Collideoscope

Posted by: Denelle

If you've spent much time at all around Collideoscope you know that I am a HUGE Calvin and Hobbes fan. Something about the mischievous six year old and his insightful tiger just resonates very deeply with me. It's amazing how you can face the complexities of life and seeing the true nature of people through the eyes of a child; a fact that I think is often overlooked in a world that doesn't take the time to listen to or understand children.

Of course, the credit for the genius that is Calvin and Hobbes goes solely to its creator Bill Watterson. Watterson--always a recluse--has virtually disappeared since the last strip ran in 1999. Many see Watterson's withdrawl from the comic world as further condemnation of an industry of which he was openly critical; specifically of its obsession to make the almighty dollar by mass production of strips (hiring artists to copy the strip's style and having the artist sign as if they had done the drawing) and mass marketing/licensing which put famous comic characters on everything imaginable (it is interesting to note that Watterson has never licensed Calvin or Hobbes to anyone and that any reproduction of the images on lunchboxes, ties, car stickers, are all illegal reproductions).

So imagine the surprise of readers (who managed to pay attention) when they opened the Wall Street Journal on October 12 and read a book review written by THE Bill Watterson. The review, aptly enough, was for Schultz and Peanuts: A Biography. An intimate look at the life of Charles Schultz, who for fifty years drew the famed Peanuts comic strip.

New York magazine, shocked that the Journal had managed to find Watterson let alone convince him to do the review set out to solve the mystery.

How the h*** did the Journal get him to write a book review? Did they send one of their Pulitzer-winning investigative reporters to Ohio to ferret him out?

Nothing so interesting as that, says Mark Lasswell, deputy books editor for the Journal. "He didn't leave much of a paper trail," he says, so the editors went through Watterson's old comic syndicate. "They said, 'Well, we'll send your request along, but we don't want to encourage you."

Much to the Journal's surprise, though, Watterson said yes. "The next surprise when it came through was what a wonderful piece of writing it was," Lasswell says. Watterson points out in the lede of his review how much of an impact Schulz's work had on his own, which is why, Lasswell assumes, he said yes to this request when he's said no to so many others.

How much contact did the Journal's staff have with Watterson? Did edits go through the syndicate, or did someone get to talk to him on the phone? Lasswell demurs from going into too much detail but does allow, "It was not something that required a lot of editing. Let's leave it at that."

And really, The Grief that Made 'Peanuts' Good, is an excellent review. And it also offers additional insight into Watterson himself. For example, Watterson writes,

The overwhelming commercial success of the strip often overshadows its artistic triumph, but throughout its 50-year run, Charles Schulz wrote and drew every panel himself, making his comic strip an extremely personal record of his thoughts.

Much as Watterson did with C&H for so many years. And,

The wonder of "Peanuts" is that it worked on so many levels simultaneously. Children could enjoy the silly drawings and the delightful fantasy of Snoopy, while adults could see the bleak undercurrent of cruelty, loneliness and failure, or the perpetual theme of unrequited love, or the strip's stark visual beauty. If anything, I wish Mr. Michaelis's biography had devoted more space to analyzing the strip on its own terms as an art.

Watterson's reoccurring theme that comics are indeed their own form of art and not just senseless drawing.

I would love to see more of Watterson's talent whether it be through my favorite comic strip or in literary terms. However, for now I guess I'll have to be content with the rare glimpses we get of Watterson in unexpected places.

Check out this collection of Rare Bill Watterson Art.