Bill Watterson
It is actually hard to write about Calvin and Hobbes. I don't want my adult eyes to distort what my kid eyes knew to be true. Calvin and Hobbes were so dear to my heart, they made me laugh with ridiculous scenarios and schemes and they made me cry out of the sheer love and friendship with one another. The Bill Watterson strip first appeared thirty years ago on November 18, 1985 when Calvin, a young, spiky-haired boy, set a tiger trap with a tuna fish sandwich. To the outside world, Hobbes was a stuffed tiger, but to Calvin he was real – and ferocious – especially to girls. Every Sunday, I'd tear through the paper to find the week's strip and devour it immediately, my mom would shortly follow suit.
When Watterson started releasing Calvin and Hobbes books, the fangirl took over, stalking the local bookstore, requesting holds on the books, requesting the promotional posters so I could hang in my room – I still have my Yukon Ho! poster. I'd take my new book to a friend's house where, laying on the floor, propped up on our elbows, we'd pour over each page, laughing till we cried while our parents partied in the next room – in our opinion – they were seriously missing out. I used oil pastels in art class to draw what I imagined to be Bill Watterson's desk covered in sketches of the strip. My stack of books grew (shown above) and became some of my most treasured items chronicling a cherished time of friendship, mischief, and wild, wondrous imagination.
On December 31, 1995, Watterson published the last Calvin and Hobbes strip and so ended my need to scour through the Sunday papers. I've hardly looked back since. While heartbroken, I had to respect his artistic integrity and his intention to keep exploring, I had to meet the heartbreak with gratitude.
Thank you, Bill Watterson, for sharing your gifts with the world. Thank you for sharing your stories about an often mischievous, sometimes philosophical boy and his stuffed, sometimes real pet tiger – who, together, adventured through space, snow, school, parents and babysitters to forge one of the best friendships in comic strip history. Thank you for the inspiration, laughter, tears and fuzz therapy. Calvin and Hobbes will forever hold a special, magical place in my heart.
Bill Watterson