Cartoonist Schulz bids farewell with last Peanuts strip

Cartoonist Schulz bids farewell with last Peanuts strip
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO, JAN 2: Snoopy, perched on his dog house in front of his typewriter, looks over a farewell message from creator Charles Schulz in the last new daily Peanuts strip, running in newspapers on Monday.

Schulz, 77, who has written, drawn, coloured and lettered every Peanuts strip for almost 50 years, decided to retire after being diagnosed with colon cancer in November. His contract stipulates that no one else will ever draw the comic strip. The single-panel farewell strip is primarily a text message, over Schulz's signature, with the Snoopy drawing in the lower right corner. ``Dear friends,'' Schulz writes, ``I have been fortunate to draw Charlie Brown and his friends for almost 50 years. It has been the fulfilment of my childhood ambition.''

Unfortunately, I am no longer able to maintain the schedule demanded by a daily comic strip, therefore I am announcing my retirement. I have been grateful over the years for the loyalty of our editors and the wonderful support and love expressed to me byfans of the comic strip.''

``Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy ... how can I ever forget them...'' Schulz's beloved cast of characters appear in 2,600 newspapers, reaching an estimated 355 million readers daily in 75 countries.

A final new Sunday strip by Schulz will run in newspapers on February 13. After that, United Feature Syndicate will publish Peanuts reprints.