Lincoln Peirce has been illustrating the daily Big Nate series non-stop since January 1991, living to see the passing of his idol Charles Schulz, and the early retirement of Bill Watterson. For 35 years, the 11-year-old Big Nate has never grown up... but Peirce has, and on June 13 he'll be ending the daily version of Big Nate, in favor of a Sundays-only routine.

For Peirce, now 62, it's an opportune time. Not because of the various adaptations, including a game, a musical, and an animated TV series, but because, frankly, he's outgrown sixth grade, but doesn't think Nate ever should.

“I still feel like I have a lot of stories to tell. I just think as far as Big Nate goes, you can only tell so many jokes about sixth grade,” Peirce told the Colby News back in 2025, before he announced the change. "There are things I return to over and over again, and the challenge is to find fresh ways. Ok, how am I going to make him getting his school picture taken funny this year?"

Although Big Nate was originally planned to be about the family of Nate and all the domestic humor that goes with it, he discovered early on what he enjoyed most was the school humor. Maybe it's the former high school art teacher in Peirce, or the deeper former student himself, the middle schooler going to Oyster River in Durham, New Hampshire.

Either way, next week is Big Nate's last school week (for us, at least) - but he'll still come to visit us on Sundays.