Best Peanuts Comic Strips Featuring Snoopy

Running nearly five decades, the comic strip Peanuts introduced the world to dozens of iconic and beloved characters. One of the most recognizable of all, up there with Charlie Brown, is his pet beagle Snoopy. Well known for getting into his own side adventures and having a fleshed-out life with his own dreams, expansive imagination, family, and friends, Snoopy left his mark on Peanuts and readers across the world.

Charles Schulz took Snoopy from a silent animal walking on all fours to a human-like biped, with rich relationships between each major cast member. Snoopy also went from a cute foil for Charlie Brown's foolishness to a dog with attitude griping about dinner. Whether fantasizing about fighting the Red Baron or attempting to steal Linus's blanket, Snoopy received many scenarios to show off his comedic potential.

This article was updated on October 16, 2024, by Christopher Raley: Peanuts has embedded itself in popular culture and continues to be in the hearts of minds of people worldwide, at least every Halloween and December when the holiday specials are played. If there is a character more iconic than Charlie Brown, it has to be SNoopy. The playful and kind, snarky yet sensitive dog is the hero of every comic he's in. Five more great comics starring Snoopy were added to this list, and it was updated to conform to CBR's current publishing standards.

Peanuts comics with Snoopy often show the dog as carefree. He pretty much does what he wants to, and although he has a kind and sensitive side, he carries out a lot of activities with attitude. But in this comic strip, Snoopy, in a rare moment of self-doubt, mirrors his own, Charlie Brown. Completely misunderstanding the point of something, he goes straight to what he lacks.

Snoopy and the entire Peanuts gang will celebrate their 75th anniversary with new bags and accessories from pop culture retailer Loungefly.

This comic is wonderful for its layers of meaning. There's the punchline that Snoopy can't picture himself in a dog show because he doesn't own a dog. But the added layer to that is that Snoopy's self-image is that he is as human as his master. He argues about what is for dinner, when to have it, and what to do for the day. And as soon as Snoopy gets a dog, he'll train it to be in a dog show.

Snoopy has a lot of attitude and imagination. Snoopy comics feature him as a World War I Ace or an aspiring writer or even show Snoopy as a tennis player with strange rivals. But Snoopy also has a good heart. This often comes through in his friendship with Woodstock, the strange little bird that is his sidekick. But when the chips are down, Snoopy is the one who comes through to help, or in this case, rescue.

As Charlie and Sally stare out the window at a raging storm in the night, they contemplate all the animals that must be stuck out in the storm with no house to go to. As they list all the animals, the viewer can see Snoppy become more contemplative with just a few simple lines in the comic. Finally, Snoopy leaves the window and then returns with a rain slicker and flashlight. In a classic moment, Charlie Brown tells Snoopy that he doesn't think they should rescue all the animals.

Snoopy's quiet insistence and belief that he knows what is right makes him an interesting choice for a lawyer. He has the accouterments at hand: a hat, bow tie, and briefcase. He is on time and sits ready to argue his case in the courtroom. But as the title suggests, he may not be the best choice for poor Linus who is anxiously awaiting the trial.

You certainly do win some and lose some. What is so consistently funny about him is that he is all imagination. He gets many details right. But at the heart of comics with Snoopy, he is just a beagle who is really just a kid. Although he has everything that a lawyer needs to look like one, he's missing one very important thing—a case. But he does have a pretty picture though.

Snoopy's beagle heart is no stranger to the travails of love. The major love interest in Snoopy Comics is Fifi the poodle. It could very well be her he is pining after in this comic. To take the time from his aspirations of writing to sit down and type up a letter means she must mean something to him. In fact, she means quite a lot.

As the creator of one of the most popular comic strips ever, Charles M. Schulz never had to shy away from dark topics when working on Peanuts.

In a twist of language that is typical of Charles Shulz, Snoopy tells the recipient of this letter that he can't describe how much he loves her. For anyone who has received a love letter or penned one, this is usually the point where the ardent admirer starts trying to describe how much anyway. Not Snoopy. He gets right to the point. If it's pointless, why bother?

In this early Snoopy comic, the beagle just wants to be part of the gang. In fact, the Peanuts gang often understands Snoopy better than Charlie Brown does. Here, everyone is playing tag. When they tag someone they shout, as the reader expects, tag, you're it. Everyone is smiling and laughing and Snoopy is barking happily.

The problem is that Snoopy lacks two things that are helpful when playing tag: hands and a voice. Snoopy can't touch someone and shout like the rest of the gang, so he does the next best thing. Ironically, it's Charlie Brown who completely misses the point and one of the other kids tells him that it's just Snoopy's way of tagging as poor little Snoopy looks on abashedly at his master.

