He dismissed the criticism, arguing that comic strips had always been commercial, starting with their invention as a way to sell newspapers, Caswell said. Some fellow cartoonists disliked the way Schulz commercialized the strip. In addition, the display includes memorabilia, from branded paper towels to Pez dispensers, part of the massive 'Peanuts' licensing world. 'Celebrating Sparky' also focuses on Schulz's promotion of women's rights through strips about Title IX, the groundbreaking law requiring parity in women's sports and his introduction of a character of color, Franklin, spurred by a reader's urging following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. The exhibit in Columbus displays strips featuring 12 'devices' that Schulz thought set Peanuts apart, including episodes involving the kite-eating tree, Snoopy's doghouse, Lucy in her psychiatry booth, Linus' obsession with the Great Pumpkin, the Beethoven-playing Schroeder, and more. Schulz 'understood technically in drawing that he could strip away what was unnecessary and still pack an emotional punch with the simplest-appearing lines,' Clark said. The strip was also the subject of the frequently performed play, 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown,' as well as 'Snoopy: The Musical,' dozens of TV specials and shows, and many book collections.īill Watterson, creator of 'Calvin and Hobbes,' described in a 2007 Wall Street Journal review of a Schultz biography the difficulty of looking at 'Peanuts' with fresh eyes because of how revolutionary it was at the time.īenjamin Clark, curator of the Schulz museum, describes that innovation as Schulz's use of a spare line that maintains its expressiveness. Schulz personally created and drew 17,897 'Peanuts' strips, even after a tremor affected his hand. But the Columbus exhibit makes clear through strips, memorabilia and commentary that Schulz's creation was a juggernaut in its day.Īt the time of Schulz's retirement in 1999 following a cancer diagnosis, his creation ran in more than 2,600 newspapers, was translated into 21 languages in 75 countries and had an estimated daily readership of 355 million. Schulz was never a fan of the name 'Peanuts,' chosen by the syndicate because his original title, 'Li'l Folks,' was too similar to another strip's name. Schulz carried the lifelong nickname of Sparky, conferred by a relative after a horse called Sparky in an early comic strip, Barney Google. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California, are celebrating the upcoming centenary of the birth of 'Peanuts' cartoonist Schulz, born in Minnesota on Nov. New exhibits on display at the Billy Ireland museum and at the Charles M.

Schulz museum store