Comic Strips: Charlie Brown and the Unimaginable Depression

The comic strip has been seen as a staple of modern American culture since the 20th century. As a little kid, I would wait seemingly forever for my father to finish reading the newspaper, which he'd then throw to me so I could read the comics section. My favorites were Calvin and Hobbes and Undertown. When I got older, I got into buying volumes of older comic strips like Peanuts and Archie. As the years went by, I found myself with a pretty decent comic strip collection. I've always been interested in comics because I thought they were cute and visually appealing. It wasn't until reading Scott McCloud that I realized the power of icons and seeing oneself within the comic world were why I was so interested as a child. A lot of comics, especially Peanuts, were relatable to me as a child (and I'm sure were relatable to children the world over). What I found most interesting about comic strips was how secretly educational they were/are about the real world. So many Peanuts strips showed Charlie Brown going through existential crises that no normal 6 year old goes through, such as the meaning of life, where do we go when we die.

Charlie Brown is a very interesting child, he enjoys typical childlike thinks but thinks like a depressed adult. I think that's why Peanuts has been around for so long: when people read the strips as a child they could relate, and now that they're adults they can still relate just in a different way. I think duality like that in comic strips is why some have survived the years and why many haven't. Having a specific audience is great, but when multiple groups age groups can relate, there's a long lasting effect that these strips and characters have.