Brown Sludge

A Darker Place

December 5th, 2005

10 years ago this month something happened that has cast a shadow over my heart that still saddens me to this day.

Bill Watterson, creator of the incredible comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes”, quietly turned off the lamp over his drawing desk, and walked away from one of the most popular and most loved strips of all time.

I, like so many of his dedicated fans, was devastated. Selfishly, my friends and I considered ourselves aficionados of the strip – having followed it since it’s beginning – long before it was as wildly popular as it eventually became. Eventually, the devastation gave way to a vague and misplaced feeling of betrayal. We had loved Calvin and Hobbes so completely, and appreciated him so earnestly. Why had he taken away one of the few bright spots in a world that seemed to be getting darker by the day?

Eventually (and reluctantly) Bill Watterson would explain some things to us, and in this explanation, I finally came to realize how much integrity the man actually had.

Because the strip was about a boy who’s stuffed tiger came to life in his imagination, the pressure on Bill Watterson to merchandise his strip was enormous. Especially in light of it’s popularity. Believing deeply that it would dilute the artistic merit of his work, he steadfastly refused. Needless to say this put him at odds with his syndicate, and it had to be hard for him to take knowing that it put him at odds with some of his fans too, who lusted for the merchandise almost as much as the syndicates lusted to sell it them.

We would also find out that he had fought and won a bitter battle over the size of the strip. Having watched in horror while the newspapers steadily downsized his (and everyone else’s) strips over the years in an absurd effort to leave more room for advertisers and apparently to save money on paper. The immense popularity of the strip insured that he would win the battle – but the fight took a lot out of Watterson and it became clear that all of the corporate greed and cynicism was breaking his heart.

On December 31st, 1995 – at the height of the strips popularity – he turned his back on all of it – and quietly walked away – his soul intact, and the integrity of his art unsoiled.

He became something of a recluse – refusing fan-mail and interviews and autographs. For a very brief time after his retirement – diligent fans could obtain signed copies of some of his books – if they were willing to do the research and make the pilgrimage to the sacred book store in Watterson’s home town where they were known to “appear” from time to time - but that ceased abruptly when it became obvious that some of the pilgrims weren’t really fans at all – but greedy opportunists looking for a big score on Ebay.

As my daughter was growing up – I shared with her all of Calvin’s great adventures. His time machines. His transmogrifier. His warped sense of humor. Rosalyn the Sadistic Evil Babysitter. She fell in love with them all and identified strongly with the gentle heart that was beneath them. She fell in love with Bill Watterson and his wonderful artwork as deeply as I did, and when the day came that she asked innocently when he was going to “paint more of them” – she cried when I explained to her why he wouldn’t.

You may ask yourself why all this concern over something as seemingly “insignificant” as a comic strip.

I’ll tell you why.

One of my daughters favorite themes in Calvin and Hobbes were the Monsters Under The Bed strips.

Now, I’m in my 40’s , but when I lay down at night there definitely are monsters under my bed. Let me assure you they are real. And the older I get, the hoarier and scarier those monsters get. Divorce. Job Pressures. Financial Pressures. Fatherhood. The Future. World Events. They are all horrible fanged things that drool under my bed at night and make the darkness seem a whole lot more sinister – and often keep sleep far away.

But when I had Bill Watterson’s art to shine in that darkness, it was a far less lonesome place. There was a comfort in his strip, and often – no matter how badly my day (or my life) was going – I could read his strip and smile. Whether it was laughing out loud at Calvin’s antics, or smiling inwardly at some shrewd insight embedded just below the surface, or marveling at Bill Watterson’s artistic talent when he’d lay out one of his Sunday masterpieces, he made my world a brighter place – and those monsters receded under that light.

I miss him terribly.

Update :

Pretty Jamie purchased The definitive Calvin and Hobbes Collection for me for Christmas last year. The big three volume one that goes for $185.00. It contains every panel he ever did, on high quality acid free paper, hard bound with the super high quality spine that lasts forever.

It’s one of my most prized possessions and resides in a most favored and prominent spot on my bookshelf.

Entry Filed under: Comic Sludge