The article presents five Peanuts comic strips from the 1950s as early evidence of Charles Schulz’s comic genius. Although the characters initially looked different and some were later abandoned, the strips already displayed the sharp humour, emotional vulnerability and distinctive characterisation that would define Peanuts for its 50-year run.

The examples include Shermy’s apparently affectionate greeting before admitting he hates Charlie Brown; Charlie Brown’s bleak joke about fearing the future because he may live another 60 years; the first version of the recurring football gag, featuring Violet rather than Lucy; and a 1955 Christmas strip in which Charlie Brown seeks donations for Snoopy’s present. Together, they show Schulz establishing Charlie Brown as a sympathetic, anxious underdog while using gentle-looking scenes to deliver unexpectedly cutting punchlines.