Only a few months into Peanuts's initial run, Charlie Brown and Snoopy had yet to establish their traditional dynamics. In this early strip, Snoopy doesn't even appear to live with Charlie Brown, seeing as Charlie Brown tells the dog to stop following him, and he is unaware of where Snoopy actually lives. This exchange can feel like a glimpse into an alternate reality where Charlie Brown never became Snoopy's owner, a fact which is explicitly stated in later strips.

Notably, Snoopy doesn't even talk in this strip, having yet to display his traditional wit or intelligence. However, Schulz plants the seeds of Snoopy's typical characterization, even while the latter is depicted as a regular dog. Snoopy's simple expressions demonstrate that he understands at least the emotions behind Charlie Brown's passionate words, showing concern when Charlie Brown yells at him, then blissful happiness when he is defended by Patty and allowed to keep walking with Charlie Brown.

One of the core themes of Peanuts is Charlie Brown's inability to earn the respect he wants, with even his beloved dog Snoopy giving him grief frequently. All Charlie Brown wants in this strip is to show some affection to his favorite beagle, only to be met with disdain from Snoopy. Visibly irritated at being petted, the dog slumped over exaggeratedly, not caring about the potential scare he inflicts on his doting owner.

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Schulz's artwork adeptly captures the emotions of his two most famous characters. Snoopy's grumpiness at being touched is evident through his comedic frown, and Charlie Brown's horrified reaction at "killing" his dog is obvious by his wide-eyed terror, followed by a sorrowful march away from the scene. Simultaneously, this strip also demonstrates Schulz's gradual discovery of what works about his characters. While the characterization remains consistent with later strips, Snoopy noticeably speaks using a regular speech bubble, as opposed to his traditional thought bubble.

By now, Schulz had discovered what made Snoopy truly work as a character, alongside the dog's complicated relationship with Charlie Brown. Not just a doting animal, comics with Snoopy portray his own complex feelings, even as he falls prey to hypocrisy at times. Snoopy grandstands indignantly at the very idea of Charlie Brown offering him table scraps mixed in with his usual food, pouting and refusing to even look his owner in the eyes at such an offense. Several comedic expressions cross Snoopy's face, and his body language demonstrates various emotional states.

Verbose and pretentious as he can come across at times, Snoopy shows that he is a dog all the same. He may turn up his nose at certain foods as being beneath him, but at the possibility of losing out on a tasty meal, Snoopy immediately makes amends with Charlie Brown and devours the food he was offered by his owner. A nice gesture by Charlie Brown winds up exhausting them both.

Starting with this simple comic, Snoopy's attempts to get into writing professionally became a recurring gag throughout the rest of the strip's lifespan. This joke has multiple layers, with the impressive feat of Snoopy typing on a typewriter undercut by him starting his prose with an incredibly clichéd opening line. Additionally, there are a few panels of building suspense as to what Snoopy has in his briefcase, only to reveal a typewriter.

While he is an intelligent animal, Snoopy falls short of reaching the heights of great writers, or even mediocre ones. Clearly a passion for him, writing is just not one of Snoopy's strengths. His lack of writing talent is also underscored by his somewhat smug expression in the final panel as if Snoopy is thinking very highly of his own work, despite having just started.

A funny, yet bittersweet gag was at the heart of this Snoopy strip, summarizing the frequently melancholic nature of the Peanuts franchise. The surreal premise of Woodstock the bird needing therapy reflects how mental health conditions require treatment, even when the cause of the symptoms goes unstated. This joke also allows Snoopy to express his compassion and friendship, while tying into the running joke of Lucy acting as a therapist.

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The silent buildup to the punchline works to build intrigue and suspense, allowing the reader to wonder what Snoopy has in store for his depressed friend Woodstock. Simultaneously, Snoopy's calm demeanor sets the audience at ease, as he demonstrates that he knows what he is doing. Tying into the central joke of this strip, Snoopy gives a wide smile in the last panel, showing that even he may be aware of the absurdity of the situation.

This minimalistic strip depicts an interaction between two close friends. Showing off Schulz's range as a storyteller, Snoopy and Woodstock don't exchange any dialogue. Sometimes, in the world of Peanuts, even the animals are verbose, and other times, nothing needs to be said to express the message. This creative choice allows the gag to shine in its simplicity, warmth, and cuteness.

