April 7, 2026 • 25 mins
It’s a fun-sized mailbag bonus episode! Listeners ask us probing questions like whose is the adorable voice behind our introduction, and tell us stuff we never knew like there is a plush version of Snoopy as Mister T. Plus more great business suggestions for Sony.
Transcript available at UnpackingPeanuts.com
Jimmy’s, Michael’s, and Harold’s books are available at UnpackingPeanuts.com/store.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyright Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner. Produced and edited by Liz Sumner. Music by Michael Cohen. Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark.
For more from the show follow @unpackpeanuts on Instagram and Threads, and @unpackingpeanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube. For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Aziza (00:00):
It's Unpacking Peanuts, fun size.
Jimmy (00:03):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the show.
It's Unpacking Peanuts, a bonus episode.
Can you believe it?
We're going to do a mailbag episode, and I'll be your host for the proceedings.
My name is Jimmy Gownley.
Joining me as always is my pal, co-host, and fellow cartoonist, Michael Cohen.
Michael (00:19):
Say hey.
Jimmy (00:20):
And our producer and editor, Liz Sumner.
Liz (00:22):
Howdy.
Jimmy (00:23):
And we fired Harold.
I'm just kidding.
Harold is on assignment for the head beagle.
We may be hearing from him later in the hotline segment.
You never know.
But this is going to be a quick mailbox episode to catch up on our correspondence with you fine listeners.
And I just want to take a moment to remind you that today is the day the 25th anniversary editions of the first two Amelia Rules books come out called The Whole World's Crazy and What Makes You Happy.
(00:51):
They're available wherever fine books and comics are sold.
And there'll be a link right in the description of this here show.
And it would mean a lot to me if you enjoyed me reading all those comic strips to you over the low these many years.
Ordering one of those books or both of those books would be a real solid to me.
Liz (01:13):
Congratulations on that.
That's pretty incredible.
Jimmy (01:15):
Thanks.
Can you believe it's been 25 years, guys?
Liz (01:18):
No way.
Michael (01:19):
Went by in the blink of an eye.
Jimmy (01:25):
Michael was a guest on my other podcast that I do on my substack called Jimmy Gownley's Dumb Ideas.
Sign up for GVILLE Comics substack if you haven't.
And we were talking, though, while I was recording the interview with him, a lot about the beginnings of Renaissance Press, which I didn't use in that show.
It may be in the official Amelia Rules special.
But my gosh, it was so fun to just go back and think about how unlikely it was that any of this was going to happen and that we made it happen.
(01:55):
It feels pretty good.
Michael (01:57):
Seems like a dream.
Jimmy (02:03):
So we got some stuff in the good old mailbag, though, and we wanted to just not make you wait forever.
And dip into the mailbag and see what you guys are thinking about.
Liz (02:15):
Yeah, we got some wonderful mail and we had recorded way in advance.
And so these messages wouldn't get read until like June or something.
So I wanted to do a special little episode.
Jimmy (02:30):
And you got to blame Harold for that.
He's the one running around all the time.
Well, that's awesome.
Well, I mean, you know, if you guys ever want to just be a part of this conversation, you can shoot us an e-mail at unpackingpeanuts.gmail.com, or you can call our hotline.
You can call or text it.
It's 717-219-4162.
And we would love to hear from you.
(02:52):
What do we got, Liz?
Liz (02:53):
We have a message from Brendan Walberg who says, Hi all.
I'm a lifelong Peanuts fan, born in 66, raised on Peanuts, paperbacks and TV specials, and I love your podcast.
I discovered it last year and binge listened to them all until I caught up to the present.
Michael (03:13):
Wow.
Liz (03:14):
I like the current exploration of the Van Pelt family.
And I want to draw your attention to one of my favorite Linus and Lucy strips, May 3rd, 1964.
In this strip, Linus is drawing a picture of his big sister and she notices that he has not yet put in the mouth.
Michael (03:32):
Yep.
Liz (03:34):
Lucy demands that he do so and the tension grows while Linus tries futilely to escape.
Violence is the inevitable result.
And the release of tension makes you laugh out loud.
This strip captures the big sister, little brother power dynamic where a knuckle sandwich is the sarcastic comment away.
Jimmy (03:58):
Well, I have to say, I agree, that is a great strip, just so funny.
Michael (04:02):
I can't remember this.
Do we see what he drew?
Jimmy (04:06):
Yeah, he ends up drawing a giant mouth.
Yeah.
What's funny is Linus within the Peanuts world is a photorealistic artist, because he can draw an absolute perfect Lucy.
Liz (04:22):
And Brendan goes on to say, I have a question too.
Every episode has a toddler sounding voice introducing it.
The podcast where three cartoonists take an in-depth look at, and so on.
In all the episodes, have you ever explained who that voice is, and what is the story behind those spoken parts?
When she talks, it sounds so very much like the voice actors on Peanuts TV specials, including the cute pauses in between words that seem like the kid is carefully repeating lines that are a little bit too old for them.
(04:58):
I'd love to know the story of this aspect of the show.
Thanks for a great podcast.
Jimmy (05:04):
Well, thank you for writing.
Well, yeah, that is exactly what we were going for.
I'll say what my first embarrassing attempt was.
I'm like, I'll get my kids to do it.
Not realizing, my kids at this point were way too old to sound like a Peanuts cast member.
Liz (05:19):
They were like 18 or something, right?
Jimmy (05:21):
Yeah.
It was like total dad brain.
But luckily, Liz had had someone for us, C.
Liz (05:28):
Well, it was hard because I don't know anybody with children that young.
It was, we really searched.
Most of the people we know and their children are grown up.
So I finally remembered that my friend, Barbara Castleton, has a darling granddaughter named Aziza Shukralla Clark and her mother, thankfully, was willing to help Aziza record for us.
(05:56):
And so she did that intro and then a bunch of the stuff like, it's the peanuts time machine and what was the shermometer one?
Jimmy (06:07):
Let's check the shermometer.
Liz (06:08):
Let's check the shermometer.
