This is the only cartoon strip that have made me laugh, touched my heart and inspired me
into deep thoughts at the same time. I wish I have Calvin & Hobbes as my friends.
Bill Watterson has always been against licensing. Lets hear what he has to say:
I agree with him. Garfield is not a bad cartoon, but there's so much of it on the market that it has lost its preciousness. We only see Calvin & Hobbes in the newspaper or books, & when we do, there's a feeling of warmth and happiness.First of all, I believe licensing usually cheapens the original creation. When cartoon character appear on countless products, the public inevitably grows bored and irritated with them.
From what I've read and & heard, Bill Watterson is a very special person, someone who takes great pride in his work & someone who has a dream. Lets pay our respect to him by patiently hearing his words.Second, commercial products rarely respect how a comic strip works. A wordy, multiple-panel strip does not condense to a coffee mug illustration without great violation to the strip's spirit. I don't want some greeting card company using Calvin to wish people a happy anniversary, and I don't want the issue of Hobbes's reality settled by a doll manufacturer.
Third, licensing requires a staff of assistance to do the work. The cartoonist must become a factory foreman, overseeing the production of things he does not create. I went into cartooning to draw cartoons, not to run a corporate empire. I take great pride in the fact that I write every word, draw every line, color every Sunday strip, and paint every book illustration myself. My strip is a low-tech, one-man operation, and I like it that way. I believe it's the only way to preserve the craft & to keep the strip personal.
My strip is about private realities, the magic of imagination, and the specialness of certain friendship.
-- Bill Watterson
The quotes are from "The Calvin And Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book" by Bill Watterson. I regret that I could not contact him to gain his approval, but if you see this someday, Bill, I hope you like it.
The Calvin And Hobbes Gallery -- Anything you'll want to know about them
JS / revised October 10, 96
