Bill Watterson, "Calvin and Hobbes" Creator, Grants Rare Interview

cleveland.com:

This marks the 15th year since "Calvin and Hobbes" said goodbye to the comics pages. Creator Bill Watterson, who grew up in Chagrin Falls and still makes Greater Cleveland his home, recently answered some questions via e-mail from Plain Dealer reporter John Campanelli.

Read the whole story: cleveland.com

Comments

[MarcoDante]

02:18 PM on 02/04/2010

I love Calvin and Hobbes because Watterson was able to capture the essence of our psyches (our fears, egos, insecuriti­es, narcissism­, arrogance, humanity, etc.) and make us laugh while at the same time cringe because we recognized ourselves. As much as I miss the strip, I agree that at some point he would have started watering down the comic. The fact that there will be no more makes those that are more precious, more insightful­. Marco http://bip­olarized.w­ordpress.c­om

[wm1066]

11:51 AM on 02/03/2010

So.... was the movie "Secondhan­d Lions" loosely based on his life?
I always looked forward to reading his cartoons.

[EdRea]

01:23 PM on 02/02/2010

He's definitely Calvin's dad.

[redcelt]

12:16 PM on 02/02/2010

Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant and still funny, too. Calvin & Hobbes will never die.

[Blufftonian]

12:06 PM on 02/02/2010

Funny that I'd never seen him before. He looks like Calvin's Dad.

Great comic strip. I loved when Calvin's Dad told him about the old days when there was no color, everything was black and white.

This strip and Bloom County were my favorites.

[avshanbh]

11:40 AM on 02/02/2010

God...I miss Calvin and Hobbes.

[skeptaholic]

11:30 AM on 02/02/2010

Would that Charles Schulz had been so aware of expiration dates. And Family Circus. I'd like to believe that C&H could've gone on forever, but Watterson is wise beyond my meager consciousn­ess.

[CptKendrick]

11:20 AM on 02/02/2010

I'm surprised that the interview didn't bother to ask him what he does today to keep himself occupied.

Even if he's been resting on his laurels for the past 15 years and living off hefty royalties, I'm sure he does more that just eating oatmeal in the morning and spending the rest of day watching the History Channel.

I'd be curious to know what he does.

[avshanbh]

11:42 AM on 02/02/2010

Interviews with his parents revealed he was doing lots of painting and art.

[MsMassachusetts]

11:20 AM on 02/02/2010

An immensely talented man. I miss Calvin and Hobbes so much. There has not been one comic strip that can touch it since 1995. Why does such a gifted man not put his creative talents to use? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.......

[ZanerCorp]

10:50 AM on 02/02/2010

If Calvin and Hobbes, the Far Side, Bloom County, and Liberty Meadows would come back, maybe it would stop the death of newspapers in this country. Today's comic strips are useless.

[jillclaire]

10:29 AM on 02/02/2010

I have a vicarious connection with him and I can tell you that even though reclusive, by giving us C&H, he gave a lot of himself and I believe, his personal childhood experience­s.

What is interestin­g, imo, about his choice to stay in the background and just live his life is he really does mean it. He doesn't just use his reclusivit­y as a ploy for attention - he truly wishes for C&H to speak for itself.

[BigSwami]

09:59 AM on 02/02/2010

It's funny, I really do think Mr. Watterson doesn't like any kind of attention or publicity, hence the terse and ironic answers he gives to these interview questions. I suppose he wouldn't have been able to create Calvin & Hobbes if he were any other kind of guy.

Yet when he states that he really doesn't know why people liked his strip so much, I can't help but get a little frustrated with him. What he did really resonated with a lot of people, and it was nice for a little while to look at the comics pages and add some daily heart and sincerity to our cynical lives. There was obviously a reason he didn't try to do any merchandis­ing with the characters­. I wish he would acknowledg­e the impact he had.

[telebob59]

01:37 PM on 02/02/2010

I kind of understand where you're coming from, Swami. Yet I feel he does manage to offer -- again, a terse, ironic acknowledg­ement but still an acknowledg­ement -- of his impact. Have you ever had the occasion to read any interviews that Charles Schulz did around 40 or so years ago when "Peanuts" was hotter than Kelvin and just entering the Pantheon, so to speak? He abounded in reservatio­ns and more than a little modesty then. Schulz also spoke of what horrible things may happen to his creations should certain advice be taken on decisions over the strip's content or its characters­. We all pretty much know the road Schulz and "Peanuts" took in subsequent years, so I give Watterson all due credit.

[slinkymom]

09:58 AM on 02/02/2010

My sons, ages 9 and 13, are huge fans of Cavlin and Hobbes. These comics are far better than most anything we see these days. They are so witty and sharp, they truly stand the test of time.

[mdlawyer2]

09:37 AM on 02/02/2010

My kids read the compilatio­ns and find the strip just as funny as I did 20 years ago. That speaks volumes, Calvin & Hobbes is timeless.

[janie@atthelake]

09:35 AM on 02/02/2010

I sure miss Calvin and Hobbes & The Far Side!