So anyhow, Aziza is now 48 years old.
Something like that.
She is way too grown up now.
So we need to find another young child.
So those of you who have young children, let us know.
Jimmy (06:28):
Yeah, I love my favorite part of the intro is an in-depth look at.
That's my favorite part.
An in-depth look at.
And it's so funny.
And obviously Michael's never seen the animations, but when you grow up with them, because those line readings are so stilted, the way they're spoken just becomes as much a part of the experience as what the line says, you know?
(06:57):
Sally has to say, all I want is what I have coming to me.
Pause.
All I want is my fair share.
It's so strange and it's completely, it's just unique to Peanuts.
I don't think there's very many animated adaptations of anything where the performance becomes so baked into your mind.
Liz (07:18):
Are the more recent animated specials, do they have more polished voice actors or?
Jimmy (07:26):
I mean, there's still kids, but Hollywood's more polished.
It's all just a little bit more slick than it used to be.
They would do insane things.
We were just talking, or I was just talking.
On our Patreon, we do special events and we also occasionally do this thing where I'll just hop on and watch a Peanuts animation and just talk through it, and we'll do a little commentary track.
(07:51):
You learn nothing because I do no research.
I just watch it and say whatever comes to my life.
But one thing I noticed when we were watching the You're a Good Sport Charlie Brown, and he does the football gag where he goes running up and misses it.
They just cut and pasted the aug from one of the earlier Charlie Browns, which is just really strange.
(08:16):
Stuff like that would never happen.
You can tell there's an audio cut, it's different tape, it's recorded in a different room, whatever.
I mean, nothing that homemade sounding would ever go on Apple TV today, or basically anyone's YouTube channel.
You know what I mean?
Liz (08:34):
Yeah, really.
Anyhow, thank you, Brendan, and thank you Aziza.
We are very grateful.
Jimmy (08:42):
Thank you so much, Aziza.
It really makes the show for me.
Liz (08:47):
Okay.
And we also heard from Seth Kane, who says, Hey, gang, Seth from Sunnyvale, California here.
Long time listener, first time writer.
Yesterday, I went on one of my many visits to the Charles Schulz Museum.
They were having an event with Jeannie Schulz for the Canine Companions organization.
Jimmy (09:06):
Oh, great.
Liz (09:06):
This was my second time meeting her, and this time I got a photo with her and got my Pez Box set signed.
Jimmy (09:14):
That's awesome.
Liz (09:16):
Two of the current exhibits are the 80s and Snoopy's Family.
Some very cool items and art featuring Olaf, I wanted to share with you.
He sent us pictures, including a plush of Olaf with a bag over his head like in his first appearance.
This Snoopy as Mr.
T doll is one of the best things I've ever seen.
Jimmy (09:38):
Snoopy as Mr.
T doll?
Liz (09:40):
Uh-huh.
I will post the pictures.
Jimmy (09:44):
I told Mr.
T to shush once.
You ever hear the story?
Yeah, it was an episode of my very old podcast and he did.
He said, oh, sorry.
It was amazing.
At Comic Fest in 1993, when I was standing next to him, it's a whole long story.
Anyway.
Liz (10:04):
He says, they also had a strip of one of Michael's favorites, Snoopy as a helicopter.
Jimmy (10:11):
Oh, yeah.
Liz (10:13):
Nothing like a good Nom reference in a comic strip.
Jimmy (10:16):
You know what's funny?
You should mention a good Nom reference though.
I was just, every once in a while, like once a year, I pull out the old issues of the Nom comic.
Do you remember that at all, Michael?
Michael (10:27):
Yeah, Michael Golden, wasn't it?
Jimmy (10:29):
Michael Golden.
Boy, he can draw.
Michael (10:31):
Well, yeah, that guy was great.
Jimmy (10:32):
Great.
Michael (10:33):
But it was like, this is a waste.
Why is he drawing a war comic when he could be drawing Spider-Man?
Jimmy (10:40):
Well, I learned something about, well, maybe I learned something about it, but I learned it on YouTube.
So whether or not this is true.
But apparently, the first couple issues of that thing, because it got so much media attention, was actually selling better than the X-Men for those months.
Liz (10:57):
Oh, wow.
Jimmy (10:58):
But then within a year, the Golden and the writer left and they brought superheroes into the Nom.
Michael (11:06):
Really?
Liz (11:06):
Oh, dear.
Michael (11:07):
Yeah.
I never saw those.
Jimmy (11:11):
Yeah, I didn't either.
I just happened to be watching this.
Punisher invades the Nom was the cover.
Michael (11:17):
I was like, oh my God.
Liz (11:21):
Seth adds a PS and he says, forgot to mention, while I was there, I watched You're a Good Skate, Charlie Brown.
Peppermint Patty's teacher spoke like in English.
Michael (11:32):
What?
Liz (11:33):
I figured it must have been a substitute teacher, but then the other adults spoke to pod people.
It must have been pod people.
I don't understand that at all.
Michael (11:42):
Wow.
Jimmy (11:44):
I think that's the adaptation of that really long Peppermint Patty going to a skating competition, which I really, really like.
But that's crazy that the adults speak in a peanut special.
That's pretty late.
That's an 80s special.
So, wow.
Liz (12:03):
We also heard from Lynn from Delaware, who says, hello Unpacking Peanuts crew.
Thank you for continuing your podcast Beyond the Last Peanut Strip.
I have enjoyed every one of your episodes and will be sad when it finally ends, many years from now, I hope.
I'm casting my ballot for Mean Girls for next season.
(12:25):
As someone who was teased quite a lot as a child, I always especially enjoyed the Mean Girls strips.
I very much related to Charlie Brown and took comfort in not being the only one who unwillingly acted as other people's spiritual scratching post.
Keep up the good work, Lynn.
Jimmy (12:46):
All right, Michael, there's one for.
Michael (12:47):
All right.
How's the tabulation?
You got the computer revved up to do the count?
Jimmy (12:52):
I think we have two for Mean Girls now, and I think maybe one for something else.
