Bill Watterson
Bill Watterson
William Boyd "Bill" Watterson IIis an American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing Calvin and Hobbes at the end of 1995 with a short statement to newspaper editors and his readers that he felt he had achieved all he could in the medium. Watterson is known for his negative views on licensing and comic syndication and his move back into private life after he stopped...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionCartoonist
Date of Birth5 July 1958
CountryUnited States of America
blame changing comic credit enjoy finally goes hand ink name opportunity pleasure responsibility somebody strip time willing
The whole pleasure for me is having the opportunity to do a comic strip for a living, and now that I've finally got that I'm not going to give it away. . . . Any time somebody else has their hand in the ink it's changing the product, and I enjoy the responsibility for this product. I'm willing to take the blame if the strip goes down the drain, and I want the credit if it succeeds. So long as it has my name on it, I want it to be mine.
artistic balance coast frantic less pace pursue ready restoring start strips work
I didn't want 'Calvin and Hobbes' to coast into halfhearted repetition, as so many long-running strips do. I was ready to pursue different artistic challenges, work at a less frantic pace ... and start restoring some balance to my life.
coming draw drawing exhausted imagine opportunity scary sort strip twenty
I'd like to have the opportunity to draw this strip for years and see where it goes. It's sort of a scary thing now to imagine; these cartoonists who've been drawing a strip for twenty years. I can't imagine coming up with that much material. If I just take it day by day, though, it's a lot of fun, and I do think I have a long way to go before I've exhausted the possibilities.
alive decide drawn fun hate inviting rarity reader reality shown simply strip stuffed subject toy version
I hate to subject it to too much analysis, but one thing I have fun with is the rarity of things being shown from an adult's perspective. When Hobbes is a stuffed toy in one panel and alive in the next, I'm juxtaposing the ""grown-up"" version of reality with Calvin's version, and inviting the reader to decide which is truer. Most of the time, the strip is drawn simply from Calvin's perspective, and Hobbes is as real as anyone.
laughing existentialism comic-strips
I suppose if we couldn't laugh at things that don't make sense, we couldn't react to a lot of life.
diary disguise escapist exposed few meant mental qualities strips
Hobbes got all my better qualities (with a few quirks from our cats), and Calvin my ranting, escapist side. Together, they're pretty much a transcript of my mental diary ... it's pretty startling to reread these strips and see my personality exposed so plainly right there on paper. I meant to disguise that better.
business cartoonist comic corpses develop duties good instead living ought passed strip taking wants
If someone wants to be a cartoonist, let's see him develop his own strip instead of taking over the duties of someone else's. We've got too many comic strip corpses being propped up and passed for living by new cartoonists who ought to be doing something of their own. If a cartoonist isn't good enough to make it on his own work, he has no business being in the newspaper.
attention best capable comics consider express few forum grateful great honor incredible love mind people privilege readers seconds strip
Comics are capable of being anything the mind can imagine. I consider it a great privilege to be a cartoonist. I love my work, and I am grateful for the incredible forum I have to express my thoughts. People give me their attention for a few seconds every day, and I take that as an honor and a responsibility. I try to give readers the best strip I'm capable of doing.
choice math stopped understanding
(W)hen I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made.
late nighttime stay till wolves
The timber wolves will be our friends.We'll stay up late and howl,At the moon, till nighttime ends,Before going on the prowl.
care crank crude good hard imitations original people takes time
I used to make original snowmen, but it was time consuming, hard work. So I said, heck, this is crazy! Now I crank out crude imitations of what's already popular! It takes no time or thought, and most people don't care about the difference, anyway! And what good is originality if you can't crank it out?
enemy fighters until
Enemy fighters at two o'clock!Roger. What should I do until then?
enemy fighters until
Enemy fighters at two o'clock! Roger. What should I do until then?
add awful guilt problem
There's no problem so awful that you can't add some guilt to it and make it even worse!