Remember Bill Watterson?

It's hard to believe that this month marks the 15th anniversary of the final "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip. In 1995, Creator Bill Watterson abruptly retired his beloved series at the height of popularity, citing his reasons for doing so being "the constraints of daily deadlines and small panels," according to an article in the Plains Dealer. And that was it. No comeback a year or two later, no animated series, no new Watterson projects. Just some ludicrous copyright infringement cases in the form of window stickers of a Calvin-esque figure taking a piss on a truck emblem or praying at Calgary.

Even as a kid I can remember thinking that Watterson wasn’t like the other syndicated comics artists. Whenever I read anything about the guy it was generally something about how he was convinced that newspaper syndicates were attempting to steal his creation, or how his threats of pulling Calvin & Hobbes out of syndication were used as leverage to get him more panel space in Sunday comics than any other comic strip artist. He had a good thing going and he knew it.

That’s why it was such a surprise to see him suddenly walk away from his ten-year run. My preteen self took the news pretty hard, as I recall. I spend most of 1995 mournfully reading and rereading worn-out collected editions and trying to figure out the actual logistics of Calvinball with my friend Chad.

While it was a tough time to be an adolescent fan during Watterson’s last hurrah, I think I can kind of understand why he left when he did. Calvin and Hobbes were the undisputed kings of the Sunday funny pages. Watterson’s stuff was leaps and bounds above his contemporaries, in terms of quality, content and layout. And after ten years of blood, sweat and ink, instead of compromising his work to syndication demands or anything else, Watterson asserted his total control over his creation and wrapped his work up his own way.

While I understand his motive and respect and applaud his decision, I can’t help but wonder what another ten years worth of “Calvin and Hobbes” would have looked like.  More snow monsters, more G.R.O.S.S. (Get Rid Of Slimy girlS), more Revenge of the Babysat and transmogrification rays.

Fifteen years after the last “Calvin and Hobbes” strips hit the funny pages, Watterson granted an interview with the Plain Dealer’s John Campanelli. Aside from the anniversary, the interview’s also a pretty big deal considering it’s apparently the first one the reclusive Watterson has taken part in since 1989. Here’s the text of the interview from the Plains Dealer's page. Campanelli’s questions are in bold. Campanelli also wrote and interesting article about Calvin and Hobbes' 15th anniversary, which I linked to earlier.

With almost 15 years of separation and reflection, what do you think it was about "Calvin and Hobbes" that went beyond just capturing readers' attention, but their hearts as well?

The only part I understand is what went into the creation of the strip. What readers take away from it is up to them. Once the strip is published, readers bring their own experiences to it, and the work takes on a life of its own. Everyone responds differently to different parts.

I just tried to write honestly, and I tried to make this little world fun to look at, so people would take the time to read it. That was the full extent of my concern. You mix a bunch of ingredients, and once in a great while, chemistry happens. I can't explain why the strip caught on the way it did, and I don't think I could ever duplicate it. A lot of things have to go right all at once.

What are your thoughts about the legacy of your strip?

Well, it's not a subject that keeps me up at night. Readers will always decide if the work is meaningful and relevant to them, and I can live with whatever conclusion they come to. Again, my part in all this largely ended as the ink dried.

Readers became friends with your characters, so understandably, they grieved -- and are still grieving -- when the strip ended. What would you like to tell them?

This isn't as hard to understand as people try to make it. By the end of 10 years, I'd said pretty much everything I had come there to say.

It's always better to leave the party early. If I had rolled along with the strip's popularity and repeated myself for another five, 10 or 20 years, the people now "grieving" for "Calvin and Hobbes" would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I'd be agreeing with them.

I think some of the reason "Calvin and Hobbes" still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it.

I've never regretted stopping when I did.

Because your work touched so many people, fans feel a connection to you, like they know you. They want more of your work, more Calvin, another strip, anything. It really is a sort of rock star/fan relationship. Because of your aversion to attention, how do you deal with that even today? And how do you deal with knowing that it's going to follow you for the rest of your days?

Ah, the life of a newspaper cartoonist -- how I miss the groupies, drugs and trashed hotel rooms!

But since my "rock star" days, the public attention has faded a lot. In Pop Culture Time, the 1990s were eons ago. There are occasional flare-ups of weirdness, but mostly I just go about my quiet life and do my best to ignore the rest. I'm proud of the strip, enormously grateful for its success, and truly flattered that people still read it, but I wrote "Calvin and Hobbes" in my 30s, and I'm many miles from there.

An artwork can stay frozen in time, but I stumble through the years like everyone else. I think the deeper fans understand that, and are willing to give me some room to go on with my life.

How soon after the U.S. Postal Service issues the Calvin stamp will you send a letter with one on the envelope?

Immediately. I'm going to get in my horse and buggy and snail-mail a check for my newspaper subscription.

How do you want people to remember that 6-year-old and his tiger?

I vote for "Calvin and Hobbes, Eighth Wonder of the World."