--- title: See How Charlie Brown and the Peanuts Gang Evolved description: Chip Kidd's book 'Only What's Necessary' follows how the characters changed canonical: https://time.com/4141834/evolution-charlie-brown/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-12-09T18:24:22.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:47.328Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: See the Illustrated Evolution of Charlie Brown og:description: This year marks the 50th anniversary of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' og:url: https://time.com/4141834/evolution-charlie-brown/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c92215873ae1e6b/698874abcf40a872c3c41030/charlie-brown-facebook.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:image:alt: charlie-brown-facebook og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See the Illustrated Evolution of Charlie Brown twitter:description: This year marks the 50th anniversary of 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c92215873ae1e6b/698874abcf40a872c3c41030/charlie-brown-facebook.jpg?branch=production ---  # See How Charlie Brown and the _Peanuts_ Gang Has Evolved Over the Years by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Dec 9, 2015 6:24 PM UTC  From left: Promotional flyer, United Feature Syndicate, c. 1956\. Reprint of Sunday comic strip from July 15, 1956. From left: Promotional flyer, United Feature Syndicate, c. 1956\. Reprint of Sunday comic strip from July 15, 1956.Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Dec 9, 2015 6:24 PM UTC  Original art for a handful of unpublished Li’l Folks comic strips, spring 1950\. Earlier versions ran on Sept. 19, 1948, top left, June 13, 1948, top right, and Nov. 28, 1948, bottom. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Subscriber promotional ads for launch of Peanuts Sunday comics, which made their debut on Jan. 6, 1952. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Proof sheet for one of the first three Peanuts daily newspaper strips, Oct. 2–4, 1950. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Comic book cover, Peanuts: Comics on Parade no. 1, United Feature Syndicate, 1953. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Left, Sparkler Comics no. 115, United Feature Syndicate, Jan./Feb. 1954\. This daily strip was first published in black and white on Dec. 6, 1951\. Fritzi Ritz no. 40, United Feature Syndicate, May 1955\. These two daily strips were first published in black and white on Dec. 13, 1951, top, and Dec. 5, 1951, bottom. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Detail, Sunday comic strip, May 24, 1953. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Original art for Sunday comic strip, November 29, 1953. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  From left: Promotional flyer, United Feature Syndicate, c. 1956\. Reprint of Sunday comic strip from July 15, 1956. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking,” a sixteen-page pullout storybook supplement, created two years before A Charlie Brown Christmas, for Good Housekeeping, Dec. 1963. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Original art for “Charlie Brown’s Christmas Stocking,” 1963. Copyright © 2015 Peanuts Worldwide LLC  Only What's Necessary, released 2015 via Abrams. 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