Innovation and Imaginary Tigers
Like many people around the world, reading Calvin and Hobbes was always the highlight of the Sunday morning paper. The weekly strips were good, but those sprawling comic masterpieces on Sunday were worth every penny of the newspaper by themselves. The strip's creator, Bill Watterson, has always been known for being a legendary recluse so when he stopped writing the strip in 1995 (final comic shown above), Calvin and Hobbes went off the grid. Completely. This was a sad day for me. While the final comic itself was a fittingly poignant end to a wonderful work of art, it didn't dull the harsh reality that Calvin and Hobbes was over. Sort of like watching Jordan's last championship as a Chicago Bull, it was the end of an era. You just couldn't savor enough of the experience. What was I supposed to read next Sunday?
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.
