164-441: William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is an American cartoonist who authored the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes . The strip was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson concluded Calvin and Hobbes with a short statement to newspaper editors and his readers that he felt he had achieved all he could in the medium. Watterson is known for his negative views on comic syndication and licensing , his efforts to expand and elevate
328-565: A cyclist , memories of his own father's speeches about "building character", and his views on merchandising and corporations . Watterson's cat Sprite very much inspired the personality and physical features of Hobbes . Watterson spent much of his career trying to change the climate of newspaper comics. He believed that the artistic value of comics was being undermined, and that the space that they occupied in newspapers continually decreased, subject to arbitrary whims of shortsighted publishers. Furthermore, he opined that art should not be judged by
492-450: A foil for Calvin's outlandish behavior. Calvin's father is a patent attorney (like Watterson's own father), while his mother is a stay-at-home mom . Both parents are unnamed throughout the entire strip, as Watterson insists, "As far as the strip is concerned, they are important only as Calvin's mom and dad." Watterson modelled Calvin's father as a satire of his own father, particularly in the strips where Calvin's father lectures Calvin on
656-432: A freelance artist, Watterson has drawn other works for various merchandise, including album art for his brother's band, calendars, clothing graphics, educational books, magazine covers, posters, and post cards. Watterson has said that he works for personal fulfillment. As he told the graduating class of 1990 at Kenyon College, "It's surprising how hard we'll work when the work is done just for ourselves." Calvin and Hobbes
820-595: A patent attorney . In 1965, six-year-old Watterson and his family moved to Chagrin Falls, Ohio , a suburb of Cleveland . Watterson has a younger brother, Thomas Watterson. Watterson drew his first cartoon at age eight and spent much time in his childhood alone, drawing and cartooning. This continued through his school years, during which time he discovered comic strips such as Walt Kelly 's Pogo , George Herriman 's Krazy Kat , and Charles M. Schulz 's Peanuts which subsequently inspired and influenced his desire to become
984-597: A "puzzle". Some cartoonists resented the idea that Watterson worked harder than others, while others supported it. At least one newspaper editor noted that the strip was the most popular in the country and stated that he "earned it". Despite the popularity of Calvin and Hobbes , the strip had almost no official product merchandising. Watterson held that comic strips should stand on their own as an art form and although he did not start out completely opposed to merchandising in all forms (or even for all comic strips), he did reject an early syndication deal that involved incorporating
1148-514: A 'grown-up' version of reality is juxtaposed against Calvin's, with the reader left to "decide which is truer". Hobbes is based on a cat Watterson owned, a grey tabby named Sprite. Sprite inspired the length of Hobbes's body as well as his personality. Although Hobbes's humor stems from acting like a human, Watterson maintained Sprite's feline attitude. Hobbes is named after 17th-century philosopher Thomas Hobbes , who held what Watterson describes as "a dim view of human nature." He typically exhibits
1312-548: A 1987 issue of Honk Magazine , and one in a 2015 Watterson exhibition catalogue. On December 21, 1999, a short piece was published in the Los Angeles Times , written by Watterson to mark the forthcoming retirement of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. Circa 2003, Gene Weingarten of The Washington Post sent Watterson the first edition of the Barnaby book as an incentive, hoping to land an interview. Weingarten passed
1476-592: A Hobbes plush toy: that if the essence of Hobbes' nature in the strip is that it remain unresolved whether he is a real tiger or a stuffed toy, then creating a real stuffed toy would only destroy the magic. However, having initially signed away control over merchandising in his initial contract with the syndicate, Watterson commenced a lengthy and emotionally draining battle with Universal to gain control over his work. Ultimately Universal did not approve any products against Watterson's wishes, understanding that, unlike other comic strips, it would be nearly impossible to separate
1640-695: A book report based on the theory that the purpose of academic writing is to "inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning and inhibit clarity," entitled The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in Dick and Jane : A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes . Displaying his creation to Hobbes, he remarks, "Academia, here I come!" Watterson explains that he adapted this jargon (and similar examples from several other strips) from an actual book of art criticism. Overall, Watterson's satirical essays serve to attack both sides, criticizing both
1804-661: A bridge connecting the two communities. Ohio City remained an independent municipality until its annexation by Cleveland in 1854. A center of abolitionist activity, Cleveland (code-named "Station Hope") was a major stop on the Underground Railroad for escaped African American slaves en route to Canada. The city also served as an important center for the Union during the American Civil War . Decades later, in July 1894,
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#17330855507701968-505: A center of finance and business. Cleveland's economic growth and industrial jobs attracted large waves of immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe as well as Ireland . Urban growth was accompanied by significant strikes and labor unrest, as workers demanded better wages and working conditions . Between 1881 and 1886, 70 to 80% of strikes were successful in improving labor conditions in Cleveland. The Cleveland Streetcar Strike of 1899
2132-481: A club (of which he and Hobbes are the only members) that he calls G.R.O.S.S. ( G et R id O f S limy Girl S ) and, while holding "meetings" in Calvin's tree house or in the "box of secrecy" in Calvin's room, they usually come up with some plot against Susie. In one instance, Calvin steals one of Susie's dolls and holds it for ransom, only to have Susie retaliate by nabbing Hobbes. Watterson admits that Calvin and Susie have
2296-402: A device that transforms its user into any desired creature or item, Hobbes remarks, "It's amazing what they do with corrugated cardboard these days." Calvin is able to change the function of the boxes by rewriting the label and flipping the box onto another side. In this way, a box can be used not only for its conventional purposes (a storage container for water balloons, for example), but also as
