Positioning Peanuts: Linus, Charlie, and the making of auteur comics magazines in Italy and France (1965-1975)

This academic poster was created for the DH Benelux 2024 conference. It proposes a preliminary survey of the early years of the auteur comics magazines Linus and Charlie.
The Italian monthly magazine Linus, launched in 1965, aimed to publish high-quality comics for a mature, educated audience, marking a novel approach in Italy. Linus featured contributions from intellectuals and artists, with a significant cultural influence, engaging with arts and politics. It introduced and contextualized foreign comics, nurturing a unique local comics tradition. Inspired by Linus, the French magazine Charlie was founded in 1969, maintaining a similar positioning with a touch of irreverence.
This pilot research aims to build a database and employ network analysis to position Linus and Charlie within their transnational and transmedial contexts, utilizing digital humanities tools to explore their cultural significance. The study eventually aims to develop a method for analyzing a broader corpus of European comics magazines from the 1960s onwards, integrating media sociology, cultural studies, and historical research.