Legendary Peanuts creator, cartoonist Charles Schulz, would have celebrated his 100th birthday on November 26. And though he passed away back in 2000, over 20 years ago, he remains a presence in the world of comics and cartooning. And now, to mark his centennial birthday, Top Shelf is publishing Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles Schulz - which is exactly what it sounds like.
Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles Schulz is created by artist and co-writer Luca Debus and co-writer Francesco Matteuzi "in the style of Schulz," meaning it evokes the classic, recognizable cartooning style of his beloved Peanuts comic strip, which introduced the enduring characters of Charlie Brown, his dog Snoopy, and the rest of the Peanuts gang to the world.
"While Schulz was working on his last strip, looking back on five decades of Peanuts characters and situations, he laughed and said: 'I really drew some funny things'," states Francesco Matteuzzi in Top Shelf's announcement. "That phrase, Funny Things, stuck with me since I first read it: it’s both accurate and a huge understatement of what he accomplished."
"By narrating his life, we celebrate his legacy as arguably the most influential cartoonist to ever live and try to understand his complex identity as both the man and the artist behind Peanuts," adds Luca Debus.
Here's a gallery of interior pages, along with the cover:
Though the final new Peanuts comic strip was published on February 13, 2000, the strip remains in syndication with reruns of classic strips.
Funny Things: A Comic Strip Biography of Charles Schulz goes on sale in August, 2023.
One of the other most popular comic strips of all time, The Far Side, almost got a live-action movie - and there are pictures.
