Who remembers the awesomeness that was Calvin and Hobbes?!? By the was, what ever happened to Bill Watterson? Did he die or is he alive in a cave somewhere? If you know please tell us!

I just love "Calvin and Hobbes"!!!

Probably my favorite printed comic strip along with "Mafalda".

As far as I know, Watterson is still alive and living somewhere in Cleveland...

Calvin and Hobbes is one of my biggest comic inspirations. I own the Complete Calvin and Hobbes collection, but because of its binding, I only read it about once or twice a year as a ritual.

After 10 years of producing the daily strip, Bill Watterson decided to retire, having basically said all he felt he had to say with Calvin and Hobbes. He never came back to drawing the strip and didn't leave someone in charge, and no amount of money is going to buy him back, because it is not about the money. That's the same reason you'll never see "official" Calvin and Hobbes merchandise: Watterson won't approve any because he doesn't see his characters as cash cows. Not sure if he is in a cave, but I understand it is in fact very rural where he lives. He kinda wanted to "go back to Nature".

That's the legend, at least...

timethief
After 10 years of producing the daily strip, Bill Watterson decided to retire, having basically said all he felt he had to say with Calvin and Hobbes. He never came back to drawing the strip and didn't leave someone in charge, and no amount of money is going to buy him back, because it is not about the money. That's the same reason you'll never see "official" Calvin and Hobbes merchandise: Watterson won't approve any because he doesn't see his characters as cash cows. Not sure if he is in a cave, but I understand it is in fact very rural where he lives. He kinda wanted to "go back to Nature".

That's the legend, at least...

That reminds me of the famous New Zealand comic by Murry Ball "Footrot Flats".
One day after 20 years of doing the strip and becoming extremely successful, even having it made into a pretty good animated movie, he just quit. The comic ended with him. He didn't want it continued and it wasn't (the newspapers would've LOVED to keep it going though).

His work had been used commercially in various limited ways and I see no issue with that, it wasn't Garfield type stuff. :P

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Calvin and Hobbes was brilliant stuff. I especially loved the critiques on the art world. :)

I miss that comic. I'm going to go read some now...

Calvin and Hobbes was the first comic I ever read. I fell in love instantly.

Same here, it's a great comic.

I could've sworn I heard someone was doing a show of the landscape paintings he's been doing since he shut down Calvin & Hobbes, but now I think I might've imagined it.

Doubt he would've showed up, anyway...

Bill used to randomly go into book stores in Ohio and sign copies of his books for fans to find as easter eggs until he found out people were sharking the stores to find these copies, buy them up and sell them on E-bay for a quick buck rather then being pleasent surprises for fans to enjoy.

He doesn't do stuff like that anymore. T_T

timethief
After 10 years of producing the daily strip, Bill Watterson decided to retire, having basically said all he felt he had to say with Calvin and Hobbes. He never came back to drawing the strip and didn't leave someone in charge, and no amount of money is going to buy him back, because it is not about the money. That's the same reason you'll never see "official" Calvin and Hobbes merchandise: Watterson won't approve any because he doesn't see his characters as cash cows. Not sure if he is in a cave, but I understand it is in fact very rural where he lives. He kinda wanted to "go back to Nature".

That's the legend, at least...

I have a friend who has seen his house. It's a nice house, and yes, it's out in the middle of nature surrounded by a forest. His own Walden, I guess.

I miss Calvin and Hobbes, and it was my favorite comic, but I understand the value of something that quits without going downhill. There aren't many things I can think of that were really good and didn't eventually jump the shark and turn sour before quitting.

As much as I'd love a Calvin and Hobbes poster or figurine, I like how pure and non-commercial the comic has remained.

Has anyone heard the Bill Watterson song by Lemon Demon? It's pretty funny. Here it is on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUTauS99cD8

and here's the live version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TiRLYp80zg8&feature=fvw

This is one of my favorite bands ever.

Someone
I could've sworn I heard someone was doing a show of the landscape paintings he's been doing since he shut down Calvin & Hobbes, but now I think I might've imagined it.

You know, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if he showed up doing a series of instructional videos on how to paint "happy trees".

It's amazing how many people who write comics are comic connoisseurs.

Has anyone read Looking for Calvin and Hobbes? I just ordered it from the library a moment ago, but if someone's already formed an opinion on it, I'd love to hear it...

PhilWrede
Has anyone read Looking for Calvin and Hobbes? I just ordered it from the library a moment ago, but if someone's already formed an opinion on it, I'd love to hear it...

