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samhouston23's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve been a comic strip reader as long as I can remember, starting with all the classics of the 1950s when I was just a kid. At some point in the eighties, my taste in comics switched over to those strips with more sophisticated artwork, or the ones that addressed my more adult concerns. But really, it was always about cartoonists who could actually make me laugh out loud on a regular basis. So, for years, my favorite comic strips were Dilbert, The Far Side, and Calvin and Hobbes. Sadly for many of us, the cartoonists responsible for both The Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes shut the strips down way before fans were ready to see that happen. I grieve the loss of those two strips to this day. Dilbert, on the other hand, is still out there, having long outlived the period in my life during which I actually read a daily newspaper.
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip was written by superfan Nevin Martell and published in late 2009. I recently watched a documentary in which Martell explored Bill Watterson’s decision to disappear from public view. That’s, in fact, how I became aware of Martell’s book. When he began the book, Martell still hoped that he would be able to convince Watterson to give him an interview that he could use to close it out. But Watterson, being the recluse that he still is, never responded to the author’s letter or attempts to reach him through third-party friends or business associates. Still, Martell does manage to end the book in an interesting way by visiting Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Watterson’s hometown, where he managed to snag a rather pleasant interview with the cartoonist’s mother.
Calvin and Hobbes was a daily comic strip for ten years if you count the two nine-month periods in the nineties during which Watterson took much needed sabbaticals from the grind and pressure of producing a comic strip under such tight deadlines. The strip went into rerun mode during those eighteen months. Then, in October 1995, Watterson ended the strip for good. And he never looked back.
Bill Watterson hates fame; he wants absolutely no part of it, even refusing to let his cartoon characters be licensed for sale as stuffed animals, dolls, toy figures, or anything else. That decision caused him and his syndicator millions and millions of dollars over time, but Watterson never wavered in his determination to keep the strip pure to his vision. Bill Watterson accomplished more with his 3,160 comic strips than most other cartoonists can only dream about. He greatly influenced his cartoonist contemporaries - setting such a high bar that he probably made his competitors better than they would have been without him - and the generation of cartoonists who followed him. But he was such a private man, that it is hard to find anyone except for perhaps his friends from high school and college who can claim to really know the man. Watterson’s reclusive lifestyle makes J.D. Salinger’s look like that of a carnival husker in comparison.
Martell sums of Watterson’s impact on the world this way:
“Even though Watterson hadn’t set out to create something with mass appeal, Calvin and Hobbes did ultimately attract an audience that was without age limits or cultural boundaries. It was universally understandable without becoming meaningless or trite. It’s attractiveness never detracted from its artistry or depth. In that way, the strip was the ultimate piece of pop art.”
I couldn’t agree with him more. Bill Watterson has a very rare talent, and it’s a terrible shame that he didn’t share it with us longer than he did.
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip was written by superfan Nevin Martell and published in late 2009. I recently watched a documentary in which Martell explored Bill Watterson’s decision to disappear from public view. That’s, in fact, how I became aware of Martell’s book. When he began the book, Martell still hoped that he would be able to convince Watterson to give him an interview that he could use to close it out. But Watterson, being the recluse that he still is, never responded to the author’s letter or attempts to reach him through third-party friends or business associates. Still, Martell does manage to end the book in an interesting way by visiting Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Watterson’s hometown, where he managed to snag a rather pleasant interview with the cartoonist’s mother.
Calvin and Hobbes was a daily comic strip for ten years if you count the two nine-month periods in the nineties during which Watterson took much needed sabbaticals from the grind and pressure of producing a comic strip under such tight deadlines. The strip went into rerun mode during those eighteen months. Then, in October 1995, Watterson ended the strip for good. And he never looked back.
