Peanuts by Charles Schulz for July 26, 2022

Snoopy is writing about Guy Noir…in his office in the Acme Building!

Schulz was born in Minnesota, so he references it more than any other cartoonist I’ve seen. And being a Minnesotan myself, it’s a treat when he does.

I read stories about a police detective who lives in Duluth, does that count?

Why not Minneapolis?

Even V. I. Warshawski lives in Chicago, Snoopy.

56B Whitehaven Mansions, Sandhurst Square, London W1.

Wait, what? Why not?

Watching the day turn to ice? This strip must date back to the time period in the late 60s when they thought the climate was going to turn into a new ice age.

If our local writer Gunnar Staalesen can write a long running series of books about private detective Varg Veum, set here in Bergen, Norway, then Snoopy can write about a private detective in Minneapolis.

My aunt lived in Minneapolis

Just wait till the twenty-first century Snoopy. When the City Government will let the city burn down to the ground.

What, pray tell, is Linus’ problem with Snoopy writing detective stories? Snoop’s opening line was sure a lot better than “It was a dark and stormy night.”

. . . there was a tall blonde outside my window. I knew she was tall because my office is on the second floor . . .

I’ll admit that this strip simply confused me, more than anything else. Was it still an unwritten rule back then that all detective heroes must live in either NYC, LA or Chicago?

Sorry Snoopy … the whole Dixon Hill thing has been done to death … find a new subject.

Does this train go to Dulluth?

No, it goes “choo-choo” just like other trains.

Maybe Snoopy should try Fargo ……

Or maybe St. Paul, or the home to the Mall of America – Bloomington, or the home of the Jolly Green Giant statue – Blue Earth, or the home of the Red Wing Shoe Company – Red Wing, or the home of Hormel and Span – Austin. (All are cities in Minnesota).

Or Harry Dresden, the only wizard in the Chicago phone book.

John Sanford writes about a detective who lives in Mankato and is the son of a Lutheran minister, you can’t get more Minnesota than that!

Are you saying there isn’t crime in Minneapolis, Linus?

Why can’t he?

Guy Noir, Private Eye.

Detectives can work anywhere. There’s crime all over the world.

No, not even Duluth… unless his character looks out over Lake Superior shoreline!

Linus is right for that time period – there wouldn’t be much in the way of interesting private investigations in Minneapolis back then unless it was gathering evidence for a divorce or some other private lawsuit. :-P

Now? I wouldn’t be in Minneapolis if it was rent-free! ;-)

The Sleuth from Duluth…

It’s been a while since I heard NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion”, but Guy Noir did work out of Minneapolis (or St. Paul).

It’s difficult to be hard-boiled when it’s so cold out.

Why not?

What about Guy Noir, Private Eye?

I could probably write about a private eye in Madison, I think it would be pretty interesting

For Duluth I’d say it’s more of a “sheriff” kind of story

How about, it doesn’t matter cuz any garbage you write will be sent right back to you with a rejection letter thanking you for wasting the editor’s time?

One word, “Fargo.”

Sure you can… take Guy Noir f’rinstance

What – Minneapolis isn’t a big enough town?

Los Angeles… He walks again by night…

Out of the fog, into the smog…(cough, cough)

Relentlessly… ruthlessly…

“I wonder where Ruth is?”

…doggedly… (bark bark)

“Eh, get away from me…”

… towards his weekly meeting with… the unknown. At 4th and Drucker he turns left, at Drucker and 4th he turns right, he crosses MacArthur Park and walks into a great sandstone building. (smack)

“Oh, my nose!”

Robert Zimmerman

You can write whatever you want young author……

No way, Snoopster…you know how it goes: “as Duluth as dishwater”.

Plenty of action in “American Gods” in midwestern places well smaller than Minneapolis. However, for sheer gritty crime noir realism, St. Paul does seem like a better bet than its bigger neighbor.

“Her pants were so tight I thought her legs were blue”

OK, all of you referencing Garrison Keillor and “Guy Noir”… that detective first aired in 1995. It couldn’t possibly have anything to do with what Linus was telling Snoopy in 1975.

There’s a Minnesota writer who has had Sherlock Holmes visiting Minnesota to investigate the Carlton County forest fire, a murder at the St. Paul Ice Carnival, and the Kensington Runestone.

The Minnesota Orchestra and the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra are both terrific ensembles, and the classical music radio station is easily one of the best in the country. It doesn’t take a detective to discover first-rate classical music in the Twin Cities.

Why can’t you write stories about a private detective who works in Minneapolis?

Alright! Snoopy has The Game of Thrones Universe to clash with the U.S.A.!

I think Albert Lea or Clarks Grove would be better.

get mickey’s people on the line ..

Hey!!! You forgetting about Guy Noir (Garrison Keillor)?

Don’t lie to me! Tell me “Duluth”! (Snarf)

Why not? No crime, divorces, or any kind of intrigue in Minneapolis?

John Stanford did pretty well at it.

“It was raining in the City by the Bay. A hard rain. Hard enough to wash the slime…..”

Like they don’t have crime in Minneapolis.

Why the heck not?!