Charles M. Schulz’s Peanuts has taught me more lessons than I can remember. No, really: the comic strip ran for 50 years—that’s a lot of knowledge to retain. Perhaps its greatest lesson was the the importance of friendship though, and it is that aspect of the cartoon that transfers so brilliantly to Stranger Things. Artist Brian Richard saw the connection and brought it to life in this fan art he shared on Reddit:

It’s Charlie Brown and his pals as Eleven, Lucas, Mike, and Dustin. I’d absolutely watch that special, wouldn’t you? I mean, A Charlie Brown Christmas Special is rather delightful, but I’d be willing to switch it up for a year and watch the gang fight a Demogorgon.

If Brian’s name or alias, MonkeyMan, seem familiar, you might know him from The FatKid Project. He started the art series that features slightly bigger takes on familiar characters from pop culture in 2008 as a daily drawing exercise, and he’s still at it. The illustrations may not arrive each day any longer, but they’re still stacking up. You can see a bunch of them at his website.

Keep up with all of Brian’s work by following him on Facebook or Instagram. He posts both original designs and fan art. You can get a print of the above image at Etsy. And because you might be in the mood for more Stranger Things fan art, don’t forget our gallery which includes a different Charlie Brown mash-up with characters from the Netflix series.

If you could be in Stranger Things as a Peanuts character, who would you be? Tell me in the comments.

Image: Brian Richard