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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/picture7.jpg]]
2 [[caption-width-right:350:Well, this looks a li'l [[ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}} familiar]].]]
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4''Li'l Folks'' is the first comic strip by Creator/CharlesMSchulz. It was a weekly panel comic that mainly appeared in the women's section of Schulz's hometown paper, the St. Paul ''Pioneer Press'', beginning in 1947. He was credited under his lifelong nickname Sparky.
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6In early 1950, Schulz quit the strip after the editor refused to increase his pay from $10 and also refused to move ''Li'l Folks'' to the comics pages of the newspaper. Later that year, he successfully pitched ''Li'l Folks'' to United Feature Syndicate for national distribution. Afterwards, he did some retooling of the concept, including switching from several single-panel gags placed together to a four-panel narrative format, and using a set cast instead of random nameless characters. However, editors found the name ''Li'l Folks'' too close to the names of two other comics of the time, ''ComicStrip/LilAbner'' and ''Little Folks''. To avoid confusion, the syndicate changed the name and ''ComicStrip/{{Peanuts}}'' was born.
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8Schulz reused many elements from ''Li'l Folks'' for ''Peanuts'', such as Charlie Brown's name and Snoopy's design.
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10Two reprints of the complete ''Li'l Folks'' were published after Schulz's death : the ''Li'l Beginnings'' collection in 2003 and the penultimate volume of ''The Complete Peanuts'' in 2016.
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12!!Li'l Tropes:
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14* AdorablyPrecociousChild: A lot of the humour comes from cute little kids trying to act like adults and saying things you wouldn't expect.
15* ArtEvolution: The strip became more stylized until it started looking like early ''Peanuts''.
16* CanineCompanion: One boy is often accompanied by his pet dog.
17* NoNameGiven: The characters were mostly unnamed. Only a few have their names mentioned in dialogue (and it's inconsistent, as ''several'' boys are named "Charlie Brown").
18* PuppyLove: Subverted. A few strips has a boy 'courting' a girl when he's really just interested in her toys or comics.
19* RunningGag: A few, such as a toddler in a high chair who acts like he's in a restaurant (or bar), and a young music student who cracks jokes about his trouble playing Beethoven pieces (a clear prototype for Schroeder).
20* ShortRunners: It ran from from June 22, 1947, to January 22, 1950.

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