Cover of the first book Americans have always loved comic strips, and in recent years, no strip has been as popular as "Calvin and Hobbes," which began its decade-long run on November 18, 1985. "Calvin and Hobbes" was the brainchild of a 27-year-old failed editorial cartoonist named Bill Watterson. Inspired by such classic strips as "Peanuts," "Pogo," and "Krazy Kat," Watterson created the small but vivid universe inhabited by an incorrigible six-year-old with a vivid imagination and his stuffed (or was he?) tiger. Like the strips that inspired him, Watterson’s work was a one-man show: he did all the writing and drawing himself. But, unlike its predecessors, "Calvin and Hobbes" had two differences. The first is that the strip didn't outlive its creator. Some features -- "Blondie," "Gasoline Alley," "Popeye" -- have gone on for decades after their writers and artists gave up the ghost. But Watterson simply walked away from his creation after ten years, claiming he'd said all he had to say. The more important difference was that, unlike the others, Watterson never commercialized "Calvin and Hobbes" Sure, there have been books (over 30 million copies sold) and a couple of calendars, but he never sold the rights to "Calvin" to others to turn into songs, movies, TV shows, Broadway musicals -- or even peanut butter. His rationale was that "each product I considered seemed to violate the spirit of the strip, contradict its message, and take me away from the work I loved." (Though he also later ironically admitted that "I clearly miscalculated how popular it would be to show Calvin urinating on a Ford logo.") After leaving "Calvin and Hobbes," the publicity-averse Watterson became a virtual recluse. Since the last Sunday page ran in 1995, his public output has amounted to answering 15 questions from fans, an appreciation of "Peanuts" when Charles Schulz retired, a review of a biography of Schulz, and a foreword to a collection of Richard Thompson's "Cul De Sac" comic strip. While fans may nurture the hope that Watterson, Calvin, and Hobbes might someday grace us with one more adventure, sometimes it’s good to let a perfect thing be just that and not wish for more. Suggested Sites... Go Comics: Calvin and Hobbes - daily reprints of the strip, with a full archive. Also offers a daily email feed. Andrews McMeel: Calvin and Hobbes - publishers of the C&H books, with trivia, information on the strip and Bill Watterson. Wikipedia: Bill Watterson - biography of the "Calvin and Hobbes" creator, with a rare photo. Bill Watterson's Rarest! - gallery of rare and unpublished art by the writer and artist. The Derkins Library for Calvin and Hobbes Research - obsessive site with tons of information about Watterson and his creation.

Directory categories: Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson, Comic Strips, Cartoonists, Comic Characters

Archived under: Anniversaries, Artists, Books, Calvin and Hobbes, Cartoonists, Cartoons, Comic Strips, Comics, Entertainment, Humor, Media, Popeye, Recluses, Writers

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