Charles M. Schulz

Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (November 26, 1922 ? February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and creator of the comic strip Peanuts (which featured the characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy, among many others). He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists of all time, and cited by many cartoonists as a major influence, including Jim Davis, Bill Watterson, Matt Groening, and Dav Pilkey. "Peanuts pretty much defines the modern comic strip," states Watterson, "so even now it's hard to see it with fresh eyes. The clean, minimalist drawings, the sarcastic humor, the unflinching emotional honesty, the inner thoughts of a household pet, the serious treatment of children, the wild fantasies, the merchandising on an enormous scale ? in countless ways, Schulz blazed the wide trail that most every cartoonist since has tried to follow."