Snoopy's capacity for friendship is exemplified well in these four panels, and the reader can grasp what Woodstock means to the dog. While Snoopy's action of lifting his ear is effortless, the gesture serves as a parallel to how easy it can be to offer something small to make a major positive impact on a friend in real life. What Snoopy thinks about in the rain is unknown, though the downpour does not bother him. Whether the rain bothers Woodstock is ambiguous, but Snoopy extends his ear anyway to let the two friends spend more time together.

A famous running gag in Peanuts comics with Snoopy is Snoopy's fantasies as a fighter pilot in World War I, where he dogfights his enemy, the Red Baron. This sequence serves as Snoopy's first time in the franchise where he invokes this specific alter ego. Schulz displays the breadth of Snoopy's imagination here. In the dog's mind, he envisions himself as someone with enemies and a death-defying career. Snoopy becomes so invested in his own fantasy that he thinks that he is actually in danger of being shot.

Yet another skill of Schulz was his ability to take serious verbiage, use it to build up the scene, and then undercut it for a silly gag. In this instance, the fact that the fighter pilot is actually a dog wearing goggles and sitting atop his doghouse also serves to make the scene more playful. The punchline of the strip then hits harder, as Schulz allows the reader to get invested in Snoopy's antics. Readers briefly forget that he is a dog dreaming of World War I, before finally undermining Snoopy's seriousness and dignity with the joke.

In this sweet, understated Sunday strip, Snoopy and Linus manage to have a moment of peace between the two of them. Usually, when Linus's blanket is involved, Snoopy tries to steal it, often with violent results. On this occasion, however, they manage to put aside their differences and share the blanket. But whether they are consciously engaging in a truce is left ambiguous. The result is yet another instance of the characters showing their personalities, without a word needing to be said.

Early Peanuts comics were unique and inventive enough to garner near-instance success, but there are still some seriously weird details in hindsight.

Lucy's involvement in the sequence of events is also wordless. Her action of setting the books up for both Linus and Snoopy to lean their heads against can be read as attempting to appease both parties and make them more comfortable. But the sight of Linus's blanket resting firmly on his side may imply that Lucy deliberately moved the blanket away from Snoopy. Lucy subtly demonstrates that she cares for her brother more than Snoopy, but doesn't want to start the two fighting again. This strip shows a softer side to the three featured characters, including a relatively rarer moment of compassion for Lucy.

Many strips of this kind have appeared throughout Peanuts' history, with Lucy showcasing her attraction to Schroeder. Lucy's usual attempts to flirt with or impress her crush fail and this occasion is no different. With Snoopy involving himself this time, the comic displays multiple character dynamics at work. Lucy has a soft spot for Schroeder, and Snoopy enjoys messing with Lucy. The characters slide naturally into their pre-established places, to the point where Snoopy seamlessly swaps out with Schroeder in anticipation of the punchline.

The interaction between the three characters in this strip is so well-executed that the sequence was adapted in both A Charlie Brown Christmas and The Peanuts Movie. The contrast between Lucy's wordy attempts to woo Schroeder and her silent kiss with Snoopy gives the scene appeal both in its intended form and as a silent gag. It's easy to follow the characters' feelings and actions even if the dialogue is removed. This is yet another strip that shows Snoopy's versatility as a character—he can go through entire sequences without dialogue or become just as wordy as his human companions.

Common for Peanuts, but less common across the entirety of the newspaper comic strip industry, this Peanuts joke is tinged with existential dread and even ends with an existential joke. Charlie Brown reassures Snoopy while alluding to real-world problems. Even Snoopy's anxious physicality in this strip brings to mind an actual dog, demanding his owner's attention. Snoopy, as depicted here, is easily spooked and does not speak. He only goes back to bed once he is comforted by his owner, which allows Charlie Brown to carry the entirety of the dialogue.

At the same time, Snoopy's anxiety is recognizably human. His expression of worry is relatable, and he is very clearly shaken and disheveled. This internal struggle allows the strip to show off another side of Snoopy and Charlie Brown's relationship; one of kindness and love. It's a far cry from Peanuts Snoopy comics from the 1950s, where Charlie Brown could get irritated by Snoopy's presence, or the latter would be annoyed by his owner patting his head. The final panel is distinctly Peanuts, where Charlie Brown winds up with similar existential fears to Snoopy, a move that's quite characteristic of him.

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Are you Linus?!?!!? This is beautiful!

❤😁 Good to see the old strips of Snoopy and the gang. Times were better than they are now.

Vivid and observational writing! This warmed my heart: "Whether the rain bothers Woodstock was ambiguous, but Snoopy extended his ear anyway to allow the two friends to spend more time together."

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