The World of Charles M. Schulz ft. Charlie Brown

   As a geek we are all passionate about something, be it a hobby or an interest. These days I'm going 'gaga' over Peanuts. I have also seen a documentary about Charles M. Schulz. Peanuts comics strips is very familiar to all of us. My older brother and I had a toy before from Fisher Price, a photo viewer which includes Snoopy and the Red Baron clip. The Fisher Price viewer was a gift from the US from our late aunt who is a doctor. To date, Peanuts is the most successful comics strip worldwide. It has been around the time of my grandparents up until now. In our local newspapers, Peanuts is included in the weekly newspaper comics strip corner. A musical entitled, 'You're a Good Man Charlie Brown' was made, and it has also a tv animation special. The comics strip is also published in 75 countries worldwide, translated into various languages. Recently, a movie was made based on the original strips.

 My late aunt also has a comic book of Charlie Brown entitled, 'But We Love You Charlie Brown'. I've been looking for it for a year or two now, but its not included in the box that my late aunt had packed which contains all her old books. Thankfully, I was able to acquire three books from a popular bookstore in my country. They are the best works of Charles M. Schulz compiled in a book. It is really a classic. Truly heaven sent when I went shopping yesterday. I splurge at a Vans store here. Just in time they are featuring Peanuts sneakers and slip-ons, plus other apparels. I bought two sneakers. (You can see it in the photo here), socks and a shirt. I also bought the dvd of the latest Peanuts 3d movie, which includes an instructional video on how to draw Peanuts characters. I'll just update you if I have acquired new Peanuts items. I also joined The World of Charles M. Schulz, an fb group page. It is a haven for all the Peanuts fans/collectors. (The caricature drawing a photo of Mr. Charles Schulz and Snoopy I got from one of the members from that fb group page, we don't know the artist but there's a signature. So if he/she reads this I'm asking permission to post).

I also recommend that you watch Mr. Charles M. Schulz documentary video. From A & E Biography, entitled Charles M. Schulz: A Charlie Brown Life. I'll just include here some important facts from the documentary that I have seen.

Charles Monroe Schulz was born in November 26, 1922 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was an only child of Carl and Dena Schulz. His father was a self-made man and owns a barbershop. When he was only 2 days old, his uncle renamed him 'Sparky'. During the Depression era, reading comics strip is one form of entertainment. Charlie knew he had a talent that other kids don't have, and that was drawing. He used to get high marks in schools, and was accelerated to another level, but there came a time when he was not performing in school the way he used to and none of his teachers ever asked him why. One time his art teacher asked him to draw in groups of 3 anything, and Charles filled that paper. He sent one of his works to Robert Ripley before (he drew their dog named Spike), that drawing was published. From then on he knew he wanted to be an artist. He was afraid to go to art school, so he enrolled in an art correspondence school that his mother suggested. He became a student at Art Instruction school, wherein he also worked as a teacher. Charles or 'Sparky', was drafted to military, in time he was promoted as Staff Sergeant. So his dream got postponed, but he never stopped drawing. Eventually, he became a cartoonist, and he was hired by a Catholic magazine to do lettering for the comics pages called Timeless Topix. He then went on to have his own comics strips called Lil' Folks. Lil' Folks was not that successful, after it was dropped, he developed a comic strips, which will later on be called Peanuts (the name of his strip was from the suggestion of the president of United Feature Syndicate), even Charles doesn't like the name. But as they say the rest is history. Who doesn't know Lucy? who is crabby and forever critical, Linus, has a security blanket and its more than a prop, it is part of a language. Schroeder knows Beethoven, Pigpen is known to move the earth if not the heavens, and lastly Charlie Brown, wherein everybody has an opinion why Charlie Brown is Charlie Brown. He is the picture of a person going through daily life of suffering but is proud and resilient and he carries on through life, through thick and thin. Also, we must not forget Snoopy, who has a vast imagination just like his creator Charles M. Schulz.

If you have read Peanuts for a long, long time. I'm sure you already know what kind of person its creator, Charles M. Schulz is. Why I like Peanuts? The creator is a Christian, and I can relate to almost all of the characters of the Peanuts gang. Especially Charlie Brown, and who wouldn't forget that very popular scene about unrequited love and the taste of Peanut butter. Also, that little Red hair girl that he mentioned in his comics strip, it is the girl that he likes in real life. The girl's name is Donna Mae Johnson-Wold. Well, just like me he never got together with his first-love. But I'm still looking on the bright-side! Just like Charlie Brown.