Above PEANUTS January 2, 2000, Copyright UFS.I was reading the OSU program booklet for their gallery show of Peanuts originals (September 18, 2000 - January 19, 2001). I am guessing that this was the first major exhibition of Peanuts originals since the passing of the strip. (The Charles M. Schulz Museum didn't open until 2002.)
There are a good number of strips reprinted in the exhibition catalogue, designed by Frank Pauer. I read the above strip from the first Sunday in 2000, and it just knocked me out. It felt so sad. But there was a determination, some raging against the odds -- at nature, at the lack of other players, at the darkness -- all played out in a quick read. It's the Sunday strip before the last daily.
Thanks to Joe Wos for passing along the catalogue to me.
Wow. I haven't seen this strip in some time and it sure strikes a chord. What is it about those poignant pen strokes by the late great Sparky that draws us in? For me it's a sense of nostalgia stirred with my desire to emulate his economy of line. Having just read the recent MIchaelis bio, this strip speaks volumes. Thanks for posting the large version so I can soak it all in.
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