The 1980s are the decade of the Rubik’s Cube, MTV, and some of the funniest Peanuts comics that were ever published. Peanuts had been going strong for thirty years in the 1980s, showing no signs of slowing down. Now celebrating their 40th year, the comics published in 1984 remain iconic and notable strips of the classic Charles Schulz property. For instance, a fan favorite moment from Snoopy’s Beagle Scouts was captured in April 1984, continuing to be enjoyed 40 years later.

It is no easy task to make entertainment — whether in the form of comic strips, music, film, or any other medium — that stands the test of time. As a result, it is a major accomplishment for Peanuts to have comics that have been as beloved as they have been despite being anywhere from 24 years old to 70-something years old. While the comics from April 1984 may not be 70 years old just yet, they remain important as they pass their 40th birthday.

10

“A Bird Flew Out”

Published April 2, 1984

Casey Stengel is an icon in baseball, being a player and eventually the team manager of the New York Yankees and the New York Mets in the 1950s before being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. Given Charlie Brown’s poor run as player and manager of his own baseball team, he could learn a lot from the Hall of Famer.

Lucy, being studious, has read that Casey Stengel once tipped his hat and a bird flew out. Unbeknownst to her, her teammate Snoopy has preemptively taken a page out of Stengel’s book and done the same with his buddy Woodstock under his hat. Casey Stengel and Snoopy are both unique and one-of-a-kind individuals with some similar thinking going on, as evidenced by this strip. Birds of a feather flock together; or, in this case, put a bird under their hats.

9

“Breakfast Dishes”

Published April 8, 1984

Snoopy may be crummy at baseball, but his basketball skills are a different story. To be fair, Woodstock is not the most intimidating sports opponent either. Regardless, when they play a game of pickup basketball, Snoopy shoots his basket only to find a lot of noise coming from Woodstock’s nest. It’s revealed that the ball has hit Woodstock’s breakfast dishes, much to Snoopy’s regret and remorse.

Sports have made numerous appearances in Peanuts, with the lively game of basketball between Snoopy and Woodstock being another addition to the roster. They get very involved in the game, with Snoopy getting a little carried away and smashing all of Woodstock’s breakfast dishes. In Snoopy’s defense, had Woodstock put away his breakfast dishes there wouldn’t be anything to break; a warning to all basketball-playing birds everywhere.

8

“My Head Is Full”

Published April 16, 1984

Peppermint Patty is an all-star at sports. School, on the other hand, is not a strong suit of hers. She can be easily overwhelmed by what she has to learn and will even just not do her work at all sometimes. When she attempts to study, she finds that she can only absorb so much information before her head is full.

Likening her mind to a data storage unit, Peppermint Patty even has a little “ping” sound that denotes when her head is full. The strip ties in perfectly with the running gag centered around the character of Peppermint Patty and school while also providing a relatable and humorous comic about how it feels when one’s mind feels so loaded with information that no more can be inputted. Everyone has been there before, where their mind feels so overworked, that the reader can easily commiserate with Peppermint Patty.

7

“A Career Change”

Published April 29, 1984

Snoopy is a very interesting dog, so, of course, he has a very interesting family to match. Spike is Snoopy’s brother who has exiled himself to the desert. However, he is willing to leave the desert for good reasons, such as to visit his brother or to embark on a new career in Hollywood. When Spike wants to become an animator, he travels to La La Land to pitch his out-of-this-world idea: an animated version of the classic film, Citizen Kane.

While the pitch does not go over well, Spike gives it his best shot. Though, an animated version of Citizen Kane would be a hard sell. Spike’s got to be admired, however, for going for his dream, even if his ideas are not knocking down Hollywood’s door. Maybe his next pitch will be better; with a number of classic films to turn into animated versions, he’ll never run out of pitches.

6

“Read This Chart”

Published April 14, 1984

Snoopy and Woodstock have an enviable friendship, ever understanding of each other, having each other’s backs, and helping the other out. With things big and small, Woodstock has Snoopy in his corner. Something as small as Woodstock getting glasses is immediately supported by Snoopy, who compliments his newly lens-bedecked friend and even gives him an eye exam perfectly tailored to him. Not everyone can understand Woodstock. Actually, Snoopy is the only one besides fellow birds who can communicate with Woodstock, bonding the pair even further.

