Manga Biographies: Charles M. Schulz Manga Review – Review

Despite growing up with the Peanuts comic strip and owning a minimum of five pieces of Snoopy merchandise, I admittedly knew very little about Charles M. Schulz prior to reading this manga biography. During San Diego Comic Con 2024, the Peanuts booth had limited copies available for purchase before its October 1st launch date, so I decided to change that. In addition to creating a manga story out of Schulz’s life, the book contains a section dedicated to Schulz’s accomplishments, including real-life photos and Peanuts trivia.

With supervision by Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates, the manga biography begins with Schulz’s humble childhood in Minneapolis and ends on an uplifting note, celebrating the everlasting impact his work has made on fans worldwide. Of course, the book is an idealized summary of Schulz’s life and only lightly touches on the tougher aspects. The first page provides a disclaimer that the biography contains some liberties in order to read “smoothly as a manga.” From front to back, the story reads as a timelapse of Schulz’s life from a young boy to his retirement, coupled with stunningly cute visuals of Schulz and the people related to his life. What rings true in both reality and this book is Schulz’s unrelenting determination, hard work, and dedication to his fans and his characters.

As an easy read of the Peanuts‘ creator’s life, the manga contains a pace and tone familiar to anime fans as Schulz becomes akin to a shounen protagonist with all of life’s ups and downs. The introduction pages provide context for world events and how that shaped the trajectory of his life, which helps the reader understand what comic strips and what “the funnies” are. I assumed this page is helpful for people who are not familiar with American newspapers, but then I realized there are also several generations of people who have never touched a newspaper or know how they’re syndicated. In any case, the inclusion of these pages by the publisher highlights the history of Schulz’s world.

We follow a bright-eyed and young Schulz, nicknamed “Sparky” by his uncle, who patiently waits for his father to finish up work. It’s during these moments where he fills his time by drawing, and through encouragement by his mother, goes into formal schooling for art. As luck would have it, Schulz’s shy demeanor coupled with life’s challenges would lead him down a path to making lemonade out of life’s lemons. This becomes a driving force behind the misfortunes of Charlie Brown, but also his ability to overcome and move forward. Like Charlie’s attempt to kick the football that Lucy will always pull from him at the last minute, Schulz’s resilience keeps him trying again and again despite all of life’s obstacles. From the tragic loss of his mother, a failed marriage proposal, and getting fired from his job for asking for a raise, Schulz continues to push forward. His diligence, partially attributed to his military training in the army, led him to continue creating comics in his sparse spare time. This creative fortitude eventually got his first comic strip, Li’l Folks, published in his hometown’s newspaper, St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Relatable and charming, Schulz’s passion for drawing and appreciation for his fans would be the motivation behind his devotion to the Peanuts comic strip run. Reportedly, he would finish a repository of six to ten weeks’ worth of comics. From its start in 1950 to its end in 2000, the Peanuts comic strip would run daily, as well as in the Sunday papers. His commitment and love for his characters would encourage him to face his fears of an important upcoming surgery. During his recovery, he would be inspired to draw Snoopy (also recovering from physical therapy) on the walls of the hospital where he was receiving care. Even then, he had never missed a deadline or submitted work late. In fact, he stockpiled three months’ worth of material ahead of time.

Because this is first and foremost a biography, many aspects of Schulz’s life gave rise to characters featured in the Peanuts universe—including his old flame and ex-co-worker, Donna Wold. Like many storytellers before him, Schulz would draw ideas from his experiences, pets, friends, and colleagues. Snoopy was based on his childhood dog, Spike, and Charlie Brown’s own unrequited love, the unseen Little Red-Haired Girl, was based on Schulz’s own heartbreak. Although she would never be canonically shown nor would Charlie Brown ever get to kick the football, navigating the bittersweet highs and lows of life with a smile is what makes Schulz’s Peanuts so novel and special.

Whether you’re a longtime fan or looking just looking to pass time, this heartwarming and touching read is an enjoyable exploration of the famed creator’s life. On days when life isn’t going the way you want, Schulz’s legacy will be there to bring a smile. As Snoopy himself wisely said, “You play with the cards you’re dealt. Whatever that means.”