A total of 75 cartoonists from USA will celebrate this Saturday the centenary of the birth of cartoonist Charles Schulz, creator of the well-known ‘Peanuts’ strip, starring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the gang, and they have honored him in the best way they know how, creating caricatures.
“It’s a tribute to who is probably the best cartoonist in the world,” said Patrick McDonnell, who creates the daily ‘Mutts’ strip which is published in 700 newspapers. “After ‘Peanuts,’ the world of comics changed. I think most caricaturists working today would say he was the inspiration.”
The list of strips participating in this tribute for the birth of Schulz, who drew 17,000 comic strips and became the cartoonist for comics most successful in the second half of the 20th century, va desde ‘B.C’, ‘Dennis the Menace’ y ‘Rhymes With Orange’ a ‘Zippy the Pinhead’ y ‘Zits’. Each artist was encouraged to create their own way of honoring Schulz, known as ‘Sparky’, informa ‘The Independent’.
For his part, John Kovalesli, creator of ‘Daddy Daze’, has drawn the character of the father in the strip, Paul, and the baby, Angus, talking about ‘Peanuts with an open newspaper. ‘Ba ba?’ asks the baby. To which the father replies, “It’s ‘Peanuts,’ by Chares M. Schulz. He revolutionized comic strips by adding depth and emotion”, he has pointed out.
While John Hambrock, creator of ‘The Brilliant Mind of Edison Lee’, drew a visit from Snoopy as a pilot of the World War I and Edison asking his father for “more aviation fuel.” The creator decorated the family home with framed pictures of Charlie Brown and Lucy.
“Cartoonists are creative people. When you have a daily deadline, ideas have to flow,” McDonnell said. “I think people enjoyed the challenge of creating something to express their love and admiration for the guy.”
McDonnell, a member of the board of directors of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center, and ‘JumpStart’ creator Robb Armstrong had this idea to celebrate Shulz’s birth. Both contacted the different cartoonists to launch this initiative.