Peanuts
Charles M. Schulz drew Peanuts for very nearly fifty years — around 17,897 strips — without an assistant, writing and lettering every one himself, which is almost certainly the largest body of work ever produced by a single person in any narrative medium. The strip's innovation was tonal: it put genuine melancholy, anxiety and theological doubt into four newspaper panels populated entirely by children, and refused to resolve any of it.
About Peanuts
Charles M. Schulz drew Peanuts for very nearly fifty years — around 17,897 strips — without an assistant, writing and lettering every one himself, which is almost certainly the largest body of work ever produced by a single person in any narrative medium. The strip's innovation was tonal: it put genuine melancholy, anxiety and theological doubt into four newspaper panels populated entirely by children, and refused to resolve any of it. Charlie Brown never kicks the football. That refusal, sustained over decades, is what separates Peanuts from every other comic strip of its era.
The final original strip ran on 13 February 2000, the day after Schulz died. Under his instruction, no one has drawn a new Peanuts strip since.
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Key eras
| Era | Years | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Early strip | 1950–1959 | A small cast, simpler art, and the introduction of Snoopy. |
| Peak | 1960–1980 | A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965); global syndication and licensing. |
| Late period | 1980–2000 | Schulz continues alone until his retirement and death in February 2000. |