There was way more to Charles M. Schulz than Charlie Brown and Snoopy, and from the mid-1950s until early 1965 Schulz drew monthly or bi-weekly single-panel comics for Youth and Reach Magazines. It’s been said that these characters are the Peanuts kids as teenagers, but Schulz tried to keep the two strips as separate as he could. He didn’t even sign them in the same way. The characters in these comics didn’t have names or storylines, but just presented little slices-of-life glimpses of Christian teen culture as it was in times gone by.
Schulz became a Christian towards the end of World War Two while being mentored by a string of pastors at his local Church of God. He was already drawing cartoons, including “Peanuts” for various publications when he was approached by Reach and Youth about drawing for them as well.
“The Young Pillars” was so successful, it was compiled into four books over the years: The Young Pillars, “Teenager” Is Not A Disease, What Was Bugging Ol’ Pharoah? and today’s offering, I Take My Religion Seriously.
Since it seems better to show what’s in a book like this rather than tell about it, I thought I’d present a small sample of what can be found inside:
Granted, “The Young Pillars” is nowhere near the quality of “Peanuts,” but it’s still a lot of fun to see some of Charles M. Schulz’s work outside the “Peanuts” universe. While they might look a little bit dated, the sentiments they reflect are timeless.
Also granted, this was not a typical Reading Rarity, but what Rarity is, really? Hope to see you on Friday for Gill and Barry’s Hammer-Amicus Blogathon, and thanks for reading, all…
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Bibliography
Lind, Stephen J. A Charlie Brown Religion: Exploring the Spiritual Life and Work of Charles M. Schulz. Jackson, Mississippi: University of Mississippi Press, 2015
Taking Up Room 
Hmmm, even though the cover and title of this book aren’t familiar, I DO recognize some of the cartoons inside! Wondering now if they were featured in another book I got to read years ago. I was a real Peanuts fan when I was a kid (still am) and collected every PB collection I could find. Would be neat to get this. 🙂
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I think they did recycle some of the material across the different books–this one seems to be a best-of kind of thing. And I’m totally with ya. Love Charlie Brown and Snoopy!
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I was aware that Schulz held Christian beliefs but these comics are new to me. I find it fascinating to see another side of a well-known public figure. Quite different but related, I am a huge fan of the political WWII cartoons of Dr. Seuss.
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Yeah, same here. These guys were definitely not one-hit wonders. 🙂
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