The Final Peanuts Strip Is Still The Most Heartbreaking Goodbye In Comics History

Published Aug 20, 2026, 11:55 PM EDT An experienced Editor representing Canada via ScreenRant's Team Anime, J.R. has been reading manga since the first printing of Shonen Jump in North America. This passion drove him to write about anime, manga, and manhwa since 2022, having recently served as Lead Anime Editor for ComicBook.com. His favorite moments in media coverage include reviewing the series premieres of Zom 100 and Bleach: TYBW Part 2 back-to-back and briefly meeting Junji Ito at a VIZ gallery event in 2023. Sign in to your ScreenRant account One of the longest-running comic strips in history, and certainly among the most iconic of any era, Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz cultivated an excellent five-decade legacy for itself. Across 50 years and 17,897 installments, Schulz gave a beautifully melancholy and oddly philosophical rendition of children and their stories fully without input by adults. The series is still impressively funny and insightful to this day, with even its most poignant individual panels leaving impressions decades later. But all good things must come to an end, so when that time came for Schulz, who passed away in his sleep on February 12, 2000, his final farewell was released mere hours later for the final Sunday strip. Laying out 50 years of history in a thoughtful collage of memory panels largely referencing 13 different strips, Peanuts rereleased Schulz's letter to the fans, reiterating his family's wishes not to continue the series with anyone else. The final part of a planned six unreleased Sunday strips and daily reruns following the initial retirement announcement, per GoComics, Schulz's passing was the most genuine picture of bittersweet farewells imaginable. Peanuts Got The Most Perfectly Heartbreaking Sendoff 26 Years Ago On February 13, 2000, Peanuts released its final comic strip, featuring memory panels across decades of Schulz's work bearing a blend of nostalgic visual gags and meaningful farewells in their own way. But despite its elegant sendoff, the creator's tragic passing effectively the day before his final Peanuts comic strip was no less heartbreaking. There are actually roughly 13 memory panels (or in one case, a cluster of three) altogether, alongside three separate panels from the final November 21, 1999 appearance of the World Famous Writer persona for Snoopy next to Schulz's retirement letter first released on January 3, 2000. Most notably, this version features the addition of "My family does not wish Peanuts to be continued by anyone else," ahead of his formal announcement of retirement, enhancing the finality. The 13 selections include Peanuts comic strips and moments such as the following: Final time Charlie Brown falls on the ice before Snoopy rests his head on him (November 14, 1999) Final time Snoopy writes as the World Famous Author (November 21, 1999, three panels) Woodstock not letting Snoopy drive the Zamboni on his tiny birdbath hockey rink (December 17, 1986) Charlie Brown at the brick wall (Likely July 9, 1969) Lucy Van Pelt getting hit on the head by a baseball for the second of three times at Spring Training (March 12, 1989) Sally and Charlie Brown's final appearance, talking about how no love letters come in the rain (February 6, 2000) Snoopy playing Bridge as the Red Baron (November 7, 1999) Colorized panel from recurring Lucy/Charlie football gag (October 11, 1992) Peppermint Patty rushing Marcie for answers so she can be first to submit her shoddy paper (September 28, 1999) Last appearance of Rerun Van Pelt and the Little Pigtailed Girl Snoopy wrestling Linus' blanket away (October 17, 1999) Lucy at her psychiatry booth (Date TBD) Charles M. Schulz's retirement letter (January 3, 2000) The specifics of these strips aren't nearly as important as the memories they bring up. Charlie Brown's sad romantic state of affairs is significantly brightened by the adorable warmth of Snoopy, making light of Charlie's accident while also making the moment completely sweet. Others, such as Lucy's booth, are practically inseparable from her as a character, less concerned with any specific instance as it's appeared across an enormous variety of strips. But perhaps most meaningful of all is Schulz's final shoutout to four key characters. Schulz Said Goodbye To Four Particular Peanuts Stars Perhaps unsurprisingly, Schulz had a soft spot for four key Peanuts characters: Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and siblings Linus and Lucy. These characters were also, not coincidentally, the most prolific of all, each appearing in anywhere from just short of 4,000 to 8,500+ strips, adored by the roughly 355 million people across 2,600 newspapers reading it at the time of its ending. But 26 years later, it seems interest has continued to grow with Peanuts cemented fairly well as a timeless pop culture icon. Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy...how can I ever forget them... The short answer as shown by the fans is, one really can't forget these characters. Each is still memorable well into the present for their various quirks, from Lucy's best quotes, to Snoopy's most memorable personas, to Linus' Great Pumpkin fixation and Charlie Brown's many anxieties. Drawing these characters, after all, was the fulfillment of Schulz's childhood ambition. October 2, 1950 – February 13, 2000 · 17,897 Strips How Well Do You Know Peanuts? “Good grief!” ⚾Charlie BrownGood Ol’ Chuck 🐕SnoopyThe Flying Ace 🧣LinusSecurity Blanket 🏈LucyPsychiatric Help 🐥WoodstockBest Friend PLAY BALL → 01 Before Peanuts launched in 1950, Charles M. Schulz drew a weekly cartoon panel for the St. Paul Pioneer Press. What was it called? ALi’l Folks BSmall Fry CThe Sandlot DJust Kids ✓ Correct! Li’l Folks ran from 1947 to 1950. When the syndicate renamed the new strip “Peanuts,” Schulz hated the title for the rest of his life. ✗ Not quite! It was Li’l Folks — and Schulz never forgave United Feature for rechristening his strip “Peanuts.” NEXT → 02 Which member of the gang is almost never seen without his security blanket — and waits every year in the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin? ASchroeder BLinus van Pelt CPig-Pen DShermy ✓ Correct! Linus — Lucy’s little brother, the strip’s resident theologian, and the reason “security blanket” entered the dictionary. ✗ Not quite! It’s Linus van Pelt, whose blanket gave the English language the term “security blanket.” NEXT → 03 Schroeder hammers away at his toy piano in devotion to a single composer — whose bust sits on top of it. Who? AJohann Sebastian Bach BWolfgang Amadeus Mozart CLudwig van Beethoven DFrédéric Chopin ✓ Correct! Beethoven. Schroeder even observes Beethoven’s birthday every December 16 — while ignoring Lucy entirely. ✗ Not quite! It’s Beethoven — the one thing in the world Schroeder loves more than tuning out Lucy. NEXT → 04 When Snoopy climbs onto his doghouse in goggles and a scarf, he becomes the World War I Flying Ace — forever hunting which nemesis? AThe Cat Next Door BThe Head Beagle CThe Great Pumpkin DThe Red Baron ✓ Correct! The Red Baron — and the Sopwith Camel doghouse always goes down in flames, sending the Ace off to curse him in a French café. ✗ Not quite! It’s the Red Baron. Snoopy’s doghouse is a Sopwith Camel, and it never once wins the dogfight. NEXT → 05 Lucy runs a curbside psychiatric help booth out of a lemonade stand. What does she charge per session? A1¢ B5¢ C10¢ D25¢ ✓ Correct! Five cents, please. The nickel never went up in 50 years — and the advice was never once worth it. ✗ Not quite! It’s 5¢ — “The doctor is in.” Lucy held that price for half a century. NEXT → 06 Snoopy’s tiny yellow best friend went unnamed for years before Schulz finally christened him. What was he named after? AA brand of birdseed BSchulz’s hometown in Minnesota CThe 1969 Woodstock music festival DA character from a Beethoven opera ✓ Correct! Woodstock got his name in 1970, borrowed straight from the music festival held the summer before. ✗ Not quite! He’s named for the 1969 Woodstock festival — Schulz gave the bird the name in 1970, years after he first appeared. NEXT → 07 The jazz score for A Charlie Brown Christmas — including the immortal “Linus and Lucy” — was written by which musician? AVince Guaraldi BDave Brubeck CHenry Mancini DDuke Ellington ✓ Correct! Pianist Vince Guaraldi scored the 1965 special, and network executives were sure the jazz soundtrack would sink it. It became a permanent holiday fixture. ✗ Not quite! It’s Vince Guaraldi, whose trio gave Peanuts its unmistakable sound. NEXT → 08 Schulz drew every Peanuts strip himself for nearly 50 years. What made the final original Sunday strip — February 13, 2000 — so haunting? ACharlie Brown finally kicked the football BThe Little Red-Haired Girl was shown at last CIt was the only strip Schulz left unfinished DIt ran the morning after Schulz died ✓ Correct! Schulz died the evening of February 12, 2000 — and his farewell strip, signed off with “Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, Lucy... how can I ever forget them,” appeared in papers the very next morning. ✗ Not quite! Schulz died on February 12, 2000 — hours before his own farewell strip ran in the Sunday papers. SEE YOUR SCORE → The Doctor Is In · Five Cents, Please Your Peanuts Report Card ⚾ / 8 Good grief — or good ol’ Charlie Brown? Either way, the football is still there. Wanna try again? ⤴ ONE MORE KICK This final comic strip was a goodbye to the beloved characters of Peanuts, for sure. However, these characters have long transcended their appearances in newspapers worldwide to become truly ubiquitous, with readers and general audiences from newer generations able to enjoy the absolute goldmine of stories Schulz left behind. TV Show(s) The Snoopy Show, Peanuts by Schulz First Film The Peanuts Movie Cast Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Bill Melendez, Sally Dryer, Peter Robbins, Noah Schnapp, Hadley Belle Miller, Mariel Sheets, Lisa DeFaria, Venus Omega Schultheis Created by Charles M. Schulz Movie(s) The Peanuts Movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, Charlie Brown's All Stars!, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown Character(s) Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Lucy van Pelt, Linus van Pelt, Sally Brown, Pig-Pen, Marcie (Peanuts), Peppermint Patty, Woodstock