I'm surprised this hasn't been posted here yet. Bill Watterson, a man whose reclusiveness rivals that of the late JD Salinger, offers his first interview with the press in over 20 years.

The entire interview can be seen here .

Thanks for this. I love Calvin and Hobbes, and it's always interesting to catch whatever glimpse we can of the man behind them.

That old photo of him cracked me up. He looks like Calvin's dad, only with a mustache.

What a magnificent bastard. I respect the reality of his answers. I always had a feeling that was his tone about it, but it's wonderful to hear something from him.

And yes, he completely looked like Calvin's dad!

"Yes I certainly was the person that drew that strip some years ago."

It's like he's been type cast. He won't be able to do another strip without it being seen as Calvin and Hobbes.

I'd like to hear a bit more on his thoughts of being a cartoonist for an occupation. Charles Schulz had quite a few interviews where he talked about his love for drawing, what he thought of the newspaper strip comics running against his own, the creation of it all.

ksteak
I'd like to hear a bit more on his thoughts of being a cartoonist for an occupation. Charles Schulz had quite a few interviews where he talked about his love for drawing, what he thought of the newspaper strip comics running against his own, the creation of it all.

Most of this story has been mentioned in the Calvin and Hobbes 10th anniversary book, including his love of drawing and many of his influences (including Pogo, another comic I've been meaning to read if they ever release that Complete Pogo Collection they've been meaning to release since 2007). Suffice to say, he wasn't a big fan of the syndicate always trying to take licensing control away from him, and it's one of the biggest reasons why he quit. Personally, it's better to read from the actual book about his experience than to take my word for it.

I vote for "Calvin and Hobbes, Eighth Wonder of the World."

I second that...

I had read this interview. Good stuff, its good to hear from him once in a while. You have to really respect his decision about not running C&H into the ground as so many others have been.

I really, though, have wished that he would do something NEW. That seems like something rare in the syndicated newspaper strip field-- which, I'm fairly sure he wanted to get out of. At the time that C&H ended, I had been under the impression that he wanted to go on and do other projects published in a different (longer) format. He's such a fantastic artist, as evidenced by some of calvin's amazing "adventures" (Spaceman Spiff, Dinosaurs, etc)-- I would have loved to seen what else he would have done...

Sigh...

According to wiki

Since retiring, Bill Watterson has taken up painting, often drawing landscapes of the woods with his father.

I'd like to see him do something longform too.

You know... I'm sure C&H left him independently wealthy, so if there's just a drive to create, but not to publish (as he seems to not be interested in his work beyond the actual creation)-- it makes sense that he'd just go do what makes him happy, and not really have to share it so publicly with the outside world.

I could see the happiness in that. And he's certainly earned it.

Still... though...

I saw an interview somewhere where he said he regretted ever making Calvin and Hobbes. Bull shit where would he be without them?

I love Calvin and Hobbes. It is the first comic I ever got into, and I think it is the best comic ever made.

Best strip evah! Everything else today is sooooo lame.