SPEAKER_1 (12:57):
I don't know.
Jimmy (12:59):
I don't remember.
I would definitely do that because going back and rereading a million stuff, there is so much snark and sarcasm, and that's just how kids spoke to each other where I grew up.
I was talking to one of the editors, and they were talking about how much that has changed, and people don't want, gatekeepers don't want any of that in books anymore.
(13:25):
But to me, that makes no sense, because it's not like you relate to Patty and Violet, right?
Do you think anybody related to Patty and Violet?
Liz (13:33):
Well, Linus did in my favorite strip.
Jimmy (13:36):
All right.
Of course.
Well, no, he liked her.
That's a different.
That's a totally different situation.
Liz (13:42):
I see.
Yes.
Jimmy (13:44):
But you know what I mean?
I don't think people ever read those strips, and they sympathize with Charlie Brown, right?
Liz (13:50):
Yes, of course.
Jimmy (13:52):
What are your thoughts, Michael?
Michael (13:54):
I had a crush on Violet.
Jimmy (13:57):
But again, yeah, I get that, but that's different than relating to her.
Michael (14:02):
Yeah, but she did transform.
I mean, she was the first actual love interest in peanuts.
Because the pig-tailed Violet and mud pie Violet was, I think Charlie Brown was really sweet on her.
Jimmy (14:16):
Oh yeah, definitely.
Michael (14:17):
And then she turned evil.
Liz (14:19):
Maybe it was Patty's fault.
Michael (14:20):
Yeah, we have to blame Patty.
Jimmy (14:23):
See, I always thought Patty was nicer than Violet, but maybe I'm wrong.
Michael (14:27):
No, I think you're right.
All right.
Jimmy (14:29):
Well, we're going to have to look into that.
I think it'd be a fun.
Liz (14:34):
Yes, it definitely will.
Jimmy (14:37):
We're going to do all of them eventually, because we got to put an episode that.
Liz (14:42):
Yeah, really, because Lynn wants us to go on for years and years.
Jimmy (14:45):
For years and years, yeah.
We've already done four.
Unbelievable.
Liz (14:49):
Wow.
Jimmy (14:50):
Unbelievable.
Liz (14:52):
So that's it for the bonus episode mail.
Jimmy (14:56):
All right.
Well, I got two things from the old hotline.
Super listener Captain Billy wrote in.
He's commenting about us discussing the comic strip versions of comic book characters like Buchholz and Spider-Man, like we're talking about in our anniversary episode.
Liz (15:13):
Yes.
Jimmy (15:14):
He says, Hi, Captain Billy again.
Ray Romita stating he preferred drawing comic books.
I asked Gil Kane at a panel if he preferred working on Starhawks or comic books.
He also said comic strips.
I think for that generation, comic strips were considered much more prestigious, and I bet the money was better.
Well, that last part is probably the biggest consideration that I didn't think about.
(15:38):
But yeah, the money for doing a comic strip back then was way better.
Michael (15:42):
No, but I think you could actually tell people at a social gathering what you do if you're doing comic strips.
Jimmy (15:47):
Absolutely.
Michael (15:48):
You say comic books, so walk away.
Absolutely.
Jimmy (15:51):
It's hard to even express how lowly the comic book was in the middle.
Michael (16:00):
Oh, yeah.
Well, some people were writing comics in the 40s and went on to bigger things and they would not mention it.
Adesh Hammett was one.
Liz (16:09):
Really?
Michael (16:10):
Hammett and Patricia Highsmith, who went on to great things with the talented Mr.
Ripley and other Ripley books.
Yeah, she was writing in the late 40s for comics.
Liz (16:21):
I'm a huge Hammett fan and I had no idea that he wrote comic books.
Michael (16:25):
Well, that's the way he wanted it.
Jimmy (16:26):
Yeah, it was a complete source of shame with the Senate hearings and everything in comic books and juvenile delinquency.
The good old days.
We need to get back to that.
Last time I was in San Diego, I was on a panel and they were all talking about, how do you test kids for comics?
When they read a comic in school, we want to give them a test about their, I'm like, oh no, what have I wrought?
(16:49):
We didn't.
Liz (16:50):
The last thing.
Michael (16:51):
We didn't ask about, who inked this issue?
Liz (16:57):
What do you think of the Thicks and Thins?
Jimmy (16:59):
You think that's George Bell?
Liz (17:00):
Are you out of your mind?
Don't say the principal.
Jimmy (17:05):
Kid can't tell dick airs from George Bell and I'm supposed to pass him on to middle school?
I don't think so.
Yeah, so that's what we heard from Captain Billy and Michael.
This one is for you.
Michael (17:20):
Oh boy.
Jimmy (17:21):
This is from Claire from good old Pottsville PA.
Now, she is a super listener of my other podcast and just has started this podcast.
She's intrigued by your Dungeons and Dragons references and wants to know, can you do an alignment for both the main characters of Peanuts and the hosts of Unpacking Peanuts?
Michael (17:47):
Oh, sure.
Jimmy (17:48):
This is perfect because we can talk about it without Harold being here.
Michael (17:51):
We were talking about Patty and Violet, Violet, Neutral Evil.
SPEAKER_1 (17:55):
Okay, good.
Michael (17:56):
Snoopy, Chaotic Good.
SPEAKER_1 (17:58):
Yeah, that's good.
Michael (17:59):
Charlie Brown, Lawful Good.
Let's see, Linus would be Chaotic Good.
Or maybe Neutral Good.
Jimmy (18:10):
He's tough.
Michael (18:13):
Yeah, he's tough because he changes.
Is there any Lawful Good characters?
Probably someone like Shermie who's just boring.
Jimmy (18:22):
Yeah, Charlie Brown, right?
Charlie Brown would be Lawful Good, I think.
Because he doesn't break the rules, does he?
Michael (18:28):
No, no, he's a rule follower, except when it comes to pencil sharpeners.
Jimmy (18:32):
Pencil sharpeners.
Michael (18:33):
Chaos.
