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Peanuts Coronet #26
What Next, Charlie Brown?
comic strip
120 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1956
About the author
Charles M. Schulz
3,034 books1,654 followersCharles Monroe Schulz was an American cartoonist, whose comic strip Peanuts proved one of the most popular and influential in the history of the medium, and is still widely reprinted on a daily basis.
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
Schulz's first regular cartoons, Li'l Folks, were published from 1947 to 1950 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press; he first used the name Charlie Brown for a character there, although he applied the name in four gags to three different boys and one buried in sand. The series also had a dog that looked much like Snoopy. In 1948, Schulz sold a cartoon to The Saturday Evening Post; the first of 17 single-panel cartoons by Schulz that would be published there. In 1948, Schulz tried to have Li'l Folks syndicated through the Newspaper Enterprise Association. Schulz would have been an independent contractor for the syndicate, unheard of in the 1940s, but the deal fell through. Li'l Folks was dropped from the Pioneer Press in January, 1950.
Later that year, Schulz approached the United Feature Syndicate with his best strips from Li'l Folks, and Peanuts made its first appearance on October 2, 1950. The strip became one of the most popular comic strips of all time. He also had a short-lived sports-oriented comic strip called It's Only a Game (1957–1959), but he abandoned it due to the demands of the successful Peanuts. From 1956 to 1965 he contributed a single-panel strip ("Young Pillars") featuring teenagers to Youth, a publication associated with the Church of God.
Peanuts ran for nearly 50 years, almost without interruption; during the life of the strip, Schulz took only one vacation, a five-week break in late 1997. At its peak, Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. Schulz stated that his routine every morning consisted of eating a jelly donut and sitting down to write the day's strip. After coming up with an idea (which he said could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours), he began drawing it, which took about an hour for dailies and three hours for Sunday strips. He stubbornly refused to hire an inker or letterer, saying that "it would be equivalent to a golfer hiring a man to make his putts for him." In November 1999 Schulz suffered a stroke, and later it was discovered that he had colon cancer that had metastasized. Because of the chemotherapy and the fact he could not read or see clearly, he announced his retirement on December 14, 1999.
Schulz often touched on religious themes in his work, including the classic television cartoon, A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), which features the character Linus van Pelt quoting the King James Version of the Bible Luke 2:8-14 to explain "what Christmas is all about." In personal interviews Schulz mentioned that Linus represented his spiritual side. Schulz, reared in the Lutheran faith, had been active in the Church of God as a young adult and then later taught Sunday school at a United Methodist Church. In the 1960s, Robert L. Short interpreted certain themes and conversations in Peanuts as being consistent with parts of Christian theology, and used them as illustrations during his lectures about the gospel, as he explained in his bestselling paperback book, The Gospel According to Peanuts, the first of several books he wrote on religion and Peanuts, and other popular culture items. From the late 1980s, however, Schulz described himself in interviews as a "secular humanist": “I do not go to church anymore... I guess you might say I've come around to secular humanism, an obligation I believe all humans have to others and the world we live in.”
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 23, 2025
Yes I’m putting Peanuts toward my reading goal… mind your business
May 14, 2019
Delightful read as always!
July 28, 2025
y’all don’t understand my whimsy
May 8, 2010
Another cool collection of Peanuts comic strips. The opening strip is 8 frames long. And it features--YES--Charlie Brown kicking a football while Lucy holds it. One of the all-time great themes in the Peanuts world. Charlie Brown begins by saying "NO" in large capital letters when Lucy has obviously invited him to kick the ball; he does not trust her to keep the ball on the ground. But Lucy says: "I wouldn't think of such a thing. I'm a changed person. Isn't this a face you can trust?" So, Charlie Brown takes off to kick the football--and she lifts it off the ground and he falls down. Last frame features Lucy saying: "I admire you Charlie Brown. . .You have such faith in human nature." And on the book goes, featuring so many of the gang. Boy, does this take me back in time, to when I was much younger. . . .
January 19, 2020
This particular book could be called "101 ways that Lucy is a bully, and 3 times when she was not." Clearly Schulz would not think highly of kids today. I appreciate that Charlie Brown is able to deal with his emotions in a healthy way and that he is not always happy. Nor is he always sad. He's actually very normal.
December 30, 2020
For my 700th and final book for this year's reading project, I wanted a title that felt like a forecast of things to come in '21, and What Next Charlie Brown seems to fit my needs. Charles "Sparky" Schulz' early strips from '59 and '60 are a treat for anyone interested in the Peanuts Gang's beginnings. In this collection you get to see bookends of Charlie trying to kick that damn football and Lucy pulling it away before telling our fallen hero how she "appreciates" his faith in human nature. Yeah. Right. Lucy's relationship with the Beethoven-obsessed Schroeder heats up when she asks for a kiss across the ol' piano, only to get a peck from Snoopy instead! Whoops! Charlie the baseball manager stands on the pitcher's mound in the middle of a rainstorm and with everyone else gone home. You think Charlie knows how to swim? Plus the battle between Snoopy and Linus' blanket goes full throttle with two instances of ol Snoop tossing Linus round and round and sending the blanket lovin warrior into orbit. Plus much more.
4 Stars
See ya in 2021, Charlie Brown!
And thanks to one and all of my fans! We made it!!! We are still alive!
HUMANITY TRULY ROCKS!!!
4 Stars
See ya in 2021, Charlie Brown!
And thanks to one and all of my fans! We made it!!! We are still alive!
HUMANITY TRULY ROCKS!!!
June 12, 2025
2.5 stars
A few exceptional or very good cartoon
strips. A goodly number of very negative
ones. I really don't like the negative ones
in general.
I read another Charlie Brown/Peanuts cartoon
book that was published in the same year
and I thought it was much better.
I do enjoy the occasions when Linus
fights back against his tyrannical older
sister. Very occasionally Charlie Brown
will do the same. Somebody pointed out
that the name Lucy was actually short
for Lucifer. What a thoroughly unpleasant,
selfish girl she is. But probably the type
that gets ahead in life just because she
has so much self-confidence.
A few exceptional or very good cartoon
strips. A goodly number of very negative
ones. I really don't like the negative ones
in general.
I read another Charlie Brown/Peanuts cartoon
book that was published in the same year
and I thought it was much better.
I do enjoy the occasions when Linus
fights back against his tyrannical older
sister. Very occasionally Charlie Brown
will do the same. Somebody pointed out
that the name Lucy was actually short
for Lucifer. What a thoroughly unpleasant,
selfish girl she is. But probably the type
that gets ahead in life just because she
has so much self-confidence.
May 22, 2025
9/10: hilarious and timeless!
Read
September 21, 2025and yes i am logging my peanut comics into goodreads. keep scrolling
April 8, 2026
Another excellent addition to my Peanuts collection.
April 14, 2026
Growing up I read Peanuts daily in the paper—it was everywhere. I also collected many of the paperbacks.
November 15, 2022
Charles Schulz was a genius, whether he realized it or not. No other comic strip can make me laugh until I cry or just cry in the simplest terms. Brilliant. This book is full of gems and I hope to read it again soon.
January 18, 2016
A Fawcett Crest paperback book that I have (taped from use) to this day.
January 9, 2016
every strip is a classic
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews