The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: A New Calvin and Hobbes Collection!

William B. Watterson II was born on July 5, 1958, in Washington, D.C. He moved at age 6 to Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He was educated at Kenyon College in Gambier (1976-1980), where he received a B.A. in Political Science. Watterson is married, with Melissa, but he doesn't have any children.

When Watterson read his first comic, he knew that he wanted to be a cartoonist. 'Calvin and Hobbes' was not his first strip; he has been drawing comics almost his whole life. At high-school he drew comics for the school newspaper and when he attended college, he drew for the 'Kenyon Collegian'. After college he got a job as political cartoonist by the Cincinnati Post, but was fired within a couple of months. After that he made several comics, but they were all rejected by the newspaper syndicates. Finally he got to the top with Calvin and Hobbes, which appears in over 2,300 newspapers worldwide, And there are now more than 23 million Calvin books in print. But success can hardly be said to have gone to Watterson's head. He lives quietly in Hudson, Ohio. He declines fabulous wealth by refusing to merchandise his characters.

"Besides being well drawn and well written, 'Calvin and Hobbes' is unusual," says NCS president Mell Lazerus. "It captured everybody's interest overnight."

In a letter to newspaper editors announcing his retirement, Watterson stated: "This is not a recent or easy decision, and I leave with some sadness. My interests have shifted, however, and I believe I've done what I can do within the constraints of daily deadlines and small panels. I am eager to work at a more thoughtful pace, with fewer artistic compromises. I have not yet decided on future projects, but my relationship with Universal Press Syndicate will continue."

Watterson was nominated for the 1992 Reuben Award for "Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year" by the National Cartoonists Society, and won the 1986 and 1988 Reuben Awards. In 1986, he was the youngest recipient to ever win the award.

The image above is a self-portrait from Bill Watterson and his cat's (with Sprite ).

Here is Watterson's own biographical account, as supplied by the man himself.

Bill Watterson squandered a rather unremarkable childhood reading the comics in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. By the time he graduated from high school, his own primitive cartoons had appeared in the school newspaper and yearbook, and not a few stall doors of various boys' rooms.

At Kenyon College, fellow delinquents encouraged Watterson to pursue political cartooning. Watterson's chronicles of the Carter years proved to be amongst his most humorous work ever, the insights into foreign policy being especially laughable. In an effort to remedy this, Watterson majored in political science and, thanks to a friend with access to the school's computer, Watterson earned a degree in 1980.

A major Cincinnati daily immediately offered him a job as editorial cartoonist, but within a matter of months, the editor returned from the sanitarium and Watterson was fired.

Disillusioned, Watterson turned to comic strips. The next few years were not proud ones, and only a well-tuned, used Fiat kept Watterson from the law's grasp. Rejection slips and debts piled up, and eventually his parents sold him into slavery as a lay-out artist for a sleazy tabloid shopper. There, in the dank and windowless basement of a convenience store, submitting to the idiot whims of a maniacal tyrant, Watterson developed that carefree, happy-go-lucky view of life that so permeates all his cartoons.

Tidbits:

• He looks somewhat like the father character, judging from the few photos of him available.
• His favorite strips: Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" featuring Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He also likes old-time strips "Krazy Kat" and "Pogo."
• He rarely appears in public.
• He almost never gives interviews. --"Privacy is very important to him," says Lazerus. "He doesn't belong to the National Cartoonists Society. I've met him only once - briefly."
• "Calvin's energy is unhindered by common sense," he once said. "His parents sometimes wish they'd gotten a dog instead."

Here's the first announcement of Bill's stopping. See also the official press release about Bill's retirement.

Taken out of 'The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book' are the following points, at which Bill Watterson gives his opinion about drawing 'Calvin and Hobbes'.

Why doesn't Bill Watterson want to merchandise 'Calvin and Hobbes'?

By which comic strips was Bill Watterson inspirated?

Bill Watterson about how he gets the idea for a comic.

How does Bill think about comics in general?

Because Bill Watterson avoids being in publicity, he hardly gives any interview. Here is, as far as I know, the only one he ever gave. Click here to read it.

The following article ran in the Cleveland Plain Dealer on December 20, 1998. It's about Bill Watterson and what he is doing now.

Here are two speeches Bill Watterson gave:

• A speech by Bill Watterson delivered at the Festival of Cartoon Art, Ohio State University, October 27, 1989, named The cheapening of comics (thanks to Ampersand).
• A speech Bill Watterson gave at Kenyon College, Gambier Ohio, to the 1990 graduating class: Some thoughts on the real world by one who glimpsed it and fled (thanks to Scott Mabry).

A Calvin and Hobbes fan has sent me a picture of a drawing made by Bill Watterson when he was still making political cartoons. Click here to view the image.

On November 26th, the following article ran in Cleveland Scene. It contains items on illegal merchandise, Bill's whereabouts, and much more. Absolutely worth reading! Many thanks to Calvinator for letting me know.