Yeah, chaos.
Peppermint Patty, chaotic, neutral.
Jimmy (18:40):
Yeah, that's exactly what I would say.
Liz (18:43):
Now, at some point after you have done the hosts, you have to explain to those of us who don't know what this, but you're talking about what this all means.
Michael (18:51):
Well, this applies to anyone on Earth, these categories.
Marcy is Lawful Good, I would think.
Jimmy (19:00):
Yeah, Marcy.
Michael (19:00):
She seems like a real rule-follower.
Jimmy (19:03):
Well, yeah, she's complex too, but all right, I'll give you that one.
Michael (19:08):
Well, this is off the top of my head.
I've never thought about this.
So, any alignments we haven't picked.
The only evil characters I think would be Violet and-
Liz (19:22):
Oh, and T-Ball.
Michael (19:24):
Yeah, the question was with the main character.
Liz (19:27):
Oh, okay, yeah.
Michael (19:29):
Anyway, that's a good question.
As far as the host, Jimmy, definitely a chaotic evil.
Right.
I am lawful good, because I believe in growth.
Harold is saintly, so he's lawful good.
Awful good.
(19:50):
And Liz is neutral neutral neutral.
Liz (19:57):
Is that because you're sitting close to me, and I have five fingers, and together, they might have found powerful power?
Jimmy (20:02):
Yeah, I got the words for that one, because I'm the furthest away.
Liz (20:08):
Okay.
So somebody please explain this to me.
Michael (20:10):
Okay.
Well, the Dungeons and Dragons guys came up with some really interesting stuff, which you hear all the time, references to this and the hosts don't explain it.
Like, you know, on the history podcast or, you know, on these prestigious podcasts, the guy will say, whoa, Alexander the Great clearly had a charisma of 18.
(20:32):
Right.
Liz (20:32):
Yeah.
Michael (20:37):
Yeah.
So it was basically when you create a character, you roll some dice to determine some characteristics and other things you pick.
So basically, you have this little grid, which goes from chaotic to neutral to lawful.
(20:59):
And then on the other vertice, you have good, neutral, evil.
And you could be any one of those that puts you on the scale.
So if you're, I mean, this is the basic game, which we don't respect that much.
But if you're a thief, you're probably going to be some kind of neutral, or you surely would not be lawful good.
Liz (21:27):
I don't want to be neutral, neutral.
Jimmy (21:30):
Well, you got to work on that.
Michael (21:30):
Well, there is an evil.
Liz (21:33):
Okay.
Jimmy (21:34):
I had a friend, Jackie, when we started playing it.
I've told you about this guy before.
He's the one that had to lug his little sister around everywhere he went.
Michael (21:42):
Yes.
Jimmy (21:43):
His character was chaotic something.
I don't even remember what the other thing is, but he just because becoming chaotic became his entire personality.
It wouldn't matter what it was.
He'd get a grapefruit soda, and he'd be, because I'm chaotic.
I thought you'd get a kick out of that one.
(22:04):
I was pretty excited when I got that.
That just came in this morning.
Liz (22:08):
Thank you, Claire.
Michael (22:10):
Has anyone done a role-playing game for Peanuts?
Jimmy (22:14):
That would be fun.
Liz (22:17):
Sony, call us.
Jimmy (22:18):
First of all, Sony, call us just because duh.
Really?
But yeah, that would be fun.
That would be amazing, like an open-world video game that you create your own Peanuts persona and like Animal Crossing or whatever.
You just walk around the Peanuts world.
You could visit the psychiatry booth.
Michael (22:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 (22:42):
Get therapy.
Michael (22:43):
I don't know.
I think that would work.
SPEAKER_1 (22:45):
Yeah.
Jimmy (22:45):
It's like the metaverse, but with just the Peanuts characters.
Liz (22:49):
You would have to make yourself a character?
Yeah.
Okay.
This is brilliant.
Jimmy (22:55):
I'm telling you, Sony, you got to give.
Michael (22:57):
You can write the program.
So they put in a photo and it turns into a.
Yeah.
Jimmy (23:01):
It turns into immediately.
Liz (23:03):
Oh, well, they already have that.
Michael (23:05):
Yeah.
Jimmy (23:06):
Well, hopefully, we hear from Harold on the hotline.
Let's check the hotline real quick and see if Harold called in.
SPEAKER_1 (23:13):
Wow.
So this is the Peanuts hotline.
Long time host, first time caller, Harold Buchholz here.
I miss you guys.
I'm out of Missouri right now, and I'll be in the Nashville area April 9th to the 18th at the Animation Y'all Conference at Lipscomb University and the Creative Arts Collective Creative Summit at Belmont University.
(23:34):
So I'm just enjoying my time on the road and hanging out with my mom right now in Missouri and I look forward to talking peanuts with you guys when I return to New York.
So be of good cheer.
Jimmy (23:44):
Oh, that's great to hear from good old Harold.
Liz (23:46):
We miss you, Harold.
Jimmy (23:47):
You'll worry when he goes out in these assignments for the head beagle.
You never know with Harold, right?
You never know what shenanigans he could possibly get in here, right?
Liz (23:57):
He's so chaotic.
Jimmy (23:58):
He's so chaotic.
Well, that's all we got for you.
We just want to take this moment to again remind you guys, if you wanted to follow all of us, that would be great.
The best way to do that is go ahead and sign up for the great peanuts reread over on unpackingpeanuts.com.
(24:19):
You'll just get one e-mail a month, letting you know what we're up to on this podcast.
I'll also give you links to all of our work so you can follow us.
Because guess what?
We're cartoonists as well.
If you want to reach out to the show, we're unpackingpeanuts at gmail.com, and you can call us at 717-219-4162.
That's it for this week.
For Michael and Liz and Harold, who's out in the wild, this is Jimmy saying, be of good cheer.
Liz (24:43):
Yes, be of good cheer.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyrighted by Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner.
Produced and edited by Liz Sumner.
Music by Michael Cohen.
Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark.
