Bill Watterson, creator of beloved 'Calvin and Hobbes' comic strip looks back with no regrets

The Plain Dealer ^ | February 01, 2010, 5:45AM | John Campanelli

[Slings and Arrows]

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. It's believed to be the first interview with the reclusive artist since 1989.

[ssaftler]

Greatest American artist of the 20th Century.

Sorry, maybe second place to Charles M. Schulz.

[xsmommy]

look at you, gone all sappy! ; )

[Niuhuru]

He lives childhood the way so many of us wished we had.

[firebrand]

Calvin: "What is there to live for?"
Hobbes: "Well, there's seafood."

Might not be exact quote.

[al_c]

I like the one where his dad is explaining that black and white movies and photos are actually color pictures of a black and white world, pre-1945. Calvin asks, “How come paintings before that time are now in color?” Because when the world came into color, so did the paintings. I used that on all my kids, I know, I’m a bad father.

[sportutegrl]

I really liked C&H, but I don’t understand Waterston. Why didn’t he sue? To me it seems he was not motivated by money, just love of his art, and when that was compromised, then he withdrew.

[GBA]

What of Walt Kelly’s Pogo?

A bit before my time and I have no experience with Pogo.

[Hot Tabasco]

Those were great! Thanks

[a fool in paradise]

The collections are still out there. Without Pogo there would be no Calvin & Hobbes or Bloom County (of if there was a Bloom it would be even more like Doonsbury).

Watterson cited Walt Kelly's influence on him.

Probably the most famous comic strip quotation comes from his strip:

[PfromHoGro]

Robot Chicken’s sketch-riff of C&H is a classic too.

[Non-Sequitur]

Yea but what has he been doing the past 15 years? (not that it’s really any of my business)

Whatever he wanted to.

[Non-Sequitur]

I was always partial to Spaceman Spiff.

[The Shrew]

PING!

Does anyone know the C&H Cartoon where Calvin asks his dad, "Dad, What's a workaholic?" or "Control freak" I can't remember which. His Dad's answer was absolutely perfect.

Regards,

TS

[hobbes1]

Nope. Wattersons work encompassed all aspects of the medium in a way Schulz never did.

From the Artwork to the imaginative possibilities, to the narratives themselves.

Schulz created endearing chracters that were equally endearing, but in all other aspects, none comes close to the quality BW gave us.....

[The Shrew]

Calvin: "Dad, what's a control freak?"

Calvin's Dad: "That's what lazy, slipshod, careless, cut-corner workers call anyone who cares enough to do something right."

Calvin: "Am I in the presence of their king? Should I kneel?"

Calvin's Dad: "If anything works in this world, it's because one of us took charge."

Bill Watterson

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat

This is the one. If anyone has an electronic image of the cartoon itself, I would appreciate it.

Thanks,

TS

[hobbes1]

Yes...since yesterday no less.

It seems that FR is a day behind the intellectual meeting of the minds that is TGG.com

http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=54115

[Interesting Times]

Sorry, maybe second place to Charles M. Schulz.

Schultz did some fine work (followed by decades of mediocrity), and of course is a Great American Icon.

That said, Schultz on his best day couldn't touch Watterson as either an artist or a writer.

[Shady]

Don’t forget Bloom County & Opus.

[Interesting Times]

Don't say I never did anything for you...

[hobbes1]

GMTA