Thursday, September 25, 2014

Little Nemo, Calvan and Hobbs, and Peanuts


Charles Schulz may not be the first artist to innovate taking the kid's eye view seriously (Little Nemo definitely beat him to that), but it still counted as a turning point in every day kid's comics. Peanuts is a long debut of self-experiences made by Schulz, made by a once-kid for kids. Kids are broken from adult ways of life and are focused with who closely can talk to and interact with them, whether it be their best friends or their favorite stuffed animal. The adults and teachers are pushed to the side and insignificant to the main strip because that ain't something a kid wants to focus on. Instead, kids want to look for fun and adventure, and not be lectured by an adult all day. They want to discover things for themselves. Each little comic strip is it's own little learning experience, and, even if they're not exactly laugh-out-loud material, the real hint of irony and sarcasm is what make each enjoyable.


The success of these tiny comics even pushed other comics to the same size Schulz's was. Not because of forced ordering, but instead, by encouraging imitation. The easy-read caricatures, as related back to Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics, are icons in themselves that relate to so many people on their own levels that everyone can pick up a newspaper, read it, and get personally attached to them. But the downside is that all of these comics have aged, sadly. No kid plays marbles or other old forms of child's play. They're becoming harder to relate to because the norm of today is becoming more and more different than how it was back then. It truly is turning to more of comic of it's time than of a contemporary comic of today.

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