Peanutsnever fails to put its iconic characters like Charlie Brown, Linus, and Snoopy in hilarious situations, resulting in memorable jokes and running gags that are just as funny today as they were when they were published. While there is certainly no shortage of examples, probably the most iconic running gag inPeanutshistory isCharlie Brown trying to kick the football.
Whether it be in comic strips, holiday specials, and animated films,Charlie Brown has been trying to kick that football for decades, but Lucy is determined to keep that from happening, as she always moves the football at the last second. No matter how many times he’s tricked, Charlie Brown will never learn, which is what makes this running gag so funny. And, in a crop of10 hilariousPeanutscomics that just turned 30, readers are given a fresh take on the iconic ‘football gag’.
10Linus and Snoopy Squash Their Long-Standing Rivalry
Peanuts- July 19, 2025
Linus is sitting in the grass with his blanket when Snoopy comes sniffing along, crawling sneakily on his belly toward Linus’s blanket. Linus tells the sneaky pup to back off, and that if he gets any closer, he’ll regret it. However, in the very next panel, Snoopy is seen lying on Linus' lap, commenting on how people always say things they don’t mean. And, interestingly enough, Linus doesn’t seem to mind.
Linus and Snoopy have been at odds for some time inPeanutscanon, and there’s only one reason why: Linus' blanket.Snoopy is always trying to steal the blanket, which just so happens to be Linus' prized possession, so he doesn’t want it getting torn up and dirtied by Snoopy. But here, it seems these two were able to squash their long-standing rivalry (at least for a comic strip).
9Snoopy Writes a Truly Hilarious Scene in His Great American Novel
Peanuts- July 01, 2025
For years, Snoopy has been working on his ‘Great American Novel’, and out of all the excerpts fans have been able to read throughout that time, this is easily the funniest thing he’s ever written. Snoopy is writing a scene involving a man leaving a woman, and this is his dialogue as he’s leaving: “Toodle-oo, caribou!”, “In a while, crocodile!”, “Stay loose, mongoose!”, “It’s been neat, parakeet!”. And the woman’s reply? “Please. Just leave”.
This dialogue alone offers readers a number of hilarious scenarios involving the two people Snoopy is writing about, including one where they’re a couple, and she can’t stand his cringey humor for another moment, even as he’s walking out the door. But,no matter what’s actually happening in Snoopy’s story, this excerpt is utterly hysterical on its own.
8Peanuts Turns a Local Bird Bath Into an Ice Rink
Peanuts- June 30, 2025
Snoopy is standing by a birdbath in his yard when four birds fly down to land in the birdbath. However, the water in the birdbath is frozen solid, and the birds slide right off. Snoopy then looks at them and says, “Turned cold last night, didn’t it?”, both to make light conversation about the weather and to point out that the birds didn’t pay enough attention to what they were flying right into.
Peanutsturns a local birdbath into an ice rink, and Snoopy is there to witness it. This comic might also be an extension of Snoopy’s ongoing ‘Beagle Scouts’ gag, where he’s putting a group of birds through survival training. That would explain why he called them out like that, because these ‘Beagle Scouts’ were certainly not paying enough attention to their surroundings.
7Snoopy Isn’t Cut Out for the Life of an Outside Dog
Peanuts- July 05, 2025
During a pickup football game every member of the Peanuts gang is participating in (including Snoopy), Snoopy suddenly regrets every single one of his life choices leading up to this moment. It’s pouring rain, and it looks as though he was just in the middle of a dog-pile. That’s why Snoopy thinks to himself, “Some dogs get to lie on a soft rug in front of a fireplace and eat cookies…”.
What Snoopy is longing for in this comic strip is the life of an inside dog. Unfortunately for him,Snoopy is and has always been an outside dog, complete with a doghouse he lives in full-time, as well as his active participation in all the Peanuts gang’s outdoor activities. And now,it seems Snoopy has just realized that this is a life he’s not cut out for.
6Even When He’d Rather Be Elsewhere, Snoopy’s Just Happy to Feel Included
Peanuts- August 11, 2025
During that same football game, Marcie comes across Snoopy, and both of them are so covered in mud that Marcie has no idea who she’s talking to at first. However, after she asks Snoopy who he is, and he responds with a “woof”, Marcie knows that he’s a dog covered in mud. Snoopy then thinks to himself, “It’s better than nothing”, which hilariously flips his sentiment in the previousPeanutscomic.
Snoopy’s comic indicates that he doesn’t care that he’s covered in mud, or that Marcie doesn’t even seem to know him by name,Snoopy’s just happy to be included. It seems Snoopy might have been too quick to wish for the life of an indoor dog, as he certainly wouldn’t have been included in this football if he was one.