For more from the show, follow Unpack Peanuts on Instagram and threads.
(25:04):
Unpacking Peanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube.
For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for listening.
Good grief.
It's Unpacking Peanuts, fun size.
Jimmy (00:03):
Hey, everybody, welcome back to the show.
It's Unpacking Peanuts, a bonus episode.
Can you believe it?
We're going to do a mailbag episode, and I'll be your host for the proceedings.
My name is Jimmy Gownley.
Joining me as always is my pal, co-host, and fellow cartoonist, Michael Cohen.
Michael (00:19):
Say hey.
Jimmy (00:20):
And our producer and editor, Liz Sumner.
Liz (00:22):
Howdy.
Jimmy (00:23):
And we fired Harold.
I'm just kidding.
Harold is on assignment for the head beagle.
We may be hearing from him later in the hotline segment.
You never know.
But this is going to be a quick mailbox episode to catch up on our correspondence with you fine listeners.
And I just want to take a moment to remind you that today is the day the 25th anniversary editions of the first two Amelia Rules books come out called The Whole World's Crazy and What Makes You Happy.
(00:51):
They're available wherever fine books and comics are sold.
And there'll be a link right in the description of this here show.
And it would mean a lot to me if you enjoyed me reading all those comic strips to you over the low these many years.
Ordering one of those books or both of those books would be a real solid to me.
Liz (01:13):
Congratulations on that.
That's pretty incredible.
Jimmy (01:15):
Thanks.
Can you believe it's been 25 years, guys?
Liz (01:18):
No way.
Michael (01:19):
Went by in the blink of an eye.
Jimmy (01:25):
Michael was a guest on my other podcast that I do on my substack called Jimmy Gownley's Dumb Ideas.
Sign up for GVILLE Comics substack if you haven't.
And we were talking, though, while I was recording the interview with him, a lot about the beginnings of Renaissance Press, which I didn't use in that show.
It may be in the official Amelia Rules special.
But my gosh, it was so fun to just go back and think about how unlikely it was that any of this was going to happen and that we made it happen.
(01:55):
It feels pretty good.
Michael (01:57):
Seems like a dream.
Jimmy (02:03):
So we got some stuff in the good old mailbag, though, and we wanted to just not make you wait forever.
And dip into the mailbag and see what you guys are thinking about.
Liz (02:15):
Yeah, we got some wonderful mail and we had recorded way in advance.
And so these messages wouldn't get read until like June or something.
So I wanted to do a special little episode.
Jimmy (02:30):
And you got to blame Harold for that.
He's the one running around all the time.
Well, that's awesome.
Well, I mean, you know, if you guys ever want to just be a part of this conversation, you can shoot us an e-mail at unpackingpeanuts.gmail.com, or you can call our hotline.
You can call or text it.
It's 717-219-4162.
And we would love to hear from you.
(02:52):
What do we got, Liz?
Liz (02:53):
We have a message from Brendan Walberg who says, Hi all.
I'm a lifelong Peanuts fan, born in 66, raised on Peanuts, paperbacks and TV specials, and I love your podcast.
I discovered it last year and binge listened to them all until I caught up to the present.
Michael (03:13):
Wow.
Liz (03:14):
I like the current exploration of the Van Pelt family.
And I want to draw your attention to one of my favorite Linus and Lucy strips, May 3rd, 1964.
In this strip, Linus is drawing a picture of his big sister and she notices that he has not yet put in the mouth.
Michael (03:32):
Yep.
Liz (03:34):
Lucy demands that he do so and the tension grows while Linus tries futilely to escape.
Violence is the inevitable result.
And the release of tension makes you laugh out loud.
This strip captures the big sister, little brother power dynamic where a knuckle sandwich is the sarcastic comment away.
Jimmy (03:58):
Well, I have to say, I agree, that is a great strip, just so funny.
Michael (04:02):
I can't remember this.
Do we see what he drew?
Jimmy (04:06):
Yeah, he ends up drawing a giant mouth.
Yeah.
What's funny is Linus within the Peanuts world is a photorealistic artist, because he can draw an absolute perfect Lucy.
Liz (04:22):
And Brendan goes on to say, I have a question too.
Every episode has a toddler sounding voice introducing it.
The podcast where three cartoonists take an in-depth look at, and so on.
In all the episodes, have you ever explained who that voice is, and what is the story behind those spoken parts?
When she talks, it sounds so very much like the voice actors on Peanuts TV specials, including the cute pauses in between words that seem like the kid is carefully repeating lines that are a little bit too old for them.
(04:58):
I'd love to know the story of this aspect of the show.
Thanks for a great podcast.
Jimmy (05:04):
Well, thank you for writing.
Well, yeah, that is exactly what we were going for.
I'll say what my first embarrassing attempt was.
I'm like, I'll get my kids to do it.
Not realizing, my kids at this point were way too old to sound like a Peanuts cast member.
Liz (05:19):
They were like 18 or something, right?
Jimmy (05:21):
Yeah.
It was like total dad brain.
But luckily, Liz had had someone for us, C.
Liz (05:28):
Well, it was hard because I don't know anybody with children that young.
It was, we really searched.
Most of the people we know and their children are grown up.
So I finally remembered that my friend, Barbara Castleton, has a darling granddaughter named Aziza Shukralla Clark and her mother, thankfully, was willing to help Aziza record for us.
(05:56):
And so she did that intro and then a bunch of the stuff like, it's the peanuts time machine and what was the shermometer one?
Jimmy (06:07):
Let's check the shermometer.
Liz (06:08):
Let's check the shermometer.
So anyhow, Aziza is now 48 years old.
Something like that.
She is way too grown up now.
So we need to find another young child.
So those of you who have young children, let us know.
Jimmy (06:28):
Yeah, I love my favorite part of the intro is an in-depth look at.
That's my favorite part.
An in-depth look at.
And it's so funny.
And obviously Michael's never seen the animations, but when you grow up with them, because those line readings are so stilted, the way they're spoken just becomes as much a part of the experience as what the line says, you know?
