Did Charles M. Schulz ever give a reason as to what Snoopy’s obsession was with the Red Baron? I would assume that WWII and Korea were closer to the recent memory with everybody, so why in the world would Schulz choose a WWI German fighter pilot to be Snoopy’s nemesis?
Because in the public’s mind, the midair dogfights of WWI were much more glamorous than air war in WWII or Korea. It was thought of as one on one dueling between two fliers rather than carpet bombing. So the situation lent itself to much more imaginative storylines than if Snoopy had been flying a Spitfire instead of a Sopwith Camel.
Snoopy also joined the French Foreign Legion to defend Ft. Zinderneuf as in Beau Geste; he didn’t defend Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge. Snoopy was all about the romantic ideal; actual history had nothing to do with it.
IIRC Snoopy has toasted Bill Mauldin with a root beer on Veteran’s Day
The Red Baron flew in WWI; what enemy ace could’ve been Snoopy’s nemesis from WWII or Korea? Who reached household-name status?
Old fart checking in here. In the 60s when I was growing up, the WW I aces were still very much cool. I remember reading stories about their dogfights and my friends and I all knew the various planes they flew. So I suspect that it was much more a part of the times than can be imagined now. I hadn’t thought of it until I read ur question
Very true. 5 years of Civil War nostalgia triggered by the 100th anniversary flowed right into a WWI fad triggered by a 50 year anniversary.
Plus the benefit of having a “noble enemy.” He couldn’t fight the Nazis or the Japanese…too many recent memories by the readers. Nope, Snoopy needed an open cockpit, bugs in your teeth fighter plane, and the Sopwith had a funny name as well.
I wonder how many comic page readers even had the vaguest idea of what a real Sopwith Camel even looked like. I’ve seen one in a museum and I still associate the term with a doghouse.
Snoopy’s debut as the WWI Flying Ace came only months after DC comics introduced a serious WWI Flying Ace character loosely based on the real Red Baron.
And nothing was cooler than the Red Baron custom car. I think I built two models of it and had something Hot Wheels-ish, too.
Gahd, the sixties were a strange time for custom cars. The final efflorescence of the extreme hot rod set into psychedelia.
Crap. I remember that model! I built at least two of them myself.
Hogan’s Heroes debuted at almost exactly the same time. Many people were furious that anyone could use the Nazis as a source of humor. Comic strips of the day went to great lengths not to offend anyone (Pogo being about the only exception). Schultz made the right decision taking it back 50 years to a safe era.
Now, can anyone explain why in the world Schultz thought it would be a good idea to make Snoopy a world-famous grocery store cashier, a job that bored even him?
I remember that: my brother took all the “chrome” fitting from the kit, replicated the body out of wood, and entered it in the Cub Scouts’ pinewood derby.
Boring *if *you don’t know there are actually only a dozen world-famous grocery clerks.
My childhood memory contains an entry of my dad reading a story in the newspaper saying that Schultz had decided to end the Rad Baron bits, primarily due to strong anti-war sentiment regarding Vietnam (this was the early 70s). I guess he changed his mind…
Schulz was once asked the same question in an interview back in 1967 or '68. He said something like, “It started out as a one-week spoof of war movies, and I continued it because Snoopy looks so darned funny with goggles on.”
My dad gave me two books at Christmas 1965: one was Stories of the Great War, and the other Air Aces of WWI. I remember the 50th anniversary of the war very well; World War I was one of the best documentaries ever. I was in fourth grade, and some of my classmates’ grandfathers and great-uncles came in to talk to us. Of course, they looked ancient to me then, but I realize now that they were still in the best of health and relatively young.
Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines came out in '65, I think, and The Blue Max in '69. WWI was still very much in everyone’s consciousness (Eddie Rickenbacker was one of my big heroes when I was growing up.)
Enemy Ace. I loved Enemy Ace. It’s still one of the best comics DC ever produced.
Please tell me I’m not the only one that hears The Royal Guardsman singing, “Ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty or more…” when they see this thread?
Ah, but do you remember the sequel? 