With Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, this was and honestly still is one of my favorite comic strips. When I first heard that Boom! Studios was using their Kaboom! imprint to release a new series of Peanuts comics, I was curious yet a little unsure of how they would work. Considering that Peanuts was so much of Schulz’s vision. Peanuts #0 is a nice look into the ongoing series starting in January. You get two original stories with reprints of four Charles Schulz comic strips and a preview of the graphic novel, “Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown,” so you get a nice idea of what the ongoing will be like. Best part with this issue is it’s only a dollar. If this issue is any indication of the ongoing, they’re off to a good start.
The first of the original stories in this preview of Peanuts is called, “Carnival of the Animals,” adapted and drawn by Pixar artist Ron Zorman. This is staged as a nice classic Peanuts story as Charlie Brown and Violet are watching Snoopy pretending that he’s all these different animals. This let Zorman cut loose in showing all the personality of Snoopy. The Kangaroo impersonation being my favorite. They were all so much fun to see though. The reactions of Charlie Brown and Violet were great. Zorman has a good voice for them and gives them a lot of life. This successfully made for a great peanuts comic which is what makes this a good story to start this comic off right.
If I had to pick my favorite of the two original stories it would be, “Woodstock’s New Nest,” with story and art by Vicki Scott is just a funny and sweet story about Snoopy helping Woodstock find a new home. Vicki Scott does a nice job of telling this mostly wordless tale. The storytelling is great in just how Snoopy and Woodstock interact with each other. By the time I was through with the story I had an ear to ear smile on my face. This story does a nice job of rounding out the original stories with a simply sweet and wonderfully told story
As long as further issues of Peanuts keep the quality that these stories have, I say Kaboom! has a nice addition to their line. Staying true to the work of Charles Schulz and that’s a good thing. You can tell the affection the authors had for these characters and that shows throughout these tales. If you’re a parent reading this and want a fun comic for your kids to read this week, Peanuts #0 is one to take home with you. Even if you’re just a fan of Peanuts you can’t go wrong with these stories. Best part of this being that this is only a dollar which is a nice price by any means. Check this issue out, and you’ll be like me in looking forward to the start of the ongoing series in January.
Review Copy provided by Boom! Studios (http://www.boom-studios.com)
