The latest addition to the AAUGH.com Reference Library is also the oldest piece of Schulz material to be held by that fine and venerable institution. The February 1947 issue of Topix Comics is full of tales aimed at Catholic youth, but it’s the final page that earns it a special place in the collection, featuring 4 single-panel gags drawn by Schulz.

Note that date: February 1947 means that this was before “Li’l Folks”, before the cartoons in the Saturday Evening Post. That means these are his first published cartoons (not his first published art, as he provided an art assist on an earlier comic book.) Come to think of it, off the top of my head I think his two pages for Topix (this one and one in a later issue) would be the last time his art appeared in color for five years, as Peanuts didn’t have color Sunday strips until ’52.


And to stave off an inevitable question: no, along his religious journey, Schulz was never Catholic. This was just a gig.

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