Only What's Necessary

Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts

Chip Kidd, Geoff Spear, Jeff Kinney , Jean Schulz

$44.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Abrams ComicArts
22 May 2025

Cartoons & comic strips; TV tie-in humour

The Eisner Award–nominated tribute to Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz—repackaged for the beloved strip’s 75th anniversary

Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) believed that the key to cartooning was to take out the extraneous details and leave in only what’s necessary. For 50 years, from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, Schulz wrote and illustrated Peanuts, the single most popular and influential comic strip in the world. In all, 17,897 strips were published, making it “arguably the longest story ever told by one human being,” according to Robert Thompson, professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. For Only What’s Necessary: Charles M. Schulz and the Art of Peanuts, renowned designer Chip Kidd was granted unprecedented access to the extraordinary archives of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, California. Reproducing the best of the Peanuts newspaper strip, all shot from the original art by award-winning photographer Geoff Spear, Only What’s Necessary also features exclusive, rare, and unpublished original art and developmental work—much of which has never been seen before.

By: Chip Kidd
By (photographer): Geoff Spear
Preface by: Jean Schulz
Introduction by: Jeff Kinney
Contributions by: Paige Braddock
Imprint: Abrams ComicArts
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 279mm, Spine: 30mm
ISBN: 9781419783333
ISBN 10: 1419783335
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 22 May 2025
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Charles M. Schulz (1922–2000) was the legendary cartoonist and creator of the iconic comic strip Peanuts. Schulz was twice honored with the Reuben Award by the National Cartoonists Society. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) are two of the most successful animated television specials of all time, winning multiple Emmy and Peabody Awards. The Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack by the Vince Guaraldi Trio is among the most popular Christmas albums of all time. His archives are located at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. Chip Kidd is an award-winning graphic designer, writer, and editor at large at Pantheon. A three-time Eisner Award winner, he has written and designed more than a dozen books on comics, including Here Comes Charlie Brown: A Peanuts Pop-Up, The Peanuts Poster Collection, Shazam! The Golden Age of the World’s Mightiest Mortal, Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross, Marvelocity: The Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross, and the upcoming Marvel Arts title, The Avengers in The Veracity Trap. He lives in New York City. Geoff Spear is an award-winning photographer who has collaborated with Chip Kidd on over a dozen books and numerous book jackets. His compelling photographs have appeared on the cover and in the pages of Time, Newsweek, Fortune, Entertainment Weekly, GQ, the New York Times Magazine, and many others. He lives in New York City.