''It's Only a Game'' was a sports-and-game-oriented comics panel by

Charles M. Schulz Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (; November 26, 1922 – February 12, 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts'', featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is wid ...

, creator of ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run extended from 1950 to 2000, continuing in reruns afterward. ' ...

''. Stephen D. Becker, ''Comic Art In America''. New York : Simon and Schuster, 1959, (p.159, 366) This panel feature ran for 14 months, from November 3, 1957, to January 11, 1959. ''It's Only a Game'' was distributed by

United Feature Syndicate United Feature Syndicate (UFS) is a large American editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States and established in 1919. Originally part of E. W. Scripps Company, it was part of United Media (along wit ...

. Schulz and cartoonist

Jim Sasseville James Frederick Sasseville (August 28, 1927 – November 30, 2005) was an American cartoonist and graphic artist, best known for his work with ''Peanuts'' creator Charles M. Schulz. Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, he graduated from the Minneapo ...

(who also assisted Schulz on ''Peanuts'' stories for various comic books) produced this strip which appeared in newspapers four times a week, including Sundays. Schulz created the strip and produced the first few weeks worth of strips himself; after that, while Schulz was responsible for most of the written content and rough artwork, Sasseville was brought on board to provide some of the gags and all the finished artwork, done in Schulz's style (Schulz continued to receive sole credit for the comic). Despite the resemblance to the children in ''Peanuts'', most of the characters in these cartoons were adults. The comic focused on games, which could range from card games and board games to classic "sporting" games, or even recreational activities. Unlike most other sports comics, the sporting activities focused on many amateur sports, like golf and ping pong. The strip was modestly successful, although its unusual three-times-a-week publication schedule (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) may have limited its placement in many newspapers. A Sunday strip was also offered to newspapers, consisting of the three panels from earlier in the week, along with a bonus fourth panel in an elongated format. Given the growing popularity of ''Peanuts'' (along with his work on ''

Young Pillars ''Young Pillars'' is a single-panel gag strip written and drawn by Charles M. Schulz (best known for ''Peanuts'') from 1956 to 1965 for the ''Youth'' Magazine published by the Church of God. Unlike ''Peanuts'', the comic featured teenagers, and ...

'') and the resulting demands on his time, Schulz canceled the strip after 63 weeks.

References

External links

''It's Only a Game''
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
from the original on April 13, 2012.

References

External links

Further reading