff comes up, we go.

41:46

Jimmy: This seems like it's a real stand-in for Schulz and, you know, his time in the Army.

41:50

Jimmy: And here it's completely made explicit.

41:55

Jimmy: By the way, I found a book in my library that is relevant to this here year because it's called You Don't Look 35, Charlie Brown.

42:06

Jimmy: And it came out in 1985.

42:09

Jimmy: And what it is, is a collection of strips from various points in the strips history, but mostly stuff close to the 80s.

42:19

Jimmy: And Schulz does little essays throughout the book talking about the things that he was thinking about while he was writing it and through the course of the history of the strip.

42:34

Jimmy: And it's really interesting. Jimmy: For example, he has a whole thing where he talks about kids don't converse.

42:40

Jimmy: They don't know how to have a conversation.

42:42

Jimmy: And he talks about the magic of when a kid does learn conversation.

42:47

Jimmy: And the example he gives of kids not knowing how to converse is actually the strip we talked about a few minutes ago with Lucy and Linus where Linus says, Lucy doesn't know how to converse and she doesn't ask him questions and stuff like that.

43:01

Jimmy: So my point of this is, if you're interested in this era of the strip, this is a great book to pick up.

43:08

Jimmy: Not on the level of Peanuts Jubilee, but definitely worth it.

43:13

Jimmy: I picked it up when it came out and I've read it over the years and always loved it.

43:16

Harold: Yeah, me too. Jimmy: You don't look 35 Charlie Brown.

43:19

Michael: It reminds me of Upfront and I bet it was influenced by it.

43:23

Michael: I've never seen this book, but Upfront is a collection of Bill Maldon's strips he did during the war where he followed the troops.

43:31

Michael: But the text is about him and the process of doing it.

43:37

Michael: He's not talking about the strips in particular, but he's saying, you know, there was a time the sergeant did this, blah, blah, blah.

43:42

Michael: Yep. Jimmy: Oh, I didn't know that, but I guarantee you're right.

43:45

Jimmy: That had to be a little bit of influence. Jimmy: Even if a publisher came to him with the idea, I'm sure he thought, oh, we could do like the Bill Maldon thing because that is exactly what he does.

43:55

Jimmy: And it's really interesting. Jimmy: It's really good. Jimmy: June 19th, still at Camps, Linus comes into Sally and says, it's still raining, so we're supposed to go over to the rec hall for a sing-along.

44:05

Jimmy: Sally says, what's a sing-along? Jimmy: Now, they're running in the rain to go join this.

44:10

Jimmy: Linus says, a counselor leads to singing.

44:12

Jimmy: She'll say, oh, come on, you can sing louder than that.

44:15

Jimmy: Then she'll want us to clap our hands. Jimmy: They're still running in the rain to get here.

44:19

Jimmy: Linus says, then she'll say, come on, boys, let's see if you can sing louder than the girls.

44:23

Jimmy: Come on, girls, show the boys how loud you can sing.

44:26

Jimmy: And then in the last panel, my hero, Sally says, I think I'll just stand out here in the rain.

44:32

Michael: I'm totally with Sally on this.

44:35

Michael: I'd rather be in a group of people clapping their hands.

44:40

Jimmy: The three of us would just...

44:44

Liz: I'm a singer and I'm agreeing with Sally on that.

44:47

Jimmy: Great. Jimmy: We would all be out in the rain together.

44:50

Jimmy: Brilliant. Jimmy: You know what?

44:53

Jimmy: As we often are, it seems.

44:58

Jimmy: You know what? Jimmy: That's a life lesson for me to you kids.

45:00

Jimmy: If you're going to be standing out in the rain, don't do it alone. Jimmy: Do it with your closest friends.

45:05

Harold: And if you're going to be standing out in the rain, do it outside of a place where people are singing and clapping.

45:13

Jimmy: June 26th. Jimmy: Linus, Charlie Brown and Snoopy are all at the thinking wall.

45:17

Jimmy: And Linus says, And then this girl said to me, Goodbye, Linus.

45:21

Jimmy: I'll see you some when. Jimmy: In panel two, Charlie Brown says, Some when.

