A dark new parody of the iconic Peanuts comic has reimagined Charlie Brown as a Twilight Zone villain. Peanuts is well-regarded as one of the most wholesome comics ever created. The Charles Schulz-developed franchise has reached the hearts of millions with its lovable characters and endearing stories. However, several fans have found ways to subvert what made these classic characters work, including an incredible new piece of fan art.
Artist Francesco Marciuliano took to X recently to share a genius recreation of Peanuts‘ very first strip. It starts out fairly simple, with Shermy declaring that Charlie Brown is coming down the road, calling him “Good Ol’ Charlie Brown.” However, things take a serious turn when he tells Patty “if we stop thinking good things about that monster he’ll zap us to the cornfield.”
It’s a brilliant homage to Anthony Fremont from The Twilight Zone‘s iconic episode “It’s a Good Life,” who is a monster in the form of a little boy with the power to manipulate reality with a simple thought.
This Parody Transforms the First Peanuts Comic Strip
What works so well about this parody is how it completely changes Charlie Brown’s character. The iconic protagonist of the Peanuts franchise is a target for laughter from his friends because of how wishy-washy he can be. Now, to see him hold power over the kids is an amusing subversion of the typical Peanuts strip. The kids live in fear of him in this parody, with Patty even telling Shermy “We’re as good as dead” when he reveals Charlie Brown to be like the Twilight Zone villain, paving the way for several funny scenarios in this new reality. For example, Lucy could let Charlie Brown finally kick the football in a twist on the famous Peanuts football gag, fearing she’ll be wished away to the cornfield — or, even worse, turned into a football herself, just like Dan Hollis was turned into a Jack-in-the-Box at the end of the Twilight Zone story.
The best thing about Marciuliano’s art is that introduces a Twilight Zone Charlie Brown in the very first Peanuts comic ever created. It works so well because it subverts the punchline of the very first strip, since Shermy delivered the first line of Peanuts dialogue, hinting that he hates Charlie Brown, despite saying good things about him. In this alternate reality, Shermy can’t voice what he really thinks because Charlie Brown could easily wish him away. When taking Peanuts history into account, though, he very well could have been wished away at some point. After all, Shermy was removed from the comics in 1975 as more and more kids like Franklin were introduced. It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility that an angry Charlie Brown sent him to the cornfield.
This transformative fan art for both Peanuts and The Twlight Zone works in more ways than one. Not only is it a loving tribute to two beloved franchises, but it makes a great crossover as the iconic comic strip becomes much darker. It’s almost unbelievable that these two very different properties could work so well together, but Francesco Marciuliano has proven that Charlie Brown can work as a Twlight Zone villain as he causes chaos for the Peanuts gang in their alternate reality.
