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A review by laurla
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip by Nevin Martell
-"of course i know who bill watterson is, calvin and hobbes is the best comic strip ever! if you screw this book up, you will be pissing on some of my fondest memories of my youth. dont *&@I#? with my inner child..."
-the calvin and hobbes creator draws on the simple life. "calvin and hobbes will not exist intact if i do not exist intact" said watterson.
-my favorite of these embarrassing episodes is when calvin brings a lone snowflake into school. "i think we might all learn a lesson from how this utterly unique and exquisite crystal turns into an ordinary boring molecule of water, just like every other one, when you bring it into the classroom," calvin lectures. "and now, while the analogy sinks in, i'll be leaving you drips and going outside."
-these characters (teachers, principal, students) represent censorship, they embody the idea of institutional control and loss of self. they seek to dampen calvins imaginative life by trying to force him, an unusually shaped peg, into a square hole. their goal is to lead him away from who he truly is - a mundane outcome for such an exceptional boy."
-people who have no other virtues necessarily are somehow made into these things that we devour... there's something very strange about our fascination with other people's lives that i dont think is entirely healthy. as part of this devouring process, people love to have you, and then they use you up and theres's nothing left. they're not interested anymore. its a cyclical thing.
-watterson was especially afraid of this devouring because of the negative effect it could have on the sustainability of his work.
-"why tamper with what's important to me." said watterson
-"the idea of a hobbes doll is especially noxious because the intrigue of hobbes is that he may or may not be a real tiger. the strip deliberately sets up two versions of reality without committing itself to either one. if i'm not going to answer the question of who or what hobbes is, i'm certainly not going to let (stuffed toy manufacturer) answer it. it makes no sense to allow someone to make hobbes into a stuffed toy for real, and deprive the strip of an element of its magic."
-"to one's fans, the toys aren't junk at all." berke breathed (outland, bloom county). "but if watterson didnt want to see his work in plush dolls, jolly good. junk is junk. although its an opportunity to extend their affection for your work into something more tangible in their lives: a figure on their work desk that will make them smile. to deny them that - to tell them that their wish for the little vinyl figure is corrupt - is an abstract bit of selfishness maybe."
-in the absence of any official merchandise, a number of contraband products flooded the market.
-watterson wanted to control his creation and ensure that no licensing ever happened. without this assurance he was willing to walk away from his career. everyone in the room knew it wasn't a bluff. it was either his way or no way at all. after six years of bitter disputes, universal caved in and relinquished the full ownership of the strip to watterson. this meant there would be no merchandise of any kind and that universal was giving up millions of dollars in potential revenue. it must have hurt the syndicate to sign away such a promising revenue stream. they hoped the new arrangement would placate watterson enough that he would continue to draw calvin and hobbes for years to come without interruption.
-"if good things lasted forever, would we appreciate how precious they are?" hobbes asked calvin.
-watterson reminded you that imagination is more powerful than despair.
-the author wrote this entire book without ever interviewing watterson (who did not respond to his attempts).
-the calvin and hobbes creator draws on the simple life. "calvin and hobbes will not exist intact if i do not exist intact" said watterson.
-my favorite of these embarrassing episodes is when calvin brings a lone snowflake into school. "i think we might all learn a lesson from how this utterly unique and exquisite crystal turns into an ordinary boring molecule of water, just like every other one, when you bring it into the classroom," calvin lectures. "and now, while the analogy sinks in, i'll be leaving you drips and going outside."
-these characters (teachers, principal, students) represent censorship, they embody the idea of institutional control and loss of self. they seek to dampen calvins imaginative life by trying to force him, an unusually shaped peg, into a square hole. their goal is to lead him away from who he truly is - a mundane outcome for such an exceptional boy."
-people who have no other virtues necessarily are somehow made into these things that we devour... there's something very strange about our fascination with other people's lives that i dont think is entirely healthy. as part of this devouring process, people love to have you, and then they use you up and theres's nothing left. they're not interested anymore. its a cyclical thing.
-watterson was especially afraid of this devouring because of the negative effect it could have on the sustainability of his work.
-"why tamper with what's important to me." said watterson
-"the idea of a hobbes doll is especially noxious because the intrigue of hobbes is that he may or may not be a real tiger. the strip deliberately sets up two versions of reality without committing itself to either one. if i'm not going to answer the question of who or what hobbes is, i'm certainly not going to let (stuffed toy manufacturer) answer it. it makes no sense to allow someone to make hobbes into a stuffed toy for real, and deprive the strip of an element of its magic."
-"to one's fans, the toys aren't junk at all." berke breathed (outland, bloom county). "but if watterson didnt want to see his work in plush dolls, jolly good. junk is junk. although its an opportunity to extend their affection for your work into something more tangible in their lives: a figure on their work desk that will make them smile. to deny them that - to tell them that their wish for the little vinyl figure is corrupt - is an abstract bit of selfishness maybe."
-in the absence of any official merchandise, a number of contraband products flooded the market.
-watterson wanted to control his creation and ensure that no licensing ever happened. without this assurance he was willing to walk away from his career. everyone in the room knew it wasn't a bluff. it was either his way or no way at all. after six years of bitter disputes, universal caved in and relinquished the full ownership of the strip to watterson. this meant there would be no merchandise of any kind and that universal was giving up millions of dollars in potential revenue. it must have hurt the syndicate to sign away such a promising revenue stream. they hoped the new arrangement would placate watterson enough that he would continue to draw calvin and hobbes for years to come without interruption.
-"if good things lasted forever, would we appreciate how precious they are?" hobbes asked calvin.
-watterson reminded you that imagination is more powerful than despair.
-the author wrote this entire book without ever interviewing watterson (who did not respond to his attempts).