2460-493: A different boy, while other makers made no changes. Watterson wryly commented, "I clearly miscalculated how popular it would be to show Calvin urinating on a Ford logo," but later added, "long after the strip is forgotten, [they] are my ticket to immortality". Watterson has expressed admiration for animation as an artform. In a 1989 interview in The Comics Journal he described the appeal of being able to do things with
2624-739: A downtown Heinen's supermarket. Cleveland's historic ecclesiastical architecture includes the Presbyterian Old Stone Church in downtown Cleveland, the onion domed St. Theodosius Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Tremont , and the Catholic Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist along with myriad other ethnically inspired Roman Catholic churches. The Cleveland City Planning Commission has officially designated 34 neighborhoods in Cleveland. Centered on Public Square, Downtown Cleveland
2788-614: A fake New York Times story ostensibly detailing the "merger" of the two strips. Berkeley Breathed included Hobbes in a November 27, 2017, strip as a stand-in for the character Steve Dallas. Hobbes has also returned in the June 9, 11, and 12, 2021, strips as a stand-in for Bill The Cat. In 2001, the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University mounted an exhibition of Watterson's Sunday strips . He chose thirty-six of his favorites, displaying them with both
2952-480: A few cartoonists including Bil Keane ( The Family Circus ) and Bruce Beattie ( Snafu ) criticized him for what they perceived as arrogance and an unwillingness to abide by the normal practices of the cartoon business. Others, including Bill Amend ( Foxtrot ), Johnny Hart ( BC , Wizard of Id ) and Barbara Brandon ( Where I'm Coming From ) supported him. The American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors even formally requested that Universal reconsider
3116-454: A filter between his brain and his mouth", a "little too intelligent for his age", lacking in restraint and not yet having the experience to "know the things that you shouldn't do." The comic strip largely revolves around Calvin's inner world and his largely antagonistic experiences with those outside of it (fellow students, authority figures and his parents). Watterson said that Calvin was not based on his own childhood, stating that he (Watterson)
3280-465: A flying time machine , a duplicator, a transmogrifier or, with the attachment of a few wires and a colander, a "Cerebral Enhance-o-tron." In the real world, Calvin's antics with his box have had varying effects. When he transmogrified into a tiger, he still appeared as a regular human child to his parents. However, in a story where he made several duplicates of himself, his parents are seen interacting with what does seem like multiple Calvins, including in
3444-562: A gradual economic recovery under Mayor George V. Voinovich in the 1980s. Downtown saw the construction of the Key Tower and 200 Public Square skyscrapers, as well as the development of the Gateway Sports and Entertainment Complex – consisting of Progressive Field and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse – and North Coast Harbor, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , Cleveland Browns Stadium , and
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#17330855507703608-470: A greater understanding of consequences than Calvin, but rarely intervenes in Calvin's activities beyond a few oblique warnings. He often likes to sneak up and pounce on Calvin, especially at the front door when Calvin is returning home from school. The friendship between the two characters provides the core dynamic of the strip. Calvin's mother and father are typical middle-class parents who are relatively down to earth and whose sensible attitudes serve as
3772-613: A high school diploma or equivalent. The median age was 36.6 years. As of 2020 , the racial and ethnic composition of the city was 47.5% African American, 32.1% non-Hispanic white , 13.1% Hispanic or Latino , 2.8% Asian , 0% Pacific Islander , 0.2% Native American, and 3.8% from two or more races . 85.3% of Clevelanders age five and older spoke only English at home, while 14.7% spoke a language other than English, including Spanish , Arabic , Chinese , Hungarian , Albanian , and various Slavic languages ( Russian , Polish , Serbian , Croatian , and Slovene ). The city's spoken accent
3936-701: A high-powered lawyer or politician and wants Calvin to pretend to be her househusband . Though both of them are typically loath to admit it, Calvin and Susie exhibit many common traits and inclinations. For example, the reader occasionally sees Susie with a stuffed rabbit named " Mr. Bun ." Much like Calvin, Susie has a mischievous (and sometimes aggressive) streak as well, which the reader witnesses whenever she subverts Calvin's attempts to cheat on school tests by feeding him incorrect answers, or whenever she fights back after Calvin attacks her with snowballs or water balloons. Hobbes often openly expresses romantic feelings for Susie, to Calvin's disgust. In contrast, Calvin started
4100-798: A homogeneous settlement of New England Protestants , it evolved into a city with a diverse religious composition. The predominant faith among Clevelanders today is Christianity ( Catholic , Protestant, and Eastern and Oriental Orthodox ), with Jewish, Muslim , Hindu , and Buddhist minorities. Within Cleveland, the neighborhoods with the highest foreign-born populations are Asiatown/Goodrich–Kirtland Park (32.7%), Clark–Fulton (26.7%), West Boulevard (18.5%), Brooklyn Centre (17.3%), Downtown (17.2%), University Circle (15.9%, with 20% in Little Italy), and Jefferson (14.3%). Recent waves of immigration have brought new groups to Cleveland, including Ethiopians and South Asians , as well as immigrants from Russia and
4264-520: A logo. Watterson has said, "Only thieves and vandals have made money on Calvin and Hobbes merchandise." Watterson was critical of the prevailing format for the Sunday comic strip that was in place when he began drawing (and remained so, to varying degrees). The typical layout consists of three rows with eight total squares, which take up half a page if published with its normal size. Some newspapers are restricted with space for their Sunday features and reduce
4428-409: A lot less money. I'm old enough to find all this unsettling, but the world moves on. All the new media will inevitably change the look, function, and maybe even the purpose of comics, but comics are vibrant and versatile, so I think they'll continue to find relevance one way or another. But they definitely won't be the same as what I grew up with. In 2013 the documentary Dear Mr. Watterson , exploring
4592-444: A more marketable, licensed character into his strip. In spite of being an unproven cartoonist, and having been flown all the way to New York to discuss the proposal, Watterson reflexively resented the idea of "cartooning by committee" and turned it down. When Calvin and Hobbes was accepted by Universal Syndicate, and began to grow in popularity, Watterson found himself at odds with the syndicate, which urged him to begin merchandising
