Poignant Goodbye

Good Grief! It’s the final goodbye for Charlie Brown and his pals.

Charles Schulz ended his 49-year-old “Peanuts” comic strip with a poignant letter published in today’s newspapers across the country, including The Spokesman-Review.

The signed letter also ran when he ended his daily comic strip on Jan. 3.

The 77-year-old cartoonist - beloved for his timeless characters Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus and Lucy - is retiring to turn his full attention to fighting cancer.

The strip opens with Charlie Brown on the phone saying, “No, I think he’s writing.” In the next panel, Snoopy is shown on his dog house, pecking on a typewriter. “Dear Friends …,” it reads.

Classic “Peanuts” images decorate the letter: Lucy pulling away a football as Charlie Brown tries to kick it, Snoopy trying to steal Linus’ blanket, and Lucy getting hit on the head by a baseball with a loud “Bonk!”

Schulz’s contract stipulates that no one else will ever draw the strip, which debuted Oct. 2, 1950, and reached an estimated 355 million readers daily in 75 countries. United Feature Syndicate will continue to publish “Peanuts” reprints.