Like a true friend, Snoopy knows Woodstock inside and out, and is able to formulate an eye exam in Woodstock’s own language. The comic takes the reader by surprise because they expect that the eye exam would be in typical ABCs and Woodstock is just answering in his bird language, but instead the test matches Woodstock’s speech bubble language.

5

“Cream Of Dog Food”

Published April 1, 1984

Snoopy may be laid back as his Joe Cool persona, but he can be downright demanding as himself, especially to his owner, Charlie Brown. A high maintenance pup when it comes to food, Snoopy has thrown a tantrum with Charlie Brown about his dinner multiple times before. A notable example is when he threw his dinner dish at Charlie Brown for making a joke while he gave him his food. Diva much?

Another example is found in this ’80s comic when Charlie Brown makes Snoopy a menu with a dog food joke on it. As might be expected, Snoopy reacts by throwing the menu at his owner’s head. This may be a far-fetched assumption, but it doesn’t seem like Snoopy thinks Charlie Brown’s joke (or Charlie Brown in general) is funny. Any waiter would be careful to avoid Snoopy as a customer.

4

“Thinking Of You”

Published April 30, 1984

A lot of words could be used to describe the lovable Snoopy, but romantic would not be the first to come to mind, especially after this comic strip. Writing a letter to his sweetheart, Snoopy writes of how he was thinking of her… at least he thinks it was her. Either Snoopy has a seriously bad memory or his sweetheart does not mean as much to him as he had previously thought.

Everyone knows that Snoopy’s fictional writing is bad, but his letter writing does not seem all that better. Maybe he should just forget about writing altogether. The comic funnily reflects Snoopy’s devil-may-care attitude, saying what he feels whenever he wants, something most people could only hope for. While it would be a good idea for Snoopy to not send the letter, for his sake, if he does, hopefully his sweetheart has a good sense of humor.

3

“Night Light”

Published April 5, 1984

Charlie Brown’s baseball team has a reputation that can be summed up in three words: bad, terrible, and atrocious. They lose the vast majority of their games and something almost always ends up going very wrong. With Charlie Brown acting as both a player and team manager, he is juggling many moving parts, not least of which are his abysmal players, including Snoopy as shortstop.

Tired of all the many mistakes the team makes, Charlie Brown instills the rule that for any mistake that could have been easily avoided, he will pull the cap down over the responsible player’s head. Snoopy happens to be the unlucky first on that list, oblivious to the ball sailing his way until it bonks onto the ground right behind him as he sleeps. True to his word, Charlie Brown sticks to his new rule and pulls down Snoopy’s cap.

2

“Call My Brother”

Published April 25, 1984

Lucy, in a lot of ways, is the typical eldest sibling: bossy yet caring and responsible. She thinks about her little brother when it’s getting late and asks Charlie Brown if she can call him…by literally yelling to her house. Lucy can be loud and brash, so when she yells for Linus, her booming voice is enough to flip Charlie Brown over in his spot.

It is exactly in character for Lucy to scream for her little brother rather than the more simple and sophisticated option of easily calling him on the phone. The strip takes both Charlie Brown and the reader by surprise with her unexpected wail. As long as Lucy and Charlie Brown have been friends, one would think that he would expect the unexpected from her by now, with Lucy ever the obnoxious friend.

1

“Beagle Scout Award”

Published April 22, 1984

Snoopy dances to the beat of his own drum, creating his own version of the Eagle Scouts when he forms the Beagle Scouts. Consisting of Snoopy’s bird friends, Bill, Olivier, Harriet, and a few others, including Woodstock and Conrad, the Beagle Scouts attempt to do the same things that Eagle Scouts do. However, due to the tiny size of the little birds, things frequently do not go to plan.

An example is when Snoopy tries to give Beagle Scout Conrad the bronze Beagle Scout Award, a big deal in their group. Snoopy is so excited to give Conrad his award until he finds that the award completely tips the small bird over. Many jokes have been made about Woodstock’s and his bird friends’ small size, with a tiny award that is meant to be pinned to a hat that is way too heavy for Conrad to handle, following a running gag in Peanuts.