I've never even heard of it but I could find it on the internet and tell you about it. I'll let you know!

mattboy115
It's amazing how many people who write comics are comic connoisseurs.

not really, if you wanna be good at what you do it makes sense to be educated about your field

I think my avatar is a pretty good display of my opinion of Calvin and Hobbes.

I love that strip. I learned to read as a kid by going over Calvin and Hobbes' Sundays. The wit and the perspective of the characters was wonderful. Plus, it was pretty much the only strip in the newspaper that was beautifully drawn. Everything else in the funnies were composed of stock poses, minimal backgrounds, and banal jokes.

Pretty much the main reason I got into comics and began drawing my own was Calvin and Hobbes.

Air Raid Robertson
I love that strip. I learned to read as a kid by going over Calvin and Hobbes' Sundays. The wit and the perspective of the characters was wonderful. Plus, it was pretty much the only strip in the newspaper that was beautifully drawn. Everything else in the funnies were composed of stock poses, minimal backgrounds, and banal jokes.

Now that you mention it you are exactly right! Calvin and Hobbes was the only comic in the paper at the time that had any substance at all! Garfield was the only one that came close! And then maybe Dilbert.

Calvin and Hobbes was never actually my favourite...I mean, I like it, but I wouldn't call Bill Watterson a genius or anything. It never made me laugh out loud(comics usually don't, but a couple have).

mattboy115
Now that you mention it you are exactly right! Calvin and Hobbes was the only comic in the paper at the time that had any substance at all! Garfield was the only one that came close! And then maybe Dilbert.

Replace Garfield with The Far Side and I would pretty much agree with that.

I loved his deft brushwork, especially when he'd stretch out on Sunday strips and the like. He always seemed to treat it as a very personal commitment and the way he left things is consistent with that. However you feel about merchandising, licensing characters and the rest, you have to respect his principles: sometimes sorely missed is better than media saturated.

Hawk

mattboy115
Now that you mention it you are exactly right! Calvin and Hobbes was the only comic in the paper at the time that had any substance at all! Garfield was the only one that came close! And then maybe Dilbert.

Replace Garfield with The Far Side and I would pretty much agree with that.

Yes! You are absolutely right! Put The Far Side at the top and move the rest down one.

By the way did anyone watch Robot Chicken tonight? It was the one with the Calvin and Hobbes Parody! They made him way too tall in that.

More of a Peanuts fan myself.

ksteak
More of a Peanuts fan myself.

Hey, that's a good strip too!

Side Note: Who'da thought I could make a topic that would go on this long?!? Wow!

Schulz and Watterson were the two biggest influences behind my decision to create my own comic. They understood how to tap into our own lives by laying bare their own. Unintentionally, of course. And that's the trick.

I'm proud and blessed to be able to share page space with them.

Jc

www.deflocked.com

Calvin and Hobbes was never actually my favourite...I mean, I like it, but I wouldn't call Bill Watterson a genius or anything. It never made me laugh out loud(comics usually don't, but a couple have).

I know I'm going to sound like a total snob, but... I think you're missing the point. Calvin and Hobbes is not supposed to make you laugh out loud, it's supposed to make you think. The amount of deep thought, social commentary and sometimes downright philosophy that can be found in this innocent-looking newspaper strip is amazing, and if you read it looking for quick, cheap laughs, you are simply looking in the wrong place. The humour is very subtle, sometimes more British than American, so to say. Not that there aren't some genuinely hilarious moments. My personal favouriote is when Calvin breaks out of the house at 3:00 in the morning with the sole intention of calling back home from the telephone at the corner of the block to ask his dad "do you know where I am?" like in those old Public Service Announcements.

ksteak
More of a Peanuts fan myself.

So was Bill Watterson!
Both Peanuts and Calvin and Hobbes were really creative in that they went against the traditional formula of making comics and ended up redefining how newspaper strips were made.
In a way Bill Watterson was the cartoonist that taught me about creative integrity. When I was in grade school I wanted to be a cartoonist and Calvin and Hobbes was the strip that I looked forward to reading every day. To me it seemed that the mark of a successful cartoonist is if they could have merchandise or animated TV specials-- after all Dennis the Menace did, Garfield did, Peanuts of course, even For Better or Worse so it seemed weird to me that Calvin and Hobbes didn't. When I read the 10th Anniversary Book years later he went into why he hated the idea of merchandising his work and how he wanted people to appreciate it for what it was. This was really the first time somebody told me that making money isn't worth sacrificing your creative vision. That's really just one reason why that comic is so embedded in my memory.

None of the states I ever lived in ever carried Calvin and Hobbes in the newspapers. Is it a southern thing or what?

Bill Watterson went back in time and taught Charles Schultz how to draw! Up until his death he sent him messages saying "You owe me!"