4756-558: A moving image that cannot be done by a simple drawing: the distortion, the exaggeration and the control over the length of time an event is viewed. However, although the visual possibilities of animation appealed to Watterson, the idea of finding a voice for Calvin made him uncomfortable, as did the idea of working with a team of animators. Ultimately, Calvin and Hobbes was never made into an animated series . Watterson later stated in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book that he liked
4920-477: A nascent crush on each other and that Susie is a reference to the type of woman whom Watterson himself found attractive and eventually married. Susie features as a main character in two of the five storylines that appear in Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes . Calvin also interacts with a handful of secondary characters. Several of these, including Rosalyn , his babysitter ; Miss Wormwood , his teacher; and Moe ,
5084-619: A naturalization ceremony of new immigrants. Cleveland's location on the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie has been key to its growth as a major commercial center. Steel and many other manufactured goods emerged as leading industries. The city has since diversified its economy in addition to its manufacturing sector. Established in 1914, the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland is one of 12 U.S. Federal Reserve Banks . Its downtown building, located on East 6th Street and Superior Avenue ,
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5248-427: A new artist. Watterson's position eventually won out and he was able to renegotiate his contract so that he would receive all rights to his work, but later added that the licensing fight exhausted him and contributed to the need for a nine-month sabbatical in 1991. Despite Watterson's efforts, many unofficial knockoffs have been found, including items that depict Calvin and Hobbes consuming alcohol or Calvin urinating on
5412-605: A professional cartoonist. On one occasion when he was in fourth grade, he wrote a letter to Schulz, who responded, much to Watterson's surprise. This made a big impression on him at the time. His parents encouraged him in his artistic pursuits. Later, they recalled him as a "conservative child" — imaginative, but "not in a fantasy way", and certainly nothing like the character of Calvin that he later created. Watterson found avenues for his cartooning talents throughout primary and secondary school, creating high school-themed super hero comics with his friends and contributing cartoons and art to
5576-554: A residential street. In the late 1880s, writer Bayard Taylor described it as "the most beautiful street in the world". Known as Cleveland's "Crystal Palace", the five-story Cleveland Arcade (sometimes called the Old Arcade) was built in 1890 and renovated in 2001 as a Hyatt Regency Hotel. Another major architectural landmark, the Cleveland Trust Company Building , was completed in 1907 and renovated in 2015 as
5740-613: A review of Schulz and Peanuts , a biography of Charles M. Schulz, in The Wall Street Journal . In 2008, he provided a foreword for the first book collection of Richard Thompson 's Cul de Sac comic strip. In April 2011, a representative for Andrews McMeel received a package from a "William Watterson in Cleveland Heights, Ohio" which contained a 6-by-8-inch (15 cm × 20 cm) oil-on-board painting of Cul de Sac character Petey Otterloop, done by Watterson for
5904-426: A snowy hill after a fresh snowfall with Calvin exclaiming "Let's go exploring!" Speaking to NPR in 2005, animation critic Charles Solomon opined that the final strip "left behind a hole in the comics page that no strip has been able to fill." Syndicated comics were typically published six times a week in black and white, with a Sunday supplement version in a larger, full color format. This larger format version of
6068-402: A strip where two of him are seen in the same panel as his father. It is ultimately unknown what his parents do or do not see, as Calvin tries to hide most of his creations (or conceal their effects) so as not to traumatize them. In addition, Calvin uses a cardboard box as a sidewalk kiosk to sell things. Often, Calvin offers merchandise no one would want, such as "suicide drink", "a swift kick in
6232-430: A time when comic strips were allocated a whole page of the newspaper and every comic was like a "color poster". Within two years, Watterson was ultimately successful in negotiating a deal that provided him more space and creative freedom. Following his 1991 sabbatical, Universal Press announced that Watterson had decided to sell his Sunday strip as an unbreakable half of a newspaper or tabloid page. Many editors and even
6396-763: A total of 13 times beginning in 1868. It was the river fire of June 1969 that spurred the city to action under Mayor Carl B. Stokes, and played a key role in the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972 and the National Environmental Policy Act later that year. Since that time, the Cuyahoga has been extensively cleaned up through the efforts of the city and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA). In addition to continued efforts to improve freshwater and air quality, Cleveland
6560-559: A veteran of the American Revolutionary War . Cleaveland oversaw the New England –style design of the plan for what would become the modern downtown area, centered on Public Square , before returning to Connecticut, never again to visit Ohio. The town's name was often shortened to "Cleveland", even by Cleaveland's original surveyors. A common myth emerged that the spelling was altered by The Cleveland Advertiser in order to fit
6724-516: Is 569 feet (173 m) above sea level ; however, the city lies on a series of irregular bluffs lying roughly parallel to the lake. In Cleveland these bluffs are cut principally by the Cuyahoga River , Big Creek, and Euclid Creek . The land rises quickly from the lake shore elevation of 569 feet. Public Square, less than one mile (1.6 km) inland, sits at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m), and Hopkins Airport, 5 miles (8 km) inland from
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6888-970: Is an advanced form of Inland Northern American English , similar to other Great Lakes cities, but distinctive from the rest of Ohio. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, Cleveland saw a massive influx of immigrants from Ireland, Italy , and the Austro-Hungarian , German , Russian , and Ottoman empires, most of whom were attracted by manufacturing jobs. As a result, Cleveland and Cuyahoga County today have substantial communities of Irish (especially in West Park), Italians (especially in Little Italy), Germans , and several Central -Eastern European ethnicities, including Czechs , Hungarians , Lithuanians , Poles , Romanians , Russians , Rusyns , Slovaks , Ukrainians , and ex- Yugoslav groups, such as Slovenes , Croats and Serbs . The presence of Hungarians within Cleveland proper was, at one time, so great that
