Comic strips

50 Years Ago: ‘Weekend Edition’ Covers Franklin’s Debut in ‘Peanuts’

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Daily Cartoonist Staff July 30, 2018 1 minute 0 comments

NPR’s ‘Weekend Edition’ has a piece on the 50-year-anniversary of the debut appearance of Franklin, the first black character featured in Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts.”

“Jumpstart” cartoonist Robb Armstrong is featured quite extensively in the piece.

From the story:

Schulz, however, had been wary of including a black child in the Peanuts gang and was concerned that it would come off as patronizing. That’s what perhaps contributed to the wholesome, almost-too-perfect character of Franklin: He was a good student and kind to everyone and was even, as some critiqued, a bit bland.