(06:57):
Sally has to say, all I want is what I have coming to me.
Pause.
All I want is my fair share.
It's so strange and it's completely, it's just unique to Peanuts.
I don't think there's very many animated adaptations of anything where the performance becomes so baked into your mind.
Liz (07:18):
Are the more recent animated specials, do they have more polished voice actors or?
Jimmy (07:26):
I mean, there's still kids, but Hollywood's more polished.
It's all just a little bit more slick than it used to be.
They would do insane things.
We were just talking, or I was just talking.
On our Patreon, we do special events and we also occasionally do this thing where I'll just hop on and watch a Peanuts animation and just talk through it, and we'll do a little commentary track.
(07:51):
You learn nothing because I do no research.
I just watch it and say whatever comes to my life.
But one thing I noticed when we were watching the You're a Good Sport Charlie Brown, and he does the football gag where he goes running up and misses it.
They just cut and pasted the aug from one of the earlier Charlie Browns, which is just really strange.
(08:16):
Stuff like that would never happen.
You can tell there's an audio cut, it's different tape, it's recorded in a different room, whatever.
I mean, nothing that homemade sounding would ever go on Apple TV today, or basically anyone's YouTube channel.
You know what I mean?
Liz (08:34):
Yeah, really.
Anyhow, thank you, Brendan, and thank you Aziza.
We are very grateful.
Jimmy (08:42):
Thank you so much, Aziza.
It really makes the show for me.
Liz (08:47):
Okay.
And we also heard from Seth Kane, who says, Hey, gang, Seth from Sunnyvale, California here.
Long time listener, first time writer.
Yesterday, I went on one of my many visits to the Charles Schulz Museum.
They were having an event with Jeannie Schulz for the Canine Companions organization.
Jimmy (09:06):
Oh, great.
Liz (09:06):
This was my second time meeting her, and this time I got a photo with her and got my Pez Box set signed.
Jimmy (09:14):
That's awesome.
Liz (09:16):
Two of the current exhibits are the 80s and Snoopy's Family.
Some very cool items and art featuring Olaf, I wanted to share with you.
He sent us pictures, including a plush of Olaf with a bag over his head like in his first appearance.
This Snoopy as Mr.
T doll is one of the best things I've ever seen.
Jimmy (09:38):
Snoopy as Mr.
T doll?
Liz (09:40):
Uh-huh.
I will post the pictures.
Jimmy (09:44):
I told Mr.
T to shush once.
You ever hear the story?
Yeah, it was an episode of my very old podcast and he did.
He said, oh, sorry.
It was amazing.
At Comic Fest in 1993, when I was standing next to him, it's a whole long story.
Anyway.
Liz (10:04):
He says, they also had a strip of one of Michael's favorites, Snoopy as a helicopter.
Jimmy (10:11):
Oh, yeah.
Liz (10:13):
Nothing like a good Nom reference in a comic strip.
Jimmy (10:16):
You know what's funny?
You should mention a good Nom reference though.
I was just, every once in a while, like once a year, I pull out the old issues of the Nom comic.
Do you remember that at all, Michael?
Michael (10:27):
Yeah, Michael Golden, wasn't it?
Jimmy (10:29):
Michael Golden.
Boy, he can draw.
Michael (10:31):
Well, yeah, that guy was great.
Jimmy (10:32):
Great.
Michael (10:33):
But it was like, this is a waste.
Why is he drawing a war comic when he could be drawing Spider-Man?
Jimmy (10:40):
Well, I learned something about, well, maybe I learned something about it, but I learned it on YouTube.
So whether or not this is true.
But apparently, the first couple issues of that thing, because it got so much media attention, was actually selling better than the X-Men for those months.
Liz (10:57):
Oh, wow.
Jimmy (10:58):
But then within a year, the Golden and the writer left and they brought superheroes into the Nom.
Michael (11:06):
Really?
Liz (11:06):
Oh, dear.
Michael (11:07):
Yeah.
I never saw those.
Jimmy (11:11):
Yeah, I didn't either.
I just happened to be watching this.
Punisher invades the Nom was the cover.
Michael (11:17):
I was like, oh my God.
Liz (11:21):
Seth adds a PS and he says, forgot to mention, while I was there, I watched You're a Good Skate, Charlie Brown.
Peppermint Patty's teacher spoke like in English.
Michael (11:32):
What?
Liz (11:33):
I figured it must have been a substitute teacher, but then the other adults spoke to pod people.
It must have been pod people.
I don't understand that at all.
Michael (11:42):
Wow.
Jimmy (11:44):
I think that's the adaptation of that really long Peppermint Patty going to a skating competition, which I really, really like.
But that's crazy that the adults speak in a peanut special.
That's pretty late.
That's an 80s special.
So, wow.
Liz (12:03):
We also heard from Lynn from Delaware, who says, hello Unpacking Peanuts crew.
Thank you for continuing your podcast Beyond the Last Peanut Strip.
I have enjoyed every one of your episodes and will be sad when it finally ends, many years from now, I hope.
I'm casting my ballot for Mean Girls for next season.
(12:25):
As someone who was teased quite a lot as a child, I always especially enjoyed the Mean Girls strips.
I very much related to Charlie Brown and took comfort in not being the only one who unwillingly acted as other people's spiritual scratching post.
Keep up the good work, Lynn.
Jimmy (12:46):
All right, Michael, there's one for.
Michael (12:47):
All right.
How's the tabulation?
You got the computer revved up to do the count?
Jimmy (12:52):
I think we have two for Mean Girls now, and I think maybe one for something else.
SPEAKER_1 (12:57):
I don't know.
Jimmy (12:59):
I don't remember.
I would definitely do that because going back and rereading a million stuff, there is so much snark and sarcasm, and that's just how kids spoke to each other where I grew up.
I was talking to one of the editors, and they were talking about how much that has changed, and people don't want, gatekeepers don't want any of that in books anymore.
(13:25):
But to me, that makes no sense, because it's not like you relate to Patty and Violet, right?