7052-514: Is an honor I'll long be proud of, and I've greatly appreciated your support and indulgence over the last decade. Drawing this comic strip has been a privilege and a pleasure, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity. Sincerely, Bill Watterson The last strip of Calvin and Hobbes was published on December 31, 1995. In the years since Calvin and Hobbes was ended, many attempts have been made to contact Watterson. Both The Plain Dealer and
7216-537: Is better by far! It's never the same! It's always bizarre! You don't need a team or a referee! You know that it's great, 'cause it's named after me! Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County . Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie , it is situated across the Canada–United States maritime border and lies approximately 60 mi (97 km) west of Pennsylvania . Cleveland
7380-745: Is home to several major cultural institutions, including the Cleveland Museum of Art , the Cleveland Museum of Natural History , the Cleveland Orchestra , the Cleveland Public Library , Playhouse Square , and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , as well as Case Western Reserve University . Known as " The Forest City " among many other nicknames , Cleveland serves as the center of the Cleveland Metroparks nature reserve system. The city's major league professional sports teams include
7544-544: Is now exploring renewable energy. The city's two main electrical utilities are FirstEnergy and Cleveland Public Power . Its climate action plan , updated in December 2018, has a 2050 target of 100% renewable power , along with reduction of greenhouse gases to 80% below the 2010 level. In recent decades, Cleveland has been working to address the issue of harmful algal blooms on Lake Erie, fed primarily by agricultural runoff, which have presented new environmental challenges for
7708-470: Is perceived by others, or whether he is real or an imaginary friend . Though the series does not frequently mention specific political figures or ongoing events, it does explore broad issues like environmentalism , public education , and philosophical quandaries. At the height of its popularity, Calvin and Hobbes was featured in over 2,400 newspapers worldwide. In 2010, reruns of the strip appeared in more than 50 countries, and nearly 45 million copies of
7872-825: Is the city's central business district, encompassing a wide range of subdistricts, such as the Nine-Twelve District , the Campus District , the Civic Center , East 4th Street , and Playhouse Square . It also historically included the lively Short Vincent entertainment district. Mixed-use areas, such as the Warehouse District and the Superior Arts District , are occupied by industrial and office buildings as well as restaurants, cafes, and bars. The number of condominiums , lofts , and apartments has been on
8036-518: Is the most populous city on Lake Erie, the second-most populous city in Ohio, and the 54th-most populous city in the U.S. with a population of 372,624 in 2020. The city anchors the Cleveland metropolitan area , the 33rd-largest in the U.S. at 2.18 million residents, as well as the larger Cleveland– Akron – Canton combined statistical area with 3.63 million residents. Cleveland was founded in 1796 near
8200-573: Is the only cartoonist to win a second Reuben since Watterson. In 2014, Watterson was awarded the Grand Prix at the Angoulême International Comics Festival for his body of work, becoming just the fourth non-European cartoonist to be so honored in the first 41 years of the event. Treasury collections Calvin and Hobbes Calvin and Hobbes is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that
8364-424: Is the warmest month with a mean temperature of 74.5 °F (23.6 °C), and January, with a mean temperature of 29.1 °F (−1.6 °C), is the coldest. Normal yearly precipitation based on the 30-year average from 1991 to 2020 is 41.03 inches (1,042 mm). The least precipitation occurs on the western side and directly along the lake, and the most occurs in the eastern suburbs. Parts of Geauga County to
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#17330855507708528-593: The Calvin and Hobbes books have been sold worldwide. "I thought it was perhaps too 'adult,' too literate. When my then-8-year-old son remarked, 'This is the Doonesbury for kids!' I suspected we had something unusual on our hands." Calvin and Hobbes was conceived when Bill Watterson, while working in an advertising job he detested, began devoting his spare time to developing a newspaper comic for potential syndication. He explored various strip ideas but all were rejected by
8692-628: The Cleveland Scene sent reporters, in 1998 and 2003 respectively, but neither were able to make contact with the media-shy Watterson. Since 1995, Watterson has taken up painting, at one point drawing landscapes of the woods with his father. He has kept away from the public eye and shown no interest in resuming the strip, creating new works based on the strip's characters, or embarking on new commercial projects, though he has published several Calvin and Hobbes "treasury collection" anthologies. He does not sign autographs or license his characters. Watterson
8856-449: The Cfa humid subtropical climate . Summers are hot and humid, while winters are cold and snowy. East of the mouth of the Cuyahoga, the land elevation rises rapidly in the south. Together with the prevailing winds off Lake Erie, this feature is the principal contributor to the lake-effect snow that is typical in Cleveland (especially on the city's East Side) from mid-November until the surface of
9020-653: The Cleveland Browns ( football ; NFL ), the Cleveland Cavaliers (basketball; NBA ), and the Cleveland Guardians (baseball; MLB ). Cleveland was established on July 22, 1796, by surveyors of the Connecticut Land Company when they laid out Connecticut 's Western Reserve into townships and a capital city. They named the settlement "Cleaveland" after their leader, General Moses Cleaveland ,
9184-552: The Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Jones Day , one of the largest law firms in the U.S., was founded in Cleveland in 1893. Healthcare plays a major role in Cleveland's economy. The city's "Big Three" hospital systems are the Cleveland Clinic , University Hospitals , and MetroHealth . The Cleveland Clinic is the largest private employer in the state of Ohio, with a workforce of over 55,000 as of 2022 . It carries
9348-669: The Great Lakes connected Cleveland to the Atlantic Ocean via the Erie Canal and Hudson River, and later via the Saint Lawrence Seaway . The town's growth continued with added railroad links . In 1836, Cleveland, then only on the eastern banks of the Cuyahoga, was officially incorporated as a city, and John W. Willey was elected its first mayor. That same year, it nearly erupted into open warfare with neighboring Ohio City over
