Charlie Brown's 70th birthday

The Peanuts, Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus and the blanket, Snoopy, Woodstock and many others, who have never stopped moving children and adults, are 70 years old: in fact, they made their debut on October 2, 1950 and were published daily until February 13. 2000, the day after the author's death. The comic, published for most of its production in daily strips of four cartoons, was one of the most famous and influential in the world, circulated for fifty years in over 2600 newspapers, translated into more than 20 languages and published in over seventy countries. reaching 355 million readers until the death of the aure. Now with social media it would be impossible to make a calculation.
    Schulz was a shy and reserved man, the center of attention of the world. From a high school friend he borrowed the name of the character he put his all into: Charlie Brown. A woman who rejected her marriage proposal in 1950 was changed into a creature that is continually named but no one has ever seen: the red-haired girl. In 1951 Schulz married Joyce Halverson, from whom he would divorce in 1972 to marry Jeannie Forsyth two years later.
    He had a son, Craig. But he also considered his children the ones he drew every day.
    In '55 the 'Peanuts' won the Reuben award, the 'Comic Book Oscar'. World success came in 1965, when Snoopy began to believe himself an aviation ace in World War I, fighting the Red Baron.
    From October 2, 1950, Charles M. Schulz, until his death in his sleep (in 2000), drew 17,897 strips, one a day, from Monday to Friday, at a methodical hourly pace as a clerk, from 9 am to 4 pm characters were eternal losers, but he had only known triumphs. Charlie seems to suffer from the same problems as adults: he has charm to spend, he does not excel in sports, indeed, much less with women, but here lies the greatness, he never gives up, he gets up. He does not get overwhelmed by bullying. He is in love with a red-haired girl who, for his shyness, always escapes him by a whisker. But he doesn't give up, he believes it.
    Linus, with his blanket, is the exact opposite of his sister Lucy: he is cultured, he has a good word for everyone. In short, he is a kind man. But Linus is also deeply insecure: this is why he is always attached to his blanket, which has entered half the world's dictionaries precisely to represent our common need to cling to something (or someone) to be able to face the challenges of life. Lucy is an unbearable girl, she often says cruel things, she enjoys bullying her brother Linus, Charlie, even Snoopy. From his psychiatric counter he dispenses sharp advice and sarcastic judgments for the balance price of 5 cents. But his confidence is shattered in front of a kid like Schroeder, the little pianist who doesn't queue.
    Then follow Piperita Patty, a determined and somewhat rude girl who upsets the world of Charlie Brown by calling him "Ciccio" (Chuck), flirting with him and giving him compliments that he is not sure he deserves. Snoopy: the most famous hound in the world, he is a genius of disguise.
    He just needs a pair of sunglasses to transform himself, among his alter egos there is also the Ace of the First World War engaged in periodic challenges with the Red Baron. Armed with a typewriter, he has always tried to write the great American novel: "It was a dark and stormy night".
    The characters do not age except those who started out as infants and who are then represented with an age similar to that of the other older ones: Linus, for example, made his debut as a newborn and, over the first ten years, he passed from infancy to an age similar to that of Charlie Brown, she learns to talk and walk and then stop growing when she is about a year younger than Charlie Brown. A common feature is the absence of adults who never appear unless indirectly mentioned. The style is minimalist, with no backgrounds, or summarily dashed as if it forces "its readers to focus on subtle nuances, rather than on sweeping actions or sudden passages". Schulz maintained this approach throughout his life, reaffirming in 1994 the importance of building the strips completely by himself: "This is not a silly question of filling in ink squares. It is a terribly serious undertaking."

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