45:25

Jimmy: That's an old country expression. Jimmy: It's very touching.

45:28

Jimmy: Then Linus says, Really? Jimmy: I thought I was the only one who felt that way.

45:32

Jimmy: Charlie Brown says, Not at all. Jimmy: And he looks over at Snoopy, who is choked up a lot of it.

45:38

Jimmy: I have a question. Jimmy: I didn't look this up.

45:40

Jimmy: I'm sure I can. Jimmy: Is it that's an old country expression?

45:44

Jimmy: Or is it that's an old country expression?

45:46

Michael: I read it as an old country expression.

45:49

Jimmy: Yeah, I don't know. Jimmy: It sounds southern, which it does sound southern.

45:54

Michael: I've never I've never heard anyone say that.

45:57

Jimmy: I like it, though. Jimmy: It is pretty. Harold: It struck me the second I read it.

46:02

Harold: And it's interesting. Harold: This is, again, one of those strips where Schulz shows his hand.

46:06

Harold: It's just, you know, whether he really means something.

46:10

Harold: All three characters are like, yeah, that's there's something special there.

46:15

Harold: And that's kind of cool. Harold: I like that.

46:17

Harold: But I've never heard of someone. Harold: I love it. Harold: I just I do, too.

46:20

Harold: I love the term someone. Harold: It does that.

46:22

Harold: Why does it have this kind of automatic nostalgia?

46:26

Jimmy: Golden feeling to it. Jimmy: Yeah. Harold: Or yeah.

46:31

Harold: Even like a little on we. Harold: I don't know. Jimmy: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

46:35

Jimmy: Yeah, because it's someone it'll it's in the future.

46:37

Jimmy: But we have no idea when, you know, might be next week.

46:41

Jimmy: It might be ten years from now. Jimmy: But this is not the last time we'll be together.

46:45

Jimmy: It's very it's it's pretty for sure.

46:48

Harold: Yeah. Harold: So, yeah, what is what is the origin?

46:51

Harold: I wonder if there's anybody listening who has that in their vocabulary or they remember hearing people in their family saying it.

47:00

Jimmy: Like, you know, as an REM fan, that song Losing My Religion came out and Michael Stipe was like, Oh, yeah, it's an old Southern expression.

47:07

Jimmy: It means I'm at my wit's end. Jimmy: And then after that, I've heard many people say, Oh, yeah, that's an old Southern expression.

47:13

Jimmy: But I had never heard it previous to that song. Michael: I never heard it.

47:18

Jimmy: Losing My Religion could have been said a lot in, like, two counties.

47:22

Jimmy: Right. Jimmy: You know what I mean? Jimmy: And no one posted it on Twitter in 1920.

47:28

Jimmy: So everybody, well, like I said, way the far out a few episodes ago, which is a Schuylkill County thing.

47:33

Jimmy: But, you know, we said that forever, but nobody outside Schuylkill County ever said it.

47:38

Jimmy: It's interesting. Harold: Right. Harold: I guess the other alternative for someone is in the fullness of time.

47:44

Jimmy: In the fullness of time. Jimmy: My favorite.

47:46

Jimmy: I always include that in a business plan, usually under the profits section.

47:52

Harold: Right. Jimmy: July 9th.

47:55

Jimmy: Sally is working on some homework or something, and Charlie Brown's at the table with her.

48:00

Jimmy: And Sally says, I'm going to be in a debate.

48:03

Jimmy: These are some notes I'm preparing, so I'll be ready.

48:07

Jimmy: And she reads her notes. Jimmy: So who cares?

48:09

Jimmy: Why not? Jimmy: Forget it. Jimmy: Oh, yeah?

48:12

Jimmy: Drop dead. Jimmy: In the last panel, Charlie Brown says, I think you're ready.

48:17

Michael: Sally's really hittin it strong this year.

48:21

Jimmy: She is. Harold: Look at that expression on her face in the first panel.

48:25

Jimmy: Oh, it's great. Jimmy: So smug.

48:28

Harold: Haughty. Jimmy: I like the stern, annoyed face in panel three as well.

48:34

Jimmy: Also, no, well, there is a tremor on the desk, but it's much lighter than it was on the other ones.

