The second volume of The Complete Peanuts series begins with Peanuts' third full year and a cast of eight. By the end of 1954, this will have expanded to nine. Linus still does not speak, but Schulz begins laying the foundation for his emergence as the most complex and arguably the most endearing character in the strip: garrulous and inquisitive, yet gentle and tolerant. He even acquires his beloved "security blanket" in this volume. Meanwhile Lucy, an infant just a year ago, has forcefully elbowed her way to the front of the cast, proudly wearing her banner as a troublemaker or, in Schulz's memorable phrase, "fuss-budget." She has earned her cover status on this volume. Charlie Brown is clearly in transition. Although his eventual, best-known persona (the lovable, perpetually humiliated round-headed loser) is in evidence in many strips, his brasher, more prankish side as seen in the previous volume shows up, too. The period's significant new character is Pigpen, who would remain one of the central cast members throughout the decade. The book collects 730 daily and Sunday strips, the vast majority of which are not currently available in any in-print Peanuts collection, and over 400 of which have never been reprinted since their initial appearance in papers over 50 years ago.