On Oct. 2, 1950, Charles Schulz’s comic strip Peanuts debuted. In the very first strip, two largely forgotten characters sat next to each other on a curb. With Charlie Brown approaching in the distance, the boy of the duo, Shermy, says to Patty (not Peppermint Patty, just Patty) “Well! Here comes ol’ Charlie Brown!” In the next panel, as Charlie Brown passes by, Shermy mostly repeats himself, saying, “Good ol’ Charlie Brown… Yes, sir!” In the third panel, he again repeats “Good ol’ Charlie Brown..” Then the punchline comes in the final panel when Shermy says to Patty, “How I hate him!”
While that was the first official Peanuts comic, a similar comic by Charles Schulz predated Peanuts and ran in Minnesota’s St. Paul Pioneer Press. It was called Li’l Folks and it also starred cute little children, although it did not have a regular cast like Peanuts would. Li’l Folks ran from 1947 until 1950, when Schulz quit after his editor refused to give him a raise from the $10 per comic he was making. After that, Schulz brought Li’l Folks to United Feature Syndicate. The national cartoon syndicator liked the comic, but needed to change its name because of a 1930s comic strip called Little Folks. The name Peanuts was chosen because The Howdy Doody Show was popular at the time and the studio audience of children on the show was called the “Peanut gallery.” Thus, Peanuts became the name.
From there, Peanuts debuted in seven newspapers and would eventually be carried by over 2,600 newspapers. For 50 years, the daily adventures of the Peanuts gang were shared around the world, but it all came to a close on Feb. 13, 2000 with a sad, solemn, and eerily coincidental conclusion.
It became clear that Charles Schulz’s health was in decline beginning in November, 1999. He suffered a series of strokes and it was discovered that he had colorectal cancer. He began to undergo chemotherapy, but his declining health — which included declining vision — forced his hand. On Dec. 14, 1999, Schulz announced his retirement. As he made clear at the time, it was not by choice, but his ability to continue Peanuts had come to an end.
The gradual conclusion of the Peanuts gang
On Jan. 1, 2000, the last “true” weekday Peanuts strip ran in newspapers. It featured the kids having a snowball fight and Snoopy inspecting a snowball on his own. “Suddenly the dog realized that his dad had never taught him how to throw snowballs,” read the caption. The lines on the characters are notably shaky in this comic, which reflects Schulz’s difficulties with drawing at the time.
That ran on a Saturday. On Sunday, because Sunday strips were prepared several weeks in advance, a somewhat ordinary strip of Peppermint Patty and Marcie was published. Then, on Monday, Jan 3. 2000, Charles Schulz concluded his daily series with an image of Snoopy at his typewriter and an announcement which began with the phrase “Dear Friends…”
“I have been fortunate to draw Charlie Brown and his friends for almost 50 years. It has been the fulfillment of my childhood ambition. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to maintain the schedule demanded by a daily comic strip. My family does not wish Peanuts to be continued by anyone else, therefore I am announcing my retirement. I have been grateful over the years for the loyalty of our editors and the wonderful support and love expressed to me by the fans of the comic strip. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy… how can I ever forget them…”
Yet, that wasn’t quite the end.
Again, because Sunday comic strips were prepared further in advance than daily strips, five more Sunday strips ran after this comic in January and February of 2000. Then, on Feb. 13, 2000, a Sunday version of the same farewell message ran. While the words in Schulz’s farewell were the same, it featured an added introduction, with Charlie Brown on the phone saying “No, I think he’s writing…” followed by an additional image of Snoopy at the typewriter. Below that, the same message ran, but it was bordered by some of the best, most memorable Peanuts images from the last 50 years.
That would be the official final Peanuts comic ever.
While heartfelt, it was clear that Schulz was forced to conclude his comic. Had he remained in good health, he undoubtedly would have continued to draw Peanuts for years to come. In that sense, Peanuts didn’t exactly come to a satisfying conclusion as it did a sad, albeit human one.
That said, a great many people inferred some meaning behind the timing of the ending.
That final strip ran on Feb. 13. Just one day prior, Schulz died of a heart attack. While it was clear that Schulz was nearing the end of his life at age 77, there was simply no way for him to plan this timing so poetically. He had finished drawing Peanuts a month earlier, yet he died just one day before the final strip’s release.
Proving, perhaps, if you believe in that kind of thing, that Charles Schulz was here for a reason.