Do you think anybody related to Patty and Violet?
Liz (13:33):
Well, Linus did in my favorite strip.
Jimmy (13:36):
All right.
Of course.
Well, no, he liked her.
That's a different.
That's a totally different situation.
Liz (13:42):
I see.
Yes.
Jimmy (13:44):
But you know what I mean?
I don't think people ever read those strips, and they sympathize with Charlie Brown, right?
Liz (13:50):
Yes, of course.
Jimmy (13:52):
What are your thoughts, Michael?
Michael (13:54):
I had a crush on Violet.
Jimmy (13:57):
But again, yeah, I get that, but that's different than relating to her.
Michael (14:02):
Yeah, but she did transform.
I mean, she was the first actual love interest in peanuts.
Because the pig-tailed Violet and mud pie Violet was, I think Charlie Brown was really sweet on her.
Jimmy (14:16):
Oh yeah, definitely.
Michael (14:17):
And then she turned evil.
Liz (14:19):
Maybe it was Patty's fault.
Michael (14:20):
Yeah, we have to blame Patty.
Jimmy (14:23):
See, I always thought Patty was nicer than Violet, but maybe I'm wrong.
Michael (14:27):
No, I think you're right.
All right.
Jimmy (14:29):
Well, we're going to have to look into that.
I think it'd be a fun.
Liz (14:34):
Yes, it definitely will.
Jimmy (14:37):
We're going to do all of them eventually, because we got to put an episode that.
Liz (14:42):
Yeah, really, because Lynn wants us to go on for years and years.
Jimmy (14:45):
For years and years, yeah.
We've already done four.
Unbelievable.
Liz (14:49):
Wow.
Jimmy (14:50):
Unbelievable.
Liz (14:52):
So that's it for the bonus episode mail.
Jimmy (14:56):
All right.
Well, I got two things from the old hotline.
Super listener Captain Billy wrote in.
He's commenting about us discussing the comic strip versions of comic book characters like Buchholz and Spider-Man, like we're talking about in our anniversary episode.
Liz (15:13):
Yes.
Jimmy (15:14):
He says, Hi, Captain Billy again.
Ray Romita stating he preferred drawing comic books.
I asked Gil Kane at a panel if he preferred working on Starhawks or comic books.
He also said comic strips.
I think for that generation, comic strips were considered much more prestigious, and I bet the money was better.
Well, that last part is probably the biggest consideration that I didn't think about.
(15:38):
But yeah, the money for doing a comic strip back then was way better.
Michael (15:42):
No, but I think you could actually tell people at a social gathering what you do if you're doing comic strips.
Jimmy (15:47):
Absolutely.
Michael (15:48):
You say comic books, so walk away.
Absolutely.
Jimmy (15:51):
It's hard to even express how lowly the comic book was in the middle.
Michael (16:00):
Oh, yeah.
Well, some people were writing comics in the 40s and went on to bigger things and they would not mention it.
Adesh Hammett was one.
Liz (16:09):
Really?
Michael (16:10):
Hammett and Patricia Highsmith, who went on to great things with the talented Mr.
Ripley and other Ripley books.
Yeah, she was writing in the late 40s for comics.
Liz (16:21):
I'm a huge Hammett fan and I had no idea that he wrote comic books.
Michael (16:25):
Well, that's the way he wanted it.
Jimmy (16:26):
Yeah, it was a complete source of shame with the Senate hearings and everything in comic books and juvenile delinquency.
The good old days.
We need to get back to that.
Last time I was in San Diego, I was on a panel and they were all talking about, how do you test kids for comics?
When they read a comic in school, we want to give them a test about their, I'm like, oh no, what have I wrought?
(16:49):
We didn't.
Liz (16:50):
The last thing.
Michael (16:51):
We didn't ask about, who inked this issue?
Liz (16:57):
What do you think of the Thicks and Thins?
Jimmy (16:59):
You think that's George Bell?
Liz (17:00):
Are you out of your mind?
Don't say the principal.
Jimmy (17:05):
Kid can't tell dick airs from George Bell and I'm supposed to pass him on to middle school?
I don't think so.
Yeah, so that's what we heard from Captain Billy and Michael.
This one is for you.
Michael (17:20):
Oh boy.
Jimmy (17:21):
This is from Claire from good old Pottsville PA.
Now, she is a super listener of my other podcast and just has started this podcast.
She's intrigued by your Dungeons and Dragons references and wants to know, can you do an alignment for both the main characters of Peanuts and the hosts of Unpacking Peanuts?
Michael (17:47):
Oh, sure.
Jimmy (17:48):
This is perfect because we can talk about it without Harold being here.
Michael (17:51):
We were talking about Patty and Violet, Violet, Neutral Evil.
SPEAKER_1 (17:55):
Okay, good.
Michael (17:56):
Snoopy, Chaotic Good.
SPEAKER_1 (17:58):
Yeah, that's good.
Michael (17:59):
Charlie Brown, Lawful Good.
Let's see, Linus would be Chaotic Good.
Or maybe Neutral Good.
Jimmy (18:10):
He's tough.
Michael (18:13):
Yeah, he's tough because he changes.
Is there any Lawful Good characters?
Probably someone like Shermie who's just boring.
Jimmy (18:22):
Yeah, Charlie Brown, right?
Charlie Brown would be Lawful Good, I think.
Because he doesn't break the rules, does he?
Michael (18:28):
No, no, he's a rule follower, except when it comes to pencil sharpeners.
Jimmy (18:32):
Pencil sharpeners.
Michael (18:33):
Chaos.
Yeah, chaos.
Peppermint Patty, chaotic, neutral.
Jimmy (18:40):
Yeah, that's exactly what I would say.
Liz (18:43):
Now, at some point after you have done the hosts, you have to explain to those of us who don't know what this, but you're talking about what this all means.
Michael (18:51):
Well, this applies to anyone on Earth, these categories.
Marcy is Lawful Good, I would think.
Jimmy (19:00):
Yeah, Marcy.
