Big fan, big fan. I have all the books, and they really don’t get old. Timeless material.
If you’ve never read it, here’s a link to a Q&A Watterson did for the Complete C&A collection. He gave short answers to fans from all over the world. Answers are enigmatic and vague, but at least he’s consistent. It’s about as close to an interview as exists.
I’ve read the intros to all the collected editions, etc., how Bill Watterson tired of the constant battle over commercialization of his art—yet, he hasn’t minded retiring off the millions made from the books of the strips, which is itself commercialization.
I say this selfishly–could we have needed C & H more than during the W. years? I think not. This was one of those rare strips, like Peanuts, that could have gone on and on…I had faith in his talent to continue to supply us with joy. Instead, the world is a little less warm without this every Sunday…
I never saw him having a problem with profiting from Calvin and Hobbes; his problem was with the perversion of what he felt was his product into a plethora of stuffed animals, Saturday morning cartoon shows, and other products he couldn’t possibly control. He felt like once Calvin and Hobbes got beyond his grasp, he could not guarantee any kind of quality, and his creation would suffer.
That people tried to take what he amde and get richer off of it, ending the perfect comic strip, is one of the great artistic injustices of the 20th century. I don’t think it would still be around today, but who’s to say we could not have read another 5-10 years more?
Usually C+H tributes aren’t done this well.
Good stuff.
Awesome Calvin & Hobbes/Bill Watterson book by Nevin Martell ( @looking4calvin on the Tweeters) expanded for softcover edition: http://tinyurl.com/3yjbubb .
And here’s the beyond-rare interview Watterson gave the Cleveland daily newspaper earlier this year:
http://www.cleveland.com/living/index.ssf/2010/02/bill_watterson_creator_of_belo.html
Sample quote:
Q: Readers became friends with your characters, so understandably, they grieved – and are still grieving – when the strip ended. What would you like to tell them?
A: This isn’t as hard to understand as people try to make it. By the end of 10 years, I’d said pretty much everything I had come there to say.
I just gotta know… is the boy really seeing a tiger? Or is he imaginging it?
It’s like asking if Dexter is really pretending to be smart and his lab is all imaginary too…
I read the Nevin Martell book. It’s not a revelatory piece, but it does a good job of collating information from his various interviews over the years and provides them with place and context.
Then I passed it on to a friend. I can’t wait until my son is old enough to treat the collection with the care it deserves. For now, it sits unread at the bottom of the bookshelf, awaiting the next soul to be awakened by the imagination within.
I just started reading the strip to the kids. It’s a fascinating exercise. The 7-year-old never read comics before, so she’s navigating that. To the 4-year-old, everything in Calvin’s imagination is reality. It’s a hoot.
I recently purchased the three book, complete dated collection.
I’m slowly working my way through it but, like sandman absolute edition it’s too heavy to read in bed :(.
still it is fantastic so I am working through it with considerable happiness.
Phaze
on the “my friend lorna is in agony, good vibes appreciated please” ID