The Peanuts favorite has been offering his wisdom since 1954.
When it comes to recognizable characters from the comic strips of yore, Peanuts sits at the top of the syndication mountain. You've got Charlie Brown and his iconic yellow-and-black zig-zag shirt, Linus and his security blanket, and the ever-popular Snoopy with his doghouse and friend Woodstock. Then there's Pig-Pen, the perpetually filthy member of the Peanuts gang who can't seem to take more than a few steps without kicking up his trademark cloud of dust.
First appearing in 1954, Pig-Pen was never really considered one of Peanuts' most prominent characters; he certainly didn't reach the popularity of Charlie, Snoopy, Lucy, or even Marcie or Peppermint Patty. Even then, Charles Schulz didn't need to give him much time on the page to establish exactly who he was. Even though most other Peanuts kids routinely commented on his appearance, Pig-Pen rarely seemed all that bothered by it. In fact, one of his best moments came just a few months after he first appeared in the strip, when Lucy tried convincing him life might be better if he simply cleaned himself up. As it turns out, Pig-Pen was perfectly happy the way he was.
In a comic strip first released September 26, 1954, Pig-Pen can be seen watching Lucy shower Snoopy with affection from afar. After she calls the beloved beagle a "cute little doggie," Pig-Pen admits he wishes somebody would treat him the same way.
Rather than offering Pig-Pen the affection he's looking for, Lucy tells him that perhaps somebody would if he'd clean himself once in a while.
Pig-Pen takes the suggestion surprisingly well. He heads home, hops in the bath, scrubs away his trademark grime, and emerges looking completely unrecognizable.
When he returns to Lucy, however, she's considerably less enthusiastic. He reminds her that she said she might hug him if he cleaned up, prompting Lucy to emphasize the one particularly important word: maybe.
Pig-Pen does what he typically does and quickly hops into the nearest puddle of mud, exclaiming he's happy to just be himself again.
There's something particularly Peanuts about finding the lesson in a kid who's happiest while covered from head to toe in dirt. Charlie Brown desperately wanted to succeed despite expecting failure each time he walked up to kick the football. Lucy wanted everyone around her to conform to her view on life. Pig-Pen, meanwhile, possessed the kind of confidence many of the strip's other characters lacked.
Everyone could see what made him different, and nobody was shy about pointing it out, but he largely refused to let their opinions dictate how he saw himself.
Ultimately, that's what keeps it working nearly seven decades later.
