Full of life and humour, Calvin and Hobbes has to be the greatest strip cartoon in the universe. He refused to allow C&H to be made into a movie (saying to his agent "why would I want to talk with Stephen Spielberg?") or tacky merchandise, either of which would have made him unimaginably rich. Bill Watterson is an example of someone who hasn't sold out, worked on his own terms and has artistic integrity. When it looked like C&H was his meal ticket, he quit while he was ahead, stating that he'd said all he wanted to say. I wish Matt Groening did the same.
Now he (Bill) paints with his father.
Does merchandising mean selling out? I think so, just look at Garfield.
The bidding for the above sketch starts at £15.
You can view an alternative, slightly disturbing sketch of BW at SinCat's site.
cool sketch. And I totally agree with the thoughts on Mr. Watterson. Never knew there was the possibility of a C&H movie, though. Glad he showed restraint there. But not all merch is sellout-sy (by which I mean I'd really like my own Hobbes!)
ReplyDeleteI think the main thing is that Bill did (and does) it exactly as he wanted.
ReplyDeleteYou've got me there though, I have to admit Hobbes would make a great doll...