9512-662: The Great Lakes Science Center . Although the city emerged from default in 1987, it later suffered from the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and the Great Recession . Nevertheless, by the turn of the 21st century, Cleveland succeeded in developing a more diversified economy and gained a national reputation as a center for healthcare and the arts. The city's downtown and several neighborhoods have experienced significant population growth since 2010, while overall population decline has slowed. Challenges remain for
9676-624: The Team Cul de Sac fundraising project for Parkinson's disease in honor of Richard Thompson, who was diagnosed in 2009. Watterson's syndicate revealed that the painting was the first new artwork of his that the syndicate has seen since Calvin and Hobbes ended in 1995. In October 2009, Nevin Martell published a book called Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, which included a story about the author seeking an interview with Watterson. In his search he interviews friends, co-workers and family but never gets to meet
9840-411: The academic world . In one example, Calvin carefully crafts an " artist's statement ", claiming that such essays convey more messages than artworks themselves ever do (Hobbes blandly notes, "You misspelled Weltanschauung "). He indulges in what Watterson calls "pop psychobabble " to justify his destructive rampages and shift blame to his parents, citing "toxic codependency." In one instance, he pens
10004-495: The children's book Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie are left to the reader's imagination, where Watterson was sure they would be "more outrageous" than he could portray. Watterson's technique started with minimalist pencil sketches drawn with a light pencil (though the larger Sunday strips often required more elaborate work) on a piece of Bristol board , with his brand of choice being Strathmore because he felt it held
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#173308555077010168-704: The former USSR , Southeast Europe (especially Albania ), the Middle East, East Asia, and Latin America. In the 2010s, the immigrant population of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County began to see significant growth, becoming a major center for immigration in the Great Lakes region. A 2019 study found Cleveland to be the city with the shortest average processing time in the nation for immigrants to become U.S. citizens . The city's annual One World Day in Rockefeller Park includes
10332-541: The populist Mayor Tom L. Johnson , who was responsible for the development of the Cleveland Mall Plan . The era of the City Beautiful movement in Cleveland architecture saw wealthy patrons support the establishment of the city's major cultural institutions. The most prominent among them were the Cleveland Museum of Art , which opened in 1916, and the Cleveland Orchestra , established in 1918. In addition to
10496-405: The 1960s, Cleveland's economy began to slow down, and residents increasingly sought new housing in the suburbs, reflecting the national trends of suburban growth following federally subsidized highways. Industrial restructuring , particularly in the steel and automotive industries, resulted in the loss of numerous jobs in Cleveland and the region, and the city suffered economically. The burning of
10660-452: The 20th century, a period that saw the development of the city's cultural institutions. By the 1960s, Cleveland's economy began to slow down as manufacturing declined and suburbanization occurred. Cleveland is a port city , connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence Seaway . Its economy relies on diverse sectors that include higher education, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and biomedicals. The city serves as
10824-549: The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University. In conjunction with this exhibition, Watterson also participated in an interview with the school. An exhibition catalog named Exploring Calvin and Hobbes was released with the exhibit. The book contained a lengthy interview with Bill Watterson, conducted by Jenny Robb, the curator of the museum. Watterson released his first published work in 28 years on October 10, 2023, called The Mysteries . It
10988-617: The Cleveland Transit System, the predecessor to the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority . After the war, Cleveland initially experienced an economic boom , and businesses declared the city to be the "best location in the nation". In 1949, the city was named an All-America City for the first time, and in 1950, its population reached 914,808. In sports, the Indians won the 1948 World Series ,
11152-644: The Cuyahoga River in June 1969 brought national attention to the issue of industrial pollution in Cleveland and served as a catalyst for the American environmental movement . Housing discrimination and redlining against African Americans led to racial unrest in Cleveland and numerous other Northern U.S. cities. In Cleveland, the Hough riots erupted from July 18 to 24, 1966, and the Glenville Shootout took place on July 23, 1968. In November 1967, Cleveland became
11316-615: The East and West Sides, while Broadway–Slavic Village is sometimes referred to as the South Side. Several neighborhoods have begun to attract the return of the middle class that left the city for the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. These neighborhoods are on both the West Side (Ohio City, Tremont, Detroit–Shoreway, and Edgewater) and the East Side (Collinwood, Hough, Fairfax, and Little Italy). Much of
11480-596: The Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year category, first in 1986 and again in 1988. He was nominated another time in 1992. The Society awarded him the Humor Comic Strip Award for 1988. Calvin and Hobbes has also won several more awards . As his creation grew in popularity, there was strong interest from the syndicate to merchandise the characters and expand into other forms of media. Watterson's contract with
11644-690: The South. Between 1910 and 1970, the black population of Cleveland, largely concentrated on the city's East Side, increased significantly as a result of the First and Second Great Migrations . Cleveland's Latino community consists primarily of Puerto Ricans , as well as smaller numbers of immigrants from Mexico, Cuba , the Dominican Republic , South and Central America, and Spain. The city's Asian community, centered on historical Asiatown, consists of Chinese , Koreans , Vietnamese , and other groups. Additionally,
11808-482: The appearance of various counterfeit items such as window decals and T-shirts that often feature crude humor , binge drinking and other themes that are not found in Watterson's work. Images from one strip in which Calvin and Hobbes dance to loud music at night were commonly used for copyright violations. After threat of a lawsuit alleging infringement of copyright and trademark, some sticker makers replaced Calvin with
11972-420: The artist himself. In early 2010, Watterson was interviewed by The Plain Dealer on the 15th anniversary of the end of Calvin and Hobbes . Explaining his decision to discontinue the strip, he said, This isn't as hard to understand as people try to make it. By the end of ten years, I'd said pretty much everything I had come there to say. It's always better to leave the party early. If I had rolled along with