Michael (19:00):
She seems like a real rule-follower.
Jimmy (19:03):
Well, yeah, she's complex too, but all right, I'll give you that one.
Michael (19:08):
Well, this is off the top of my head.
I've never thought about this.
So, any alignments we haven't picked.
The only evil characters I think would be Violet and-
Liz (19:22):
Oh, and T-Ball.
Michael (19:24):
Yeah, the question was with the main character.
Liz (19:27):
Oh, okay, yeah.
Michael (19:29):
Anyway, that's a good question.
As far as the host, Jimmy, definitely a chaotic evil.
Right.
I am lawful good, because I believe in growth.
Harold is saintly, so he's lawful good.
Awful good.
(19:50):
And Liz is neutral neutral neutral.
Liz (19:57):
Is that because you're sitting close to me, and I have five fingers, and together, they might have found powerful power?
Jimmy (20:02):
Yeah, I got the words for that one, because I'm the furthest away.
Liz (20:08):
Okay.
So somebody please explain this to me.
Michael (20:10):
Okay.
Well, the Dungeons and Dragons guys came up with some really interesting stuff, which you hear all the time, references to this and the hosts don't explain it.
Like, you know, on the history podcast or, you know, on these prestigious podcasts, the guy will say, whoa, Alexander the Great clearly had a charisma of 18.
(20:32):
Right.
Liz (20:32):
Yeah.
Michael (20:37):
Yeah.
So it was basically when you create a character, you roll some dice to determine some characteristics and other things you pick.
So basically, you have this little grid, which goes from chaotic to neutral to lawful.
(20:59):
And then on the other vertice, you have good, neutral, evil.
And you could be any one of those that puts you on the scale.
So if you're, I mean, this is the basic game, which we don't respect that much.
But if you're a thief, you're probably going to be some kind of neutral, or you surely would not be lawful good.
Liz (21:27):
I don't want to be neutral, neutral.
Jimmy (21:30):
Well, you got to work on that.
Michael (21:30):
Well, there is an evil.
Liz (21:33):
Okay.
Jimmy (21:34):
I had a friend, Jackie, when we started playing it.
I've told you about this guy before.
He's the one that had to lug his little sister around everywhere he went.
Michael (21:42):
Yes.
Jimmy (21:43):
His character was chaotic something.
I don't even remember what the other thing is, but he just because becoming chaotic became his entire personality.
It wouldn't matter what it was.
He'd get a grapefruit soda, and he'd be, because I'm chaotic.
I thought you'd get a kick out of that one.
(22:04):
I was pretty excited when I got that.
That just came in this morning.
Liz (22:08):
Thank you, Claire.
Michael (22:10):
Has anyone done a role-playing game for Peanuts?
Jimmy (22:14):
That would be fun.
Liz (22:17):
Sony, call us.
Jimmy (22:18):
First of all, Sony, call us just because duh.
Really?
But yeah, that would be fun.
That would be amazing, like an open-world video game that you create your own Peanuts persona and like Animal Crossing or whatever.
You just walk around the Peanuts world.
You could visit the psychiatry booth.
Michael (22:41):
Yeah.
SPEAKER_1 (22:42):
Get therapy.
Michael (22:43):
I don't know.
I think that would work.
SPEAKER_1 (22:45):
Yeah.
Jimmy (22:45):
It's like the metaverse, but with just the Peanuts characters.
Liz (22:49):
You would have to make yourself a character?
Yeah.
Okay.
This is brilliant.
Jimmy (22:55):
I'm telling you, Sony, you got to give.
Michael (22:57):
You can write the program.
So they put in a photo and it turns into a.
Yeah.
Jimmy (23:01):
It turns into immediately.
Liz (23:03):
Oh, well, they already have that.
Michael (23:05):
Yeah.
Jimmy (23:06):
Well, hopefully, we hear from Harold on the hotline.
Let's check the hotline real quick and see if Harold called in.
SPEAKER_1 (23:13):
Wow.
So this is the Peanuts hotline.
Long time host, first time caller, Harold Buchholz here.
I miss you guys.
I'm out of Missouri right now, and I'll be in the Nashville area April 9th to the 18th at the Animation Y'all Conference at Lipscomb University and the Creative Arts Collective Creative Summit at Belmont University.
(23:34):
So I'm just enjoying my time on the road and hanging out with my mom right now in Missouri and I look forward to talking peanuts with you guys when I return to New York.
So be of good cheer.
Jimmy (23:44):
Oh, that's great to hear from good old Harold.
Liz (23:46):
We miss you, Harold.
Jimmy (23:47):
You'll worry when he goes out in these assignments for the head beagle.
You never know with Harold, right?
You never know what shenanigans he could possibly get in here, right?
Liz (23:57):
He's so chaotic.
Jimmy (23:58):
He's so chaotic.
Well, that's all we got for you.
We just want to take this moment to again remind you guys, if you wanted to follow all of us, that would be great.
The best way to do that is go ahead and sign up for the great peanuts reread over on unpackingpeanuts.com.
(24:19):
You'll just get one e-mail a month, letting you know what we're up to on this podcast.
I'll also give you links to all of our work so you can follow us.
Because guess what?
We're cartoonists as well.
If you want to reach out to the show, we're unpackingpeanuts at gmail.com, and you can call us at 717-219-4162.
That's it for this week.
For Michael and Liz and Harold, who's out in the wild, this is Jimmy saying, be of good cheer.
Liz (24:43):
Yes, be of good cheer.
Unpacking Peanuts is copyrighted by Jimmy Gownley, Michael Cohen, Harold Buchholz, and Liz Sumner.
Produced and edited by Liz Sumner.
Music by Michael Cohen.
Additional voiceover by Aziza Shukralla Clark.
For more from the show, follow Unpack Peanuts on Instagram and threads.
(25:04):
Unpacking Peanuts on Facebook, Blue Sky, and YouTube.
For more about Jimmy, Michael, and Harold, visit unpackingpeanuts.com.
Have a wonderful day and thanks for listening.
Good grief.
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