48:40

Harold: Right. Jimmy: So I mean, it could very well be a thing that there's good days and bad days as well.

48:45

Harold: Yeah. Harold: And you said a business where it's all days.

48:48

Harold: So you're going to see what that true. Harold: See what it is.

48:50

Jimmy: You know, August 6th.

48:53

Jimmy: So this is a sequence of Peppermint Patty and Marcie living my late 80s teenage days by hanging out at the mall.

49:04

Jimmy: Marcie is looking at some stuff in the shoe store.

49:07

Jimmy: She said, Here's some cute shoes, sir. Jimmy: Peppermint Patty says to her, Molly's don't buy things, Marcie.

49:13

Jimmy: Molly's just hang around the shopping mall acting cool.

49:17

Jimmy: And we see a kid in the foreground who's just sitting at the food court acting cool.

49:22

Jimmy: And the next panel, Marcie spies him and she yells out, Hi, Tim.

49:28

Jimmy: Peppermint Patty says, And we don't wave to the boys.

49:30

Jimmy: And she sits down on a mall bench and says, Every place I take you, Marcie, you embarrass me.

49:36

Jimmy: And Marcie says, These are cute shoes, sir. Jimmy: Well, I'm sure Michael didn't in LA in the 60s and 70s.

49:42

Jimmy: But Harold, did you hang out at the mall? Harold: No, I worked at the mall in around 1990 at a Christian bookstore in Chesapeake, Virginia called Heaven and Earth.

49:53

Harold: And that was the greatest experience for me of the mall life, what was surrounding there, who hung out there.

49:59

Harold: But I was not one of the kids who had the car and drove and hung out with my friends.

50:04

Jimmy: That was what we did. Jimmy: I remember the summer of 1987, we would watch the MTV.

50:10

Jimmy: It would be like the top 10 videos, the video countdown, I guess.

50:13

Jimmy: We'd watch that, see who was number one, and then every day for an entire summer, we went to the mall and hung out.

50:19

Jimmy: And later on, they talk about hanging out by the pay phones.

50:21

Jimmy: We would hang out by the pay phones. Jimmy: They would randomly ring.

50:25

Jimmy: You'd answer them, say who you were, and you'd make up who you were.

50:28

Harold: Really? Jimmy: Oh, all the time. Harold: Who was calling?

50:31

Harold: Who was making the call? Jimmy: It was just other teenagers calling them all to see who was there.

50:36

Harold: Okay, so they knew the mall number and that was just a thing.

50:38

Harold: Let's go down and call them all. Jimmy: Yeah, yeah.

50:41

Jimmy: They're like, hey, what's going on? Jimmy: Who am I talking to?

50:43

Jimmy: Dave Carson. Jimmy: That was me, Dave Carson.

50:46

Jimmy: And they're like, oh, who's up here? Jimmy: Oh, you know, there's a lot of kids from Roscoeco.

50:49

Jimmy: There's some Shenandoah Valley kids in the... Jimmy: And so they'd hang out.

50:53

Harold: Wow. Harold: Malls are...

50:56

Harold: They had such a brief period of this ascendancy, and now they're...

51:01

Harold: I'm fascinated by where they are now.

51:04

Harold: You know, I guess you must have some dead malls around where you are, Jimmy, right?

51:09

Harold: Like, they're just hanging on with the thread.

51:11

Jimmy: Yeah, well, one is being torn down as we speak.

51:15

Jimmy: One is for sale, like a share of sale.

51:18

Harold: I'm most fascinated with the ones they're trying to convert like into communities, where you all of a sudden have apartments, and you have this inner...

51:27

Harold: It's almost like being in a cruise ship, you know? Harold: You've got this inner enclosed area, but they're trying to actually mix residential with this old mall.

51:36

Jimmy: I saw somebody online said that they should take the malls, just keep them in business for another 10 or 15 years somehow, and then turn them into GenX retirement communities.

51:46

Harold: I think it might work. Jimmy: Oh, I am 100% on board with that.

51:50

Jimmy: Are you kidding me? Harold: I could go hang out with my friends and have a chance to meet them.

51:56

Harold: It's all there. Harold: Michael and Liz, is there such a thing as a mall world in Italy?

