Charles M. Schulz (illustrated by Dominique Liongson)
Charles M. Schulz (26 November 1922 - 12 February 2000) is a famous American Cartoonist who brought Peanuts and (most especially) Snoopy to the world. If you'd like to know his biography, check out the Charles M. Schulz Museum or Wikipedia. I read and found out that his nickname is Sparky. Read the biography links above and you'll find out why.
I feel a connection with this artist because of the humor of the cast in Peanuts. My top 3 favorite Peanuts characters are 1)Snoopy, 2)Lucy, and 3)Linus. I can write a caboodle of recalled Peanuts comic strip jokes. But then, this might steal Sparky's thunder which may defeat my purpose in blogging him. For a sampling of his work, have a look at peanuts.com.
What does his comic strip series Peanuts have that other comic strips don't? Here is my list...
- A dog who sleeps on the roof of his dog house
- A dog who writes novels and receives rejection slips
- A dog who knows his master's name as "The Round Headed Kid"
- A dog who failed to collect a tip for bringing his dog dish to the kitchen
- A dog who gives away easter eggs as an easter beagle
- A dog who listens to Leo Buscaglia audiotapes
- A dog who caught a baseball with his dog dish in his mouth
- A dog who is an elegant ice skater
- A dog who is in touch with his brother who lives in the lonely desert
- A bird who flies upside down
- A bird who cheers up his dog-friend by making a quilt out of the rejection slips
- A bird who speaks in apostrophes, periods, and question marks while a dog can understand him
- A 5-cent psychiatrist with paying clients
- A girl bully who has a crush on a blonde kid who plays the toy piano
- The same kid wanted real estate for her birthday but didn't get it
- A blonde kid who plays Beethoven music with a toy piano
- A smart kid with a blanket habit
- A blanket habit kid who has an eternally loyal devotion to The Great Pumpkin
- The same kid may have a bossy sister but he is a brother who loves her very much
- A round headed kid who has faith in a girl who yanks the football whenever he tries to kick it
- A round headed kid who served dog fondue to his dog
- A round headed kid who is proud of his dad the barber
- A team of baseball players seems to be geared towards the losing end but still plays every baseball season anyway
- lots of unrequited love
- and a whole lot more to look at if you follow the Peanuts gang...
I wish to pay my respects to Sparky who has contributed intelligence and laughter in the art of newspaper cartoons. It seems that he has earned a wonderful retirement plan in the afterlife. Somehow I wonder how he is enjoying the fruits of his labor. Maybe his Snoopy has materialized into an independent dog. Or the unrequited love issues finally have a happy ending. Or the good Great Pumpkin finally showed up to Linus and his friends. Or Lucy becomes nicer because her pianist Schroeder tamed her. Or.... who knows?
I gratefully thank you, Sparky. You are one of the few artists who shines with your essence as a first-rate you. No one else can do the best Peanuts gang except you. I can see it is better to be a first-rate me than a second-rate wannabe. With the strengths and weaknesses that only you --Charles M. Schulz-- have, you created a world that all your admirers want to be in. Thank you for your intelligent and funny world. If I had the chance, I would love to give you a big hug... because I listened to a Leo Buscaglia tape just like Snoopy did. And on November 26...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPARKY!
:-( -> :-| -> :-)
DL
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"Let us rise up and be thankful; for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so let us all be thankful."
--Buddha