12136-466: The artistic freedom allotted to classic strips such as Little Nemo and Krazy Kat , and in 1989 he gave a sample of what could be accomplished with such liberty in the opening pages of the Sunday strip compilation, The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book— an 8-page previously unpublished Calvin story fully illustrated in watercolor. The same book contained an afterword from the artist himself, reflecting on
12300-584: The aspiring artist. Watterson graduated in 1980 and was hired on a trial basis at the Cincinnati Post , a competing paper of the Enquirer . Watterson quickly discovered that the job was full of unexpected challenges which prevented him from performing his duties to the standards set for him. Not the least of these challenges was his unfamiliarity with the Cincinnati political scene, as he had never resided in or near
12464-422: The benefits of "building character". Watterson recounts that some fans are angered by the sometimes sardonic way that Calvin's parents respond to him. In response, Watterson defends what Calvin's parents do, remarking that in the case of parenting a kid like Calvin, "I think they do a better job than I would." Calvin's father is overly concerned with "character building" activities in a number of strips, either in
12628-612: The book to Watterson's parents, along with a message, and declared that he would wait in his hotel for as long as it took Watterson to contact him. Watterson's editor Lee Salem called the next day to tell Weingarten that the cartoonist would not be coming. In 2004, Watterson and his wife Melissa bought a home in the Cleveland suburb of Cleveland Heights, Ohio . In 2005, they completed the move from their home in Chagrin Falls to their new residence. In October 2005, Watterson answered 15 questions submitted by readers. In October 2007, he wrote
12792-563: The broader strike wave that swept the U.S. that year. Cleveland's population continued to grow throughout the Roaring Twenties . The decade saw the establishment of the city's Playhouse Square , and the rise of the risqué Short Vincent . The Bal-Masque balls of the avant-garde Kokoon Arts Club scandalized the city. Jazz came to prominence in Cleveland during this period. Prohibition first took effect in Ohio in May 1919 (although it
12956-419: The butt" for one dollar or a "frank appraisal of your looks" for fifty cents. In one strip, he sells "happiness" for ten cents, hitting the customer in the face with a water balloon and explaining that he meant his own happiness. In another strip, he sold "insurance", firing a slingshot at those who refused to buy it . In some strips, he tried to sell "great ideas" and, in one earlier strip, he attempted to sell
13120-453: The ceremonies of any of the cartooning awards he won. The pressures of the battle over merchandising led to Watterson taking an extended break from May 5, 1991, to February 1, 1992, a move that was virtually unprecedented in the world of syndicated cartoonists. During Watterson's first sabbatical from the strip, Universal Press Syndicate continued to charge newspapers full price to re-run old Calvin and Hobbes strips. Few editors approved of
13284-412: The changes. Watterson's own comments on the matter was that "editors will have to judge for themselves whether or not Calvin and Hobbes deserves the extra space. If they don't think the strip carries its own weight, they don't have to run it." Ultimately only 15 newspapers cancelled the strip in response to the layout changes. Bill Watterson took two sabbaticals from the daily requirements of producing
13448-503: The characters and their personalities. Watterson said that Universal kept putting pressure on him and that he had signed his contract without fully perusing it because, as a new artist, he was happy just to find a syndicate willing to give him a chance (two other syndicates had previously turned him down). He added that the contract was so one-sided that, if Universal really wanted to, they could license his characters against his will, and could even fire him and continue Calvin and Hobbes with
13612-417: The characters and touring the country to promote the first collections of comic strips. Watterson refused, believing that the integrity of the strip and its artist would be undermined by commercialization , which he saw as a major negative influence in the world of cartoon art, and that licensing his character would only violate the spirit of his work. He gave an example of this in discussing his opposition to
13776-435: The city and for northern Ohio. At the 2020 census, there were 372,624 people and 170,549 households in Cleveland. The population density was 4,901.51 inhabitants per square mile (1,892.5/km ). The median household income was $ 30,907 and the per capita income was $ 21,223. 32.7% of the population was living below the poverty line. Of the city's population over the age of 25, 17.5% held a bachelor's degree or higher, and 80.8% had
13940-450: The city and the county have significant communities of Albanians , Arabs (especially Lebanese , Syrians , and Palestinians ), Armenians , French , Greeks , Iranians , Scots , Turks , and West Indians . A 2020 analysis found Cleveland to be the most ethnically and racially diverse major city in Ohio. The influx of immigrants in the 19th and early 20th centuries drastically transformed Cleveland's religious landscape. From
14104-439: The city and the county include Aleris , American Greetings , Applied Industrial Technologies , Eaton , Forest City Realty Trust , Heinen's Fine Foods, Hyster-Yale Materials Handling , Lincoln Electric , Medical Mutual of Ohio , Moen Incorporated , NACCO Industries , Nordson Corporation , OM Group , Swagelok , Kirby Company , Things Remembered , Third Federal S&L , TransDigm Group , and Vitamix . NASA maintains
14268-579: The city ascends into the Heights on the east, where the region known as the " Snow Belt " begins. Extending from the city's East Side and its suburbs, the Snow Belt reaches up the Lake Erie shore as far as Buffalo . The all-time record high in Cleveland of 104 °F (40 °C) was established on June 25, 1988, and the all-time record low of −20 °F (−29 °C) was set on January 19, 1994. On average, July
14432-483: The city boasted the highest concentration of Hungarians in the world outside of Budapest . Cleveland has a long-established Jewish community , historically centered on the East Side neighborhoods of Glenville and Kinsman, but now mostly concentrated in East Side suburbs such as Cleveland Heights and Beachwood , location of the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage . The availability of jobs attracted African Americans from
14596-626: The city from Santa Monica, California in the Women's Air Derby . The Van Sweringen brothers commenced construction of the Terminal Tower skyscraper in 1926 and oversaw it to completion in 1927. By the time the building was dedicated as part of Cleveland Union Terminal in 1930, the city had a population of over 900,000. Cleveland was hit hard by the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression . A center of union activity ,
