- This page is about the Peanuts character; for the Grateful Dead member see Ron "Pigpen" McKernan.
Pig-Pen is a character in the comic strip Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz.
Pig-Pen is known for the cloud of dirt and dust that follows him wherever he goes. He sometimes refers to it somewhat nobly as the dust of ancient civilizations. He cannot and will not wash it off for more than the briefest of periods - in fact, he is referred to as the only person who can get dirty from walking through a snowstorm. Nevertheless, on rare occasions he has appeared clean, and hence unrecognizable, in the strip.
Pig-Pen first appeared in the Peanuts comic strip on July 13, 1954. Schulz noted that he regretted that the character was a popular one considering that the character was essentially a joke.