New Collection Honors Charles Schulz’s Enduring Legacy with ‘the Essential Peanuts‘
A new collection,The Essential โPeanuts,isโ celebrating the work โฃof cartoonist Charles Schulz and his beloved comic โฃstrip,Peanuts.โฃ Published by Abrams Books and released this week, the volume gathers together a โฃcurated selection of theโ strip’s most iconic and โคimpactful moments, offering โboth longtimeโ fans and new readers a โคcomplete look at schulz’sโ artistry.
The Essential Peanuts โarrives as the comic strip continuesโ to resonate โฃacross generations. The collection’s creation involved contributionsโข from a diverse group of admirers, including Jump Start creator Robb Armstrong, NASA astronaut Mikeโ Massimino (who took a Snoopy figure into orbit during aโฃ 2009 Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission), and Essential Peanuts art director Chipโ Kidd. The book aims to showcase theโข strip’s global appeal and enduring artisticโค merit.
“The design of theโข characters, to me, is like emotional typography, ifโ that makes any โคsense,” explains Kidd, also known for his cover โคdesign work onโฃ Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. “You can tell what the characters areโฃ feeling, even if, say, it’s in a languageโข you don’t know.โ There’s โjust something about it โคthat people can relate โฃto. It’s the one comicโ strip I think everybody can agree on. Whether you’re 95 or a sulky teenager, you’re probably touched by Peanuts in some way. What [Schulz] produced in his lifetimeโ is truly a startling work of art.”
Comic book historianโข Mark โขEvanierโข echoes this sentiment, stating, “Everybody can identify โwith at โคleast oneโข character.either you know someone in yourโฃ life โwho’s likeโ Lucy – or you are like Lucy. and we โฃallโ have had our Charlie Brown moments. I have about threeโ a โขday on average.”
The โEssential Peanuts is now available for purchase from Abrams Books.