Bill Watterson hates fame; he wants absolutely no part of it, even refusing to let his cartoon characters be licensed for sale as stuffed animals, dolls, toy figures, or anything else. That decision caused him and his syndicator millions and millions of dollars over time, but Watterson never wavered in his determination to keep the strip pure to his vision. Bill Watterson accomplished more with his 3,160 comic strips than most other cartoonists can only dream about. He greatly influenced his cartoonist contemporaries - setting such a high bar that he probably made his competitors better than they would have been without him - and the generation of cartoonists who followed him. But he was such a private man, that it is hard to find anyone except for perhaps his friends from high school and college who can claim to really know the man. Watterson’s reclusive lifestyle makes J.D. Salinger’s look like that of a carnival husker in comparison.
Martell sums of Watterson’s impact on the world this way:
“Even though Watterson hadn’t set out to create something with mass appeal, Calvin and Hobbes did ultimately attract an audience that was without age limits or cultural boundaries. It was universally understandable without becoming meaningless or trite. It’s attractiveness never detracted from its artistry or depth. In that way, the strip was the ultimate piece of pop art.”
I couldn’t agree with him more. Bill Watterson has a very rare talent, and it’s a terrible shame that he didn’t share it with us longer than he did.
breadguy's review
3.0
I tried to like this book, but I just felt "meh." I'm not a big fan of biographies, and now I remember why. The enjoyment of someone's work doesn't necessarily improve by learning about his life. While I understand the author's desire to learn more about a creative genius who has maintained a private life, ultimately, I didn't see the point. Not to say that there wasn't any value in the work -- just that it might have been better as a feature article in a Sunday magazine section, e.g., rather than a full-length book. Learning about the art and life of cartoonists was of some interest.
I did finish the book with a greater admiration for Bill Watterson, a man who has remained true to his principles and moral outlook, despite myriad offers, loaded with money, dangled in front of him. He has remained an artist, when others wanted him to be a huckster, and is apparently happy for it.
I did finish the book with a greater admiration for Bill Watterson, a man who has remained true to his principles and moral outlook, despite myriad offers, loaded with money, dangled in front of him. He has remained an artist, when others wanted him to be a huckster, and is apparently happy for it.
aranthe02's review against another edition
2.0
sometimes interesting story of a writer's search for the creator of Calvin and Hobbes. Sadly the writing doesn't grab you and the book feels forced. This would have made a great article for Rolling Stone or the New Yorker but as a full length book - not so much.
timeacademy's review against another edition
2.0
I love Calvin and Hobbes and for that reason I love this. However, it's a pretty sorry excuse for a biography, not for the lack of information, but for the distracting nature of the authors personal commentary. Still a worthy read for fans of the strip.
hegglespeggles's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25
puppywolf23's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
vegantrav's review against another edition
4.0
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is a an interesting history of Calvin and Hobbes written by Nevin Martell, a dedicated fan of the strip. As it is written by an unabashed admirer, it's more of a paean to Calvin and Hobbes and to Bill Watterson, the strip's creator, than a straightforward account of how Watterson brought Calvin and Hobbes into being and then, at the height of its popularity, retired.
What the book really misses, through no fault of Martell's, is first-hand insight from Watterson. Watterson is notoriously reclusive--not unlike J.D. Salinger--and has not granted any interviews in years, and Martell documents his polite, hopeful, yet ultimately failed efforts to secure an interview with Watterson.
In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, we learn that Watterson is somewhat befuddled by not only the enduring interest in the strip but also by his fans' interest in his own life. Still, Martell is able, through interviews with Watterson's friends and professional colleagues as well as his own mother, to paint a rather good portrait of a man with a brilliant sense of humor, a great artistic touch, and a nuanced understanding of the human psyche.
What the book really misses, through no fault of Martell's, is first-hand insight from Watterson. Watterson is notoriously reclusive--not unlike J.D. Salinger--and has not granted any interviews in years, and Martell documents his polite, hopeful, yet ultimately failed efforts to secure an interview with Watterson.
In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, we learn that Watterson is somewhat befuddled by not only the enduring interest in the strip but also by his fans' interest in his own life. Still, Martell is able, through interviews with Watterson's friends and professional colleagues as well as his own mother, to paint a rather good portrait of a man with a brilliant sense of humor, a great artistic touch, and a nuanced understanding of the human psyche.