14760-466: The city saw significant labor struggles in this period, including strikes by workers against Fisher Body in 1936 and against Republic Steel in 1937. The city was also aided by major federal works projects sponsored by President Franklin D. Roosevelt 's New Deal . In commemoration of the centennial of Cleveland's incorporation as a city, the Great Lakes Exposition debuted in June 1936 at
14924-511: The city's North Coast Harbor , along the Lake Erie shore north of downtown. Conceived by Cleveland's business leaders as a way to revitalize the city during the Depression, it drew four million visitors in its first season, and seven million by the end of its second and final season in September 1937. On December 7, 1941, Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and declared war on the U.S. Two of
15088-418: The city's west side is led by president and CEO Christine Alexander-Rager. Formerly known as City Hospital, it operates one of two Level I trauma centers in the city, and has various locations throughout Greater Cleveland. In 2013, Cleveland's Global Center for Health Innovation opened with 235,000 square feet (21,800 m ) of display space for healthcare companies across the world. To take advantage of
15252-424: The city, having grown up in the Cleveland area and attending college in central Ohio. The Post fired Watterson before his contract was up. He then joined a small advertising agency and worked there for four years as a designer, creating grocery advertisements while also working on his own projects, including development of his own cartoon strip and contributions to Target: The Political Cartoon Quarterly . As
15416-426: The city, with improvement of city schools, economic development of neighborhoods, and continued efforts to tackle poverty, homelessness , and urban blight being top municipal priorities. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 82.47 square miles (213.60 km ), of which 77.70 square miles (201.24 km ) is land and 4.77 square miles (12.35 km ) is water. The shore of Lake Erie
15580-565: The college newspaper, some of which included the original "Spaceman Spiff" cartoons. Watterson graduated from Kenyon in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Later, when Watterson was creating names for the characters in his comic strip, he decided on Calvin (after the Protestant reformer John Calvin ) and Hobbes (after the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes ), allegedly as a "tip of the hat" to Kenyon's political science department. In The Complete Calvin and Hobbes , Watterson stated that Calvin
15744-420: The colors into each other. Calvin, named after the 16th-century theologian John Calvin , is a six-year-old boy with spiky blond hair and a distinctive red-and-black striped shirt, black pants and sneakers. Despite his poor grades in school, Calvin demonstrates his intelligence through a sophisticated vocabulary, philosophical mind and creative/artistic talent. Watterson described Calvin as having "not much of
15908-929: The commercial mainstream and the artists who are supposed to be "outside" it. The strip on Sunday, June 21, 1992, criticized the naming of the Big Bang theory as not evocative of the wonders behind it and coined the term "Horrendous Space Kablooie", an alternative that achieved some informal popularity among scientists and was often shortened to "the HSK". The term has also been referred to in newspapers, books and university courses. Calvin imagines himself as many great creatures and other people, including dinosaurs , elephants, jungle-farers and superheroes. Three of his alter egos are well-defined and recurrent: Calvin also has several adventures involving corrugated cardboard boxes , which he adapts for many imaginative and elaborate uses. In one strip, when Calvin shows off his Transmogrifier,
16072-486: The creator from the strip if Watterson chose to walk away. One estimate places the value of licensing revenue forgone by Watterson at $ 300–$ 400 million. Almost no legitimate Calvin and Hobbes merchandise exists. Exceptions produced during the strip's original run include two 16-month calendars (1988–89 and 1989–90), a t-shirt for the Smithsonian Exhibit, Great American Comics: 100 Years of Cartoon Art (1990) and
16236-797: The cultural impact of Calvin and Hobbes , was released. Watterson himself did not appear in the film. On February 26, 2014, Watterson published his first cartoon since the end of Calvin and Hobbes : a poster for the documentary Stripped . In 2014, Watterson co-authored The Art of Richard Thompson with Washington Post cartoonist Nick Galifianakis and David Apatoff. In June 2014, three strips of Pearls Before Swine (published June 4, June 5, and June 6, 2014) featured guest illustrations by Watterson after mutual friend Nick Galifianakis connected him and cartoonist Stephan Pastis , who communicated via e-mail. Pastis likened this unexpected collaboration to getting "a glimpse of Bigfoot". "I thought maybe Stephan and I could do this goofy collaboration and then use
16400-419: The cutting edge of the avant-garde ." He begins exploring the medium of snow when a warm day melts his snowman. His next sculpture "speaks to the horror of our own mortality, inviting the viewer to contemplate the evanescence of life." In later strips, Calvin's creative instincts diversify to include sidewalk drawings (or, as he terms them, examples of "suburban postmodernism "). Watterson also lampooned
16564-508: The distinction of being one of the best hospital systems in the world. The clinic is led by Croatian-born president and CEO Tomislav Mihaljevic and it is affiliated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine . University Hospitals includes the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and its Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital . Cliff Megerian serves as that system's CEO. MetroHealth on
16728-427: The drawings better on the page as opposed to the cheaper brands (Watterson said he initially used any cheap pad of Bristol board his local supply store had but switched to Strathmore after he found himself growing more and more displeased with the results). He would then use a small sable brush and India ink to fill in the rest of the drawing, saying that he did not want to simply trace over his penciling and thus make
16892-534: The earliest strips demonstrated a remarkable consistency with the latest. Watterson introduced all the major characters within the first three weeks and made no changes to the central cast over the strip's 10-year history. By April 5, 1987, Watterson was featured in an article in the Los Angeles Times . Calvin and Hobbes earned Watterson the Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in
