Sean Cubillas and CBR.com present 9 Things You Didn’t Know About Calvin & Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes is my all-time favorite humor strip, and odds are it is yours too. Here are three of my favorites from Cubillas’ list, then click over and read the rest…
EVERYTHING STARTED OFF IN THE DOGHOUSE
Right before Watterson would finally receive syndication, he went through quite a bit of rejection. One rejection, in particular, showed the early designs of Calvin and Hobbes. Originally pitched as The Doghouse, a strip that would be described as a hard sell, “Marvin and Hobbes” were on-sided characters that the United Feature Syndicate caught and told Watterson were selling characters.
The United Feature Syndicate, however, would go on to reject his next draft. The Universal Press Syndicate would, fortunately, be a little more welcoming. Despite telling Watterson after his first strip to not quit his day job, Calvin & Hobbes would soon become the best seller that the world knows today.
THE STRIP ENDED BECAUSE WATTERSON WAS FINISHED WITH IT
If anyone was wondering why there are no more Calvin & Hobbes strips after 1995 despite only having a decade run and Bill Watterson still being alive to this day, it’s because Watterson just got tired of it. Simple as that. He already had two long running sabbaticals preluding his departure in 1995, but Watterson has gone on to say that he achieved everything that he ever wanted to out of a comic strip and didn’t want to spoil anything by forcing any more out.
It’s genuine and protective to the legacy that he already created, but also a little disappointing to the fans who may have wanted more. But, considering the decline of Garfield and even Peanuts, it’s hard to blame someone trying to go out on top.
BILL WATTERSON REFUSED MOVIE TALKS
Three years into Calvin & Hobbes’ run, Stephen Spielberg contacted the Universal Press Syndicate, wanting to talk about a movie deal. Universal Press would excitedly bring the deal to Watterson, who would anticlimactically definitively declare his disinterest. Learning from #6 on this list, Bill Watterson wholeheartedly believed that the magic of Calvin & Hobbes solely remained in its strip format, so much so that he would even turn down toys, animated series offers, and even a multimillion dollar movie deal with the guy who made the Indiana Jones movies.
Despite having a net worth as of this writing of $100 million USD, Watterson is a man of artistic integrity through and through, proving that success is not always about the money but protecting the experience for the audience, which is something that one can’t exactly say for the guy who made Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
