Calvin & Hobbes C or D

According to your collection introductions, you took up painting after the strip ended. Why don’t you exhibit the work?

My first problem is that I don’t paint ambitiously. It’s all catch and release—just tiny fish that aren’t really worth the trouble to clean and cook. But yes, my second problem is that Calvin and Hobbes created a level of attention and expectation that I don't know how to process.

love that he just privately paints now cuz that was calvin's dad's idea of peace

Just finished watching the 'Dear Mr. Watterson' film. As expected, it's basically people (other cartoonists, people from his syndicate, locals from Chagrin Falls and various fans) talking about the strip and its impact and Watterson's place in history and so on and so forth, but I liked it.

reviews are p negative, and it's not bcz the critics don't like the strip.

Can't wait til this guy dies so we can get an awesome cgi feature out of this. Frankie muniz as the voice of calvin.

it's almost like not everything needs a fucking kickstarter documentary

I could be mistaken, but in one of the interviews it sounded like Universal Press Syndicate has retained the liberty at any time to begin merchandising Calvin & Hobbes and has deferred to Watterson's wishes on the matter.

That's true, and Watterson himself talked about it in his most recent interview, as well as in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book. As a struggling cartoonist, he signed away his rights to his creations to the syndicate (not an uncommon practice by new cartoonists, apparently). He said something along the lines of, "At the time, I was more worried about the consequences if it didn't become popular than if it did."

And yeah, Universal could have easily told him to get lost, hired someone else to draw it, and filled the world's toy stores with crappy C&H trinkets. By deferring to Watterson on this, they either thought he might change his mind later, or figured they had something incredibly special on their hands and better not fuck with it.

Oh wait, I misunderstood...so Universal can sell C&H merch now, in 2013? I think Watterson won that battle/signed a new contract in the early 90s.

I love that he's some Reddit martyr for NOT SELLING OUT THE COMIC WHAT GIVES US THE FEELS, and the internet respond by using his ideas to make garbage like this: http://zenpencils.com/comic/128-bill-watterson-a-cartoonists-advice/

i stole that opinion from another message board but you get the point

eh, one artist pays fond tribute to another - hard to work up even mild irritation

Lol @ the idea that a megacorp like Universal respects an artist's wishes more than $$$

I thought that was bonkers too, but one of the UPS people being interviewed made it sound like that's exactly what they were doing. I think if they were to roll out merch against Watterson's wishes, though, the backlash would be massive from both inside and outside the community.

Before Hobbes, by Len Wein, J Michael Stracynzki and Jae Lee.

gahhhhh

Watterson did the poster art for new documentary on newspaper comics.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2014/02/26/arts/26artsbeat-watterson/26artsbeat-watterson-blog480.jpg

Dear Mr. Watterson is up on Netflix streaming now.

http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2014/06/05/is-bill-watterson-ghost-drawing-pearls-before-swine-this-week/

I agree with one of the commenters...Watterson sneaks back and Pearls Before Swine is the strip he sneaks back to?! Ugh.

Of course, it might not be him at all.

why would he do this

pearls before pearls before swine tbh

this is like Salinger coming back to write an episode of Family Guy

lol

sadly it's him
http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/

Tragically, a man did something for fun

Itheyre bad strips imo

this is like Salinger coming back to write an episode of Family Guy

Would have watched

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/06/06/exclusive-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-returns-to-the-comics-page-to-offer-a-few-pearls-gems/?hpid=z1

A few more details

Tragically, a man did something for fun

otm, plus bonus round of fun as people share their Important Opinions about how they'd have done it better

yeah, plus the art is about a 1000 times sharper, funnier and more ambitious than what you usually get from pearls, so i don't see what anyone has to complain about.

this is awesome

Those were pretty funny & great.

Watterson's Angoulême 2015 Festival Poster:

http://www.paulgravett.com/site/pg_blog_post/bill_wattersons_angouleme_2015_festival_poster

Seems to be a bit more active lately...

lol @ the rock/window switcheroo

also the cop's big nose reminded me of moe the bully

Excerpts from new Watterson interview:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/09/bill-watterson-talks-this-is-why-you-must-read-the-new-exploring-calvin-and-hobbes-book/

Sorry, actual excerpts here:
http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2015/03/10/new-bill-watterson-retrospective-book-exploring-calvin-and-hobbes-shines-new-light-on-wattersons-thought-process-inspirations/

and here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/10/read-heres-an-excerpt-from-bill-wattersons-rare-new-calvin-and-hobbes-interview/

i love c-&-h

i read some strips years ago, and it did nothing for me.

then along came mk1, and mk2, and 5 years ago i read an omnibus book that bh had picked up in a charity shop, and i would read a chunk every evening. on many an occasion i would end up crying with laughter.

so much so, that bh me banned from reading it while she was watching tv.

I've been reading a few pages a night out of my many collections as a bedtime story for my 6 year old, and he absolutely loves them. I was in my 20s/30s when the strips were new, so it's been very interesting to see what tickles a kid's funnybone (much), what I have to explain, and what I have to Bowdlerize.

People are passing this bullshit around fb today: http://www.tickld.com/x/this-guy-just-changed-the-way-we-seecalvin-and-hobbes

It's pissing me off, but I don't want to pick fights with people about Calvin & Hobbes, because Calvin & Hobbes is above it. But this schlocky sentimental fanfic bullshit is maddening.

http://i.imgur.com/tLU2FFd.jpg

http://uploads.neatorama.com/images/posts/191/71/71191/1397608679-0.jpg

did ... did hobbes maul calvin

http://i.imgur.com/9lZZFBK.jpg

lol at the idea that calvin will grow up to marry susie, i mean wtf is that

pplains omg thank you

Good on Watterston for never selling out, all manner of weak fan fiction and manipulative nostalgic/sentimental bs will never detract from the pure anarchic beauty of Calvin and Hobbes.

i hate this soooooooo much

the one where it was implied that Calvin was on Ritalin was a lot worse. this one is just stupid

pplains omg thank you

Yeah I agree