Charles Schulz's famed comic strip, Peanuts, had rather modest beginnings. Originally marketed for its flexible size and format (four squares that allowed it to be run horizontally, vertically, or in two rows), it premiered on October 2, 1950, in only seven United States newspapers. United Features Syndicate chose the title; a title, Schulz says in Charlie Brown, Snoopy and Me, he has never liked. Sales of the strip climbed slowly at first, worrying United Features Syndicate management. But, by 1960, the strip appeared in over 400 newspapers worldwide. In 1984, The Guinness Book of Records listed Peanuts as the world's most widely syndicated comic strip, and by its fortieth anniversary in 1990, Peanuts was running in over 2,000 newspapers in dozens of countries. Through the years, the Peanuts characters have appeared in print, animation, and even on stage, making them some of the most popular cartoon characters of the twentieth century.

Peanuts creator Charles Schulz...