The challenges of 2020 could well be summed up with a resounding GOOD GRIEF! Rather than going down that long, arduous road, I would love to take a journey back some 70 years and celebrate one of the longest running comic strips, Peanuts®. Join us this month for a quick look at the history of Peanuts®, creator Charles Schulz, and learn how to create your own comics.
Peanuts was first published October 2, 1950, in seven newspapers. With your children, read the first four panel comic. It experienced a slow start, but when the final comic strip was printed on February 12, 2000, Peanuts appeared in 2600 newspapers across the world. Children and adults liked the “never-give-up” attitude of Charlie Brown, his adventurous dog, and the advice giving, opinionated Lucy! Take a few minutes to meet the Peanuts Gang. Which one are you most like? Fun fact: creator, Charles Schulz based most of the Peanuts gang personalities on real people, including himself as Charlie Brown and his black-and-white dog, Spike, as Snoopy. Learn more about the origins of Peanuts.
In many ways, the Peanuts gang experienced many historical firsts. For example, A Charlie Brown Christmas aired in 1965 on national television. It was not the first comic book turned television cartoon, but it was one of the first Christmas specials to introduce the Biblical Christmas story. Interestingly, network executives hated it and expected it to air once and never return. They felt the story was too simple and moved too slowly. Executives also were not happy the producer decided to use children’s voices, and not trained actors for the characters. Rather than failing, A Charlie Brown Christmas drew a large audience at its premiere and became one of the longest running holiday specials of all times. It proved to be such a success that it won an Emmy in 1966!
One of the most unique historical experiences for the Peanuts Gang was their relationship with NASA. Snoopy became the official mascot of Apollo 10. Why Snoopy? Apollo 10’s mission was to skim the surface of the moon or “snoop” around for the Apollo 11 moon landing mission! In a fun play on the mission, NASA nicknamed the lunar module “Snoopy” and the command center, “Charlie Brown.” When the lunar module rendezvoused with the command module after surveying the Moon’s surface, astronaut Thomas Stafford said, “Snoopy and Charlie Brown are hugging each other.” Learn more about Apollo 10 Space Mission in this YouTube® animation.
What special skills do you think it takes to create a comic that has personable characters and an exciting history? Whether it was his childhood spent reading the Sunday comics with his dad or maybe it was being nicknamed “Sparky,” after Spark Plug, the racehorse from the Barney Google comic strip, Charles Schulz seemed destined to write comics! Born November 26, 1922, Charles was raised in Minnesota’s Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. If you are unfamiliar with this northern state, Socratia’s YouTube® channel offers a great overview of Minnesota. Throughout his grade school years, Charles skipped ahead several grades and was considered a child prodigy. Whether due to being so much younger than his peers or the pressure that comes with being a prodigy, Charles became quiet and withdrawn as he grew older. Sadly, he even failed several classes in high school. While his academic studies suffered, he spent more time focusing on his cartooning ability. At the young age of 14 years, he had his first published drawing in Ripley’s Believe It or Not® newspaper comics! Oddly, his drawings were rejected by his high school for the year book. At his mother’s encouragement, he enrolled in a correspondence art course from the Federal School of Applied Cartooning (Art Instructions School) during his senior year. After graduating high school, Charles sent his drawings to several publications, but was unable to find someone to publish them. He worked odd jobs until he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II. Returning home, he found a job as an instructor at the Art Instructions School. It was nearly five years after his army discharge before the first Peanuts comic was published! Learn more about this dedicated cartoonist from the Charles Schulz Museum interactive timeline.
Like all cartoonists, Charles found a favorite type of paper and pen. His favorites were those most often used in calligraphy! For the letters, he preferred the wider, flexible Speedball C-5 pen, for drawing the cartoons, an Esterbrook 914 radio pen and Strathmore 3-ply paper. Watch a quick video of Charles Schulz drawing Charlie Brown here. Looks pretty easy doesn’t it? Give it a try following the instructions or color one of the downloadable coloring sheets from the Schulz Museum.
The Peanuts comic often reflected real events in Charles Schulz’ life. Think of something that has happened in your life. Take a few minutes to create a 4 panel comic using the Create Your Own Comic guidelines here or if you are already experienced in creating comics, jump right into your newest creation with this printable 4 panel comic page. Love to draw cartoons? Check out the Draw with Dave McDonald YouTube® channel for free lessons. You may just be the next great cartoonist!
It is my hope you enjoyed this quick look at Peanuts and Charles Schulz. If you want to learn more, check out the free topical lesson plans at the Charles Schulz Museum. It is my hope, you never stop learning and remember the wise words of Charles Schulz, “Try not to have a good time…. This is supposed to be educational.” ~ Deanne