5Snoopy’s Intelligence Hilariously Exceeds Charlie Brown’s Expectations
Peanuts- June 14, 2025
Linus and Charlie Brown are sitting on a park bench together while Snoopy is hanging out underneath a nearby tree, reading a book. Linus asks Charlie Brown, “How can you tell if a dog is intelligent?” to which Charlie Brown replies, “Probably if he seems to be curious about things”. Right after Charlie Brown answered Linus' question, Snoopy says to himself, “I’ve always wondered what Anna Karenina ever saw in Count Vronsky…”.
When Charlie Brown answered Linus' question, it’s a safe bet that what he meant by a ‘dog’s curiosity’ was their desire to explore their surroundings, and other things of that nature indicative of a regular dog’s curious behavior. What he certainly didn’t mean was what Snoopy was doing, asthe pup wasn’t only readingAnna Karenina, Snoopy had opinions about the novel’s characters, thereby hilariously exceeding Charlie Brown’s expectations.
4Charlie Brown’s Dark Thoughts are Incessant, Even When He’s Happy
Peanuts- August 05, 2025
As Charlie Brown is lying in his bed he comments on how good he has it, and how he often thinks about all the positive things in his life. But then, Charlie Brown says that - whenever these positive thoughts flood his mind - he is hit with dark thoughts that are even more powerful. In this comic, Charlie Brown reveals the ‘dark voices’ in his head say, “we appreciate your attitude”, as if to tell him that his optimism is admirable despite his ever present despair.
Peanutsfans have known for years that Charlie Brown is depressed, as he’s shown all the symptoms throughout his decades-long history. But to hear him describe it this way, thatCharlie Brown can’t even have a positive thought without dark ones flooding his mind, is truly tragic, and only funny in the darkest kind of way.
3Linus and Snoopy Go Door-to-Door, Spreading the ‘Good Word’ of the Great Pumpkin
Peanuts- June 25, 2025
The day before Halloween,Snoopy and Linus are going door-to-door, spreading the ‘good word’ of the Great Pumpkin(as if they were representing a legitimate organized religion). When asked by the people they speak with why they should believe in the Great Pumpkin, Linus tells them that doing so will bring them peace and comfort, and he even points to Snoopy as a prime example of what a true believer looks like. Hilariously, Snoopy chooses that moment to take a quick nap, as if he’s so at peace with himself that he can just pass out anytime, anywhere.
It’s clear that Snoopy was just along for the ride after somehow getting roped into Linus' annual Halloween tradition, as he gave the least amount of effort he possibly could while spreading the ‘good word’ of the Great Pumpkin - indeed, Snoopy could even remember the Great Pumpkin’sname.
2Snoopy Joins Linus on Halloween to Wait for the Great Pumpkin
Peanuts- July 03, 2025
After spending the day before Halloween knocking on people’s doors, telling them about the Great Pumpkin,Snoopy and Linus find themselves sitting in their local pumpkin patch on Halloween night, awaiting the Great Pumpkin’s arrival. Just like during their canvassing, Linus has to keep Snoopy focused on their mission. Rather than using his binoculars to look for the Great Pumpkin, Snoopy was using them to gaze up at the stars, and eventually, to look at “a stupid kid sitting in the pumpkin patch”.
It is always a treat to read aPeanutscomic that revolves around the Great Pumpkin. The holiday special,It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,is easily one of (if not the) greatestPeanutsanimations, and this comic strip - and any other about the Great Pumpkin - is just an expansion of that iconic story.
1Peanuts Lets the Reader’s Voice Be Heard During a Charlie Brown Football Gag with a Twist
Peanuts- June 12, 2025
Peanutshas done the ‘Charlie Brown football gag’ so many times throughout the comic’s history, but in October 1994,Charle M. Schulz decided to givePeanutsfans another perspective on the classic joke: their own. When Lucy knocks on Charlie Brown’s door to see if he wants to kick the football, Sally answers, and says that Charlie Brown would have to be an idiot to fall for this again. Then, the comic stays on Sally, allowing readers to watch her reaction to the gag - a reaction that mirrors their own.
Just like the fans reading this strip, Sally can’t believe that Charlie Brown would fall for Lucy’s football trick after all these years, only to be proven wrong yet again. It’s a hilariously different take on a classic gag, which is why this is one of the 10 funniestPeanutscomics that just turned 30.
Peanuts
Created by Charles M. Schulz, Peanuts is a multimedia franchise that began as a comic strip in the 1950s and eventually expanded to include films and a television series. Peanuts follows the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang, with Charlie Brown and his dog Snoopy at the center of them. Aside from the film released in 2015, the franchise also has several Holiday specials that air regularly on U.S. Television during their appropriate seasons.
