So, do you admire Bill Watterson for turning his back on the millions of dollars he could have made (could still be making, for that matter) merchandising his beloved comic strip “Calvin & Hobbes” or think him a fool?
There were 19 Calvin & Hobbes books published in the U.S. I bet they’re still selling after all these years. I expect Watterson’s living quite comfortably.
I respect him for choosing to not merchandise Calvin and Hobbes every which way. I also respect him for having the sense to quit at the top of his game, before the strip grew stale. He’s the Sandy Koufax of comic strip artists.
I don’t know what his reasoning was, so I can’t really say. But I’m reminded of something Charles Schulz said when he was criticized for merchandising Peanuts: “It’s always puzzled me how people can object to commercializing something that’s basically commercial.”
Creative people deserve to be rewarded materially in proportion to the importance of their work, IMHO.
I admire Watterson for the wonderful strip he created for so long. I don’t have any thoughts about what he has done since he decided to stop, or any other financial decisions he has made. If the world was flooded with C&H merchandise, I don’t think it would have any impact on my fond memories of the strip.
Watterson went out at the top of his game. I would have loved many more years of the strip, even if the quality would have inevitably declined, but I admire the hell out of him for going through with it. Many creative geniuses (and make no mistake that Watterson is a genius) are seemingly incapable of turning off the spigot.
Same goes for Gary Larson.
I’m happy he did it for as long as he did, but wish he was still putting out work. He wouldn’t have to worry about the control of cartoon syndicates any more – he could release stuff online, or self-publish, totally under his own creative control, and he’d be very successful. I can only guess that he’s not that interested in doing so any more.
I’m with these guys.
I was slightly dubious about the books still selling, but I see from Amazon that a box set was published in 2012 and a Exhibition Catalogue in 2015, which is good evidence for that to be fact. https://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Calvin-Hobbes-Exhibition-Catalogue/dp/1449460364/ref=la_B000APZI66_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488201720&sr=1-12
If an alternate reality in which Watterson licensed official C&H merchandise means that the public wouldn’t have taken it on themselves to create peeing Calvin decals, it would be worth it.
I love me some Calvin & Hobbes, but reading all of the strips back to back (which I did after the box set came out) really makes you notice what a bitter, cranky misanthrope Watterson is.
Watterson had telegraphed his decision in the anthology published shortly before he retired and funny enough Schulz was evoked … as what he did not want to become.
He (correctly or not) saw Schulz as someone who got his top front page of the funnies and then kept putting out retreads of the same material long after the well had gone dry.
For some more millions would define happiness and fine for them. Watterson felt he could be comfortable with the money he had and that that much would allow him to do that which made him happy for the rest of his life. Continuing to produce C&H to the point that he was disgusted with it because it was a cash cow was something that he had concluded would not make him happier.
He concluded that more in the bank would not make him any happier. Going the route of Schulz would not make him happier. Not dealing with the business people and not being ashamed of what he was doing would be what would make him happier. I admire him for his self-knowledge.
As mentioned, it’s doubtful that Watterson is having any trouble paying his mortgage so I both respect his decision to not merchandise and also acknowledge his luxury in being able to make that decision. He may have left however many millions on the table but there’s no shame in retiring comfortably rather than extravagantly.
I respect and have no objection to the way Watterson did it; and I also respect and have no quarrel with the way Schulz did it (who did, after all, maintain control of his own strip, and who did try to do new things with it, not always successfully IMHO).
I think it was really great for him to quit while the strip was still good. I don’t think it would have just gone stale, I think it would have gotten more preachy and less funny, and completely lost touch with the ‘kid’ side. And that would have hurt the memory of the really fun, touching stuff that he did put out.
Like other people have said, he made enough money to be independently wealthy for the rest of his life. It’s a respectable choice not to merchandise the strip because of principles (though it’s not the one I’d make), but it’s also not hugely impressive; once you’ve got enough money that you don’t have to worry about paying for things, additional wealth is just numbers on a bank ledger somewhere.
The question of course hinges on whether or not the way they each did it ended up making them any happier than they otherwise would have been. From published accounts Schulz was a pretty depressed and dysphoric person. Was he less so for having made a few million more? Is Watterson enjoying his life allegedly riding his bike and painting for fun living with his wife in small town Ohio more than he would have with more money trying to come up with fresh ideas dealing with the corporate side that he disliked? If each was true to what gave them most satisfaction when given the choice then more power to them each!
I admire the hell out of the guy for ending it on his own terms and maintaining control over his own creation. MORE DOLLARS!!! isn’t the end-all, be-all of existence.
Besides which I’m sure he’s continued to have a steady flow of income on sales of the books.
I have to disagree. Sure there are frequent strips about how people suck, but they’re more realistic than pessimistic, and there are also a lot of strips about the pure joys of life and about optimism and adventure.
Also, Calvin & Hobbes only show a part of Watterson’s personality. C&H make have included more seriousness than many comparable mainly humorous strips, but that universe still had constrains on what “fit”.
I think a better comparison is Berkeley Breathed, who is a contemporary of Watterson’s. Breathed can stand as an example of somebody who didn’t walk away when he was at the top. And I think most people would agree that his recent work is just a pale shadow of his work back in the eighties.
I think he could have carefully licensed a little C&H merchandise, not just as a money maker, but to acknowledge his fanbase. Could have always given the proceeds to charity if he was offended by the commerciality of it.
I can’t speak to sales but kids still love this strip. My 9 year old keeps re-reading the books we have. This weekend he decided to do a report on the planet Mercury after reading this strip.
On the one hand, I respect him keeping control of his creation.
On the other hand, I loved my Snoopy plush toy, my Snoopy soap dish, myMonogram Snoopy vs the Red Baron model kit, my Snoopy… well, you get the idea. If C&H had been around when I was a kid, I’d have wanted a plush Hobbes, that’s for sure.