52:03

Michael: Not around here.

52:06

Liz: They have medieval towns with high fashion stores in them.

52:12

Michael: I am sure there are malls in big cities.

52:14

Liz: Oh, yeah, probably so. Liz: I remember when the very first mall was opened in South Jersey, in Cherry Hill, in 1962.

52:24

Harold: In Cherry Hill, yeah, just outside Philly.

52:27

Jimmy: Yeah, I remember when our big mall opened up.

52:31

Jimmy: Which you can read about in The Dumbest Idea Ever, by the way.

52:33

Jimmy: That mall, Schuylkill Mall. Jimmy: I remember the day I came up and we went up and met.

52:37

Jimmy: They had Spider-Man there and Darth Vader. Jimmy: It was very exciting.

52:41

Harold: Wow, that's cool. Harold: I wonder if in the future people are going to dress up as Paul Blart cosplay.

52:48

Liz: Okay, Michael's friend, who he used to read peanuts with every morning at grade school, produced Paul Blart Mall Cop.

52:58

Jimmy: Oh, Barry Bernardi. Harold: That's cool.

53:03

Jimmy: My greatest comic book disappointment.

53:05

Jimmy: Outside of my own career. Jimmy: Oh, no.

53:08

Jimmy: My greatest comic book disappointment. Jimmy: I'm happy with my own, I'm fine.

53:11

Jimmy: My greatest comic book disappointment is Alan Moore and Billson Kavage in 1990.

53:17

Jimmy: We're going to do a 12-issue series called Big Numbers about the creation of a mall in England.

53:23

Jimmy: And I was so in on only two issues ever came out.

53:27

Jimmy: It was so disappointing. Jimmy: I remember that.

53:29

Michael: I've got them too. Jimmy: I got the third one. Michael: The third one, somebody had, it was like a sketchbook and somebody published it or something.

53:38

Jimmy: It's just photocopies. Jimmy: Yeah, it's photocopies, but it never got main.

53:43

Michael: Boy, I mean, it was a revolutionary comic because it wasn't about anything fantastic.

53:49

Michael: It was about building the mall. Jimmy: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

53:54

Jimmy: I mean, those two issues were fantastic.

53:57

Jimmy: Worth seeking out if you can find them. Jimmy: I doubt they're even very expensive since it never became anything.

54:02

Jimmy: You know what, guys? Jimmy: Actually, all this mall talk has me excited.

54:06

Jimmy: I'm going to go hang out at the mall right now. Jimmy: So why don't we leave it there?

54:10

Jimmy: I'm going to go to the arcade, discuss the new Def Leppard album, and we'll come back next week and pick it up here.

54:17

Jimmy: Sound good? SPEAKER_2: Sure. SPEAKER_2: All right.

54:19

Jimmy: So if you want to keep this conversation going, there's a few ways you can do it.

54:24

Jimmy: First off, like I said, you go over to our website, unpackingpeanuts.com, and you sign up for that great Peanuts reread.

54:29

Jimmy: That'll get you that once a month newsletter. Jimmy: Then you can go on to social media and you can follow us.

54:35

Jimmy: We're at Unpack Peanuts on Instagram and threads, and we're at Unpacking Peanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube.

54:41

Jimmy: If you want to get more information about Tanner Rocks, follow me on Twitter at Jimmy Gownley.

54:48

Jimmy: Otherwise, just come back here next week where we will be picking up more of 1985.

54:52

Jimmy: That's it for this week. Jimmy: For Michael, Harold, and Liz, this is Jimmy saying, be of good cheer.

54:57

Harold: Yes. Michael: Yes. Michael: Be of good cheer.

55:00

Liz: Unpacking Peanuts is copyrighted by Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, and Harold Buchholz.

55:05

Liz: Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Liz: Music by Michael Cohen.

55:09

Liz: Additional voiceover by Aziza Chakrala-Clark.

55:12

Liz: For more from the show, follow Unpack Peanuts on Instagram and threads.

55:17

Liz: Unpacking Peanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube.

55:21

Liz: For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.

55:25

Liz: Have a wonderful day and thanks for listening.

55:28

Harold: Be in too cool cold for school corn.