Every week, we dig into our weekly comic strip and ask the big question… What happens next? Once again, Charmy is picking on the medium who is conducting Frenchy’s séance. We can see that the medium is becoming quite annoyed… and Frenchy is looking a bit embarrassed. Let’s continue this story and see what happens next.

SO, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

“Look, if you guys are not going to take this serious, the spirit world will NOT lend their services to us”, explains the medium.

“No. please. We are very serious”, interjects Frenchy. “Charmy is just a huge jerk”.

“Yeah, I’m just a jerk, wait… No, I’m not!”, says a befuddled Charmy. “Hey, I am just being my affectionate, fun-loving self”!

“I think you mean Effectionist”, says Frenchy. “Someone who spreads infections.”

“Actually, an effectionist is someone who is the balance of being highly effective, producing desired outcomes while achieving results with minimal effort”, says the medium as he corrects Frenchy.

“Did one of those ghosts tell you that?”, asks Frenchy. “If so, that is probably an old definition. Times change ya know.”

“No, I am hyperliterate”, admits the medium.

“Oh, well don’t feel bad,” says Frenchy. “They have medication to help with your attention span issues. I am surprised one of your ghost friends didn’t tell you.”

“Yeah, are you sure these ghosts can be trusted?”, asks Charmy.

“I can vouch for the spirit world’s veraciousness”, confirms the medium.

“Whoa!” exclaims both Frenchy and Charmy.

“Wait, are they gonna eat us?” asks Charmy.

“Yeah, I am just skin and bones”, explains Frenchy. “Charmy has a ton of meat on his bones. Of course his hindquarters may be a bit fatty”.

“I said veracious… NOT voracious”, says the medium. “Look, can we just get on with the séance please?”

In just a second”, Charmy informs the medium. “I am gonna go rub some garbage on me just in case”.

And we will pick this back up next week with the next comic strip.

THIS DAY IN THE HISTORY OF COMIC STRIPS

CHARLES M SCHULTZ ENDS HIS HISTORIC COMIC STRIP PEANUTS

It has been sixteen years since the world’s greatest comic strip ended. After 17,897 published comic strips, Charles M Schulz ended peanuts after the most prolific run ever. This comic strip will NEVER be topped. Running from October 2, 1952 to February 13, 2000, Peanuts touched the hearts of readers across the country and inspired young kids to become cartoonists. I was one of those young kids who were awestruck by this uplifting comic strip.

Immediately, I connect with Charlie Brown. We all have had those moments in life where we felt helpless and defeated. Charlie Brown never gives up, finding inspiration and joy in his humble life and his comrades. Being an extremely shy introvert, Charlie Brown revealed that in order to have friends, you must reach out and find them. Reading Peanuts taught me a great lesson… You must work for everything… even friendship.

Whenever I was down and out after failing at sports, my art, or my school lesson, I would turn to God and Peanuts. My religion provided wisdom and faith while Peanuts reassured the faith by putting a smile on my face and a happy sigh in my heart. Of course, I would also turn to The Beatles as well for that calming sensation only their magical medleys could offer. Later in life, I would discover Cheap Trick, but my musical influences are a discussion for a future blog.

At the peak of Charlie Brown and Peanuts’ success, Charles M Schulz’s comic strip ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of 355 million in 75 countries, and was translated into 21 languages. In comparison, my comic strip Charmy’s Army ran in 8 papers in 1 country at its peak. I seriously need the backing of a syndicate, lol….

On February 13, 2000, the day following Schulz’s death, the last ever Peanuts strip ran in papers. The strip began with Charlie Brown answering the phone with someone on the end presumably asking for Snoopy. Charlie Brown responded with “No, I think he’s writing.” The bottom panel consisted of the final daily strip in its entirety, reprinted in color, and included various Peanuts characters surrounding it. The very last strip consisted simply of Snoopy sitting at his typewriter in thought with a note from Schulz.