‘PEANUTS WAS A STRIP ABOUT THE INTERIOR CRISES OF THE CART OONIST'
Small world
Charles M Schulz spent 50 years creating the likes of Charlie Brown and Snoopy. Mark Robertson savours the moment as Canongate publishes his entire works
is thc littlc things that makc thc dil'l‘crcncc. In thc
casc ol‘ thc (‘harlcs M Schul/ cartoon strips. that
could mcan thc smallcst ol' pcn strokcs for a raiscd cy’cbrow. an cstra crcasc on a l'orchcad. thc downward bcnd on thc cnds of a mouth. Schul/ crcatcd a world which was dcl‘incd by crucially tight limitations. inhabich by kids who ncy'cr grcw tip. liy‘ing in a land without adults w'hcrc pcts could bccomc World War II l'ly'ing accs or orchcstra conductors in thc spacc ol’ a couplc ol' l‘ramcs. l)cspitc. or bccausc ol' this. hc managcd to producc a strip cy cry working day ol‘ his lilt‘ litil‘ tiy'c‘t' 50 ycars. sonic l7.t\")7 in ltilfll. which wcrc publishcd globally and rcmains thc most
succcssl‘ul cndcay'our ol‘ its kind. So. in a truc lcat ol‘
publishing coioncs. (‘anongatc cclcbratc his lil‘c and work by publishing cycry strip. two handsomc hardback y'olumcs a ycar l'rom now until lelo.
l‘or all its sctting in thc backyards of suburban. post- war :\mcrica. l’r'imurs managcd to cry'stalisc thc writcr‘s dccply' pcrsonal philosophical. political and social conccrns. through thc cyphcr ol‘ junior school kids. hcadcd by (‘harlic Brown. his pct bcaglc Snoopy and a littlc ycllow' bird Woodstock. Ncwspapcr cartoons until thcn wcrc normally social commcntary or chcap gags but rarcly both. .-\s (‘rary (iroth. cditor of thc ('omit's .louriiul says: 'I’t'unurs cy‘olycd during its 50 y'cars. bill it rcmaincd. as it hcgan. an anomaly on thc comics pagc; a comic strip about thc intcrior criscs ol~ thc cartoonist himscllI'
Schul/ was born in Minncapolis on 25 Noycmbcr 1023 and grcw up an ay‘id l‘an ol~ sports. moy'ics and comics. llc was dral’tcd to light in World War II and
26 Tl-iE LIST 15»:on 3W»
on his dischargc l‘rom thc army bcgan in carncst to try and scll his strips to ncwspapcrs. ()nc modcst succcss was l.i/' I’m/Its. l‘or which hc carncd Slll a wcck and morphcd into thc strip which l’nitcd l't‘ttllll‘cs Sy'ndicatc rcnamcd I’r'uiiius: Schul/ statcd on numcrous occasions that hc hatcd this titlc.
Schul/ rctircd l'rom drawing l’r'uiiii/s at thc cnd ol' I‘N‘) duc to ill hcalth and dicd on l4 l‘cbruary lllllll. Two days latcr thc l'inal l’r'uiiuis cartoon was publishcd. It's a tragic. il~ romantic notion. that thc strip dicd with him. but thcsc limcly rc—issucs illustratc not only thc skill and subtlc brilliancc of his work but also thc origins ol' thc lorm bcyond simplc mcrrimcnt. (iarry 'l‘rudcau may hayc thc political nous. Stcyc licll thc pcrl‘cct balancc ol surrcal and satirical. and llagar thc llorriblc thc hat with thc horns and thc big bcard. bill this is a pcrl'cct opportunity to scc w hcrc so much ol' thc humanity and pathos in thc artl‘orm lirst cmcrgcd.
.>\s (iarrison Kcillor says in his introduction to thc l'irst yolumc: "I‘hcrc is not much in l’t'uiiiiis that is shitlltm tit‘ hccdlcss. Schttl/ crcatcd a world httscd on pow ct'lul iconic charactcrs who csprcss dccp lcclings ol lonclincss and rcscntmcnt and dcspair. 'l‘hc lccling that cycrything is against its. ’l'hc cray ing for loy c. .-\n cnormoUs amount ol‘ carncstncss about doing thc right thing.‘ \cry grow n-up cmotions w crc conycy cd through thc mouths ol' babcs. But this was lat‘. far from bcing child's play.
The Complete Peanuts volumes one and two are out now published by Canongate.
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