Charles M. Schulz Museum to release new publication that focues on pre-Peanuts
work of Charles M. Schulz
"Li'l Folks", the weekly comic panel that Charles Schulz produced before turning his attention to "Peanuts", is the subject of a new book to be released on February 21st by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center.
Charles M. Schulz: Li'l Beginnings, with a foreword by Jean Schulz and annotations, editorial commentary and an introduction by Derrick Bang, includes all 135 of the panels that Schulz created for the
St. Paul Pioneer Press, his hometown paper, between June 22, 1947, and January 22, 1950. This is the first time all the "Li'l Folks" cartoons have been reproduced in one volume, giving Schulz fans a rare glimpse of the early evolution of the influential cartoonist's craft. Aside from shedding light on a formative early period of Schulz's creative output, these "Li'l Folks" strips also are noteworthy for their use of characters and themes that later reappeared in "Peanuts": a well-dressed young man with a fondness for Beethoven, a dog with a striking resemblance to Snoopy, and a boy named Charlie Brown, among others.
The 300-page book also includes the two "Just Keep Laughing" cartoon panels that Schulz produced for the Catholic comic book
Topix; the two "Sparky's Li'l Folks" panels that ran in the
Minneapolis Tribune (and anticipated his series in the
St. Paul Pioneer Press); and examples of single-panel cartoons that were published in
The Saturday Evening Post in the late 1940s.
Museum Director Ruth Gardner Begell had this to say about the Museum's latest publication. "One of the treasures in the Museum's archives is a fragile scrapbook that contains more than two years' worth of 'Li'l Folks' cartoons clipped from the
St. Paul Pioneer Press. Assembled by a young Charles Schulz more than 50 years ago, each page contains a cartoon panel neatly affixed with strips of clear tape. Prior to the publication of
Charles M. Schulz: Li'l Beginnings, this scrapbook was the most complete collection of Schulz's first major body of work. All of us at the Charles M. Schulz Museum are excited to share this collection of rarely-seen cartoons in a more accessible format. These published images of 'Li'l Folks' are further enhanced by the commentary of Derrick Bang, whose broad knowledge of 'Peanuts' and extraordinary sensitivity to the nuances of Schulz's work are apparent."
The Museum will celebrate this release with a series of programs scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, February 21-22, and a temporary exhibition that will include the Museum's newly acquired "Li'l Folks" original drawing.
Charles M. Schulz: Li'l Beginnings will be available through the Museum's Store and Web site (
www.SchulzMuseum.org). For further information, call (707) 579-4452.
[
thanks to Jeff Mason ]
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