17056-416: The east receive over 44 inches (1,100 mm) of liquid precipitation annually. With its extensive cleanup of its Lake Erie shore and the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland has been recognized by national media as an environmental success story and a national leader in environmental protection. Since the city's industrialization, the Cuyahoga River had become so affected by industrial pollution that it "caught fire"
17220-497: The efforts of the settlement's first lawyer Alfred Kelley , the village of Cleveland was incorporated on December 23, 1814. In spite of the nearby swampy lowlands and harsh winters, the town's waterfront location proved to be an advantage, giving it access to Great Lakes trade. It grew rapidly after the 1832 completion of the Ohio and Erie Canal . This key link between the Ohio River and
17384-615: The end of Calvin and Hobbes with the following letter to newspaper editors: Dear Reader: I will be stopping Calvin and Hobbes at the end of the year. This was not a recent or an 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. That so many newspapers would carry Calvin and Hobbes
17548-423: The fact that his strip was a "low-tech, one-man operation," and that he took great pride in the fact that he drew every line and wrote every word on his own. Calls from major Hollywood figures interested in an adaptation of his work, including Jim Henson , George Lucas and Steven Spielberg , were never returned and in a 2013 interview Watterson stated that he had "zero interest" in an animated adaptation as there
17712-408: The family car to obtain money for a grenade launcher. In yet another strip, he sells "life" for five cents, where the customer receives nothing in return, which, in Calvin's opinion, is life. The box has also functioned as an alternate secret meeting place for G.R.O.S.S., as the "Box of Secrecy". Other kids' games are all such a bore! They've gotta have rules and they gotta keep score! Calvinball
17876-729: The fifth-largest city in the nation, with a foreign-born population of 30%. At this time, Cleveland saw the rise of radical labor movements, most prominently the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), in response to the conditions of the largely immigrant and migrant workers. In 1919, the city attracted national attention amid the First Red Scare for the Cleveland May Day Riots , in which local socialist and IWW demonstrators clashed with anti-socialists. The riots occurred during
18040-461: The first major American city since the Great Depression to enter into a financial default on federal loans. The national recession of the early 1980s "further eroded the city's traditional economic base." While unemployment during the period peaked in 1983, Cleveland's rate of 13.8% was higher than the national average due to the closure of several steel production centers. The city began
18204-425: The first major American city to elect an African American mayor, Carl B. Stokes , who served from 1968 to 1971 and played an instrumental role in restoring the Cuyahoga River. During the 1970s, Cleveland became known as "Bomb City U.S.A." due to several bombings that shook the city, mostly due to organized crime rivalries. In December 1978, during the turbulent tenure of Dennis Kucinich as mayor, Cleveland became
18368-411: The future: Personally, I like paper and ink better than glowing pixels, but to each his own. Obviously the role of comics is changing very fast. On the one hand, I don't think comics have ever been more widely accepted or taken as seriously as they are now. On the other hand, the mass media is disintegrating, and audiences are atomizing. I suspect comics will have less widespread cultural impact and make
18532-535: The golden age in Downtown Cleveland retail, centered on major department stores Higbee's , Bailey's, the May Company , Taylor's , Halle's , and Sterling Lindner Davis , which collectively represented one of the largest and most fashionable shopping districts in the country, often compared to New York's Fifth Avenue . In 1929, Cleveland hosted the first of many National Air Races , and Amelia Earhart flew to
18696-408: The growth has been spurred on by attracting creative class members, which has facilitated new residential development and the transformation of old industrial buildings into loft spaces for artists. Typical of the Great Lakes region , Cleveland exhibits a continental climate with four distinct seasons, which lies in the humid continental ( Köppen Dfa ) zone. The climate is transitional with
18860-569: The headquarters of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland , as well as several major companies. The GDP for the Greater Cleveland MSA was US$ 138.3 billion in 2022. Combined with the Akron MSA , the eight-county Cleveland–Akron metropolitan economy was $ 176 billion in 2022, the largest in Ohio. Designated as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network , Cleveland
19024-596: The hockey team, the Barons , became champions of the American Hockey League, and the Browns dominated professional football in the 1950s. As a result, along with track and boxing champions produced, Cleveland was declared the "City of Champions" in sports at this time. Additionally, the 1950s saw the rising popularity of a new music genre that local WJW (AM) disc jockey Alan Freed dubbed " rock and roll ". However, by
19188-644: The increase since 2000 and especially 2010, reflecting downtown's growing population. Clevelanders geographically define themselves in terms of whether they live on the east or west side of the Cuyahoga River. The East Side includes the neighborhoods of Buckeye–Shaker , Buckeye–Woodhill , Central , Collinwood (including Nottingham ), Euclid–Green , Fairfax , Glenville , Goodrich–Kirtland Park (including Asiatown ), Hough , Kinsman , Lee–Miles (including Lee–Harvard and Lee–Seville), Mount Pleasant , St. Clair–Superior , Union–Miles Park , and University Circle (including Little Italy ). The West Side includes
19352-401: The inking more spontaneous. He lettered dialogue with a Rapidograph fountain pen , and he used a crowquill pen for odds and ends. Mistakes were covered with various forms of correction fluid , including the type used on typewriters. Watterson was careful in his use of color, often spending a great deal of time in choosing the right colors to employ for the weekly Sunday strip; his technique
19516-479: The lake freezes, usually in late January or early February. The lake effect causes a relative differential in geographical snowfall totals across the city. On the city's far West Side, the Hopkins neighborhood only reached 100 inches (254 cm) of snowfall in a season three times since record-keeping for snow began in 1893. By contrast, seasonal totals approaching or exceeding 100 inches (254 cm) are not uncommon as
19680-480: The lake, is at an elevation of 791 feet (241 m). Cleveland borders several inner-ring and streetcar suburbs . To the west, it borders Lakewood , Rocky River , and Fairview Park , and to the east, it borders Shaker Heights , Cleveland Heights , South Euclid , and East Cleveland . To the southwest, it borders Linndale , Brooklyn , Parma , and Brook Park . To the south, the city borders Newburgh Heights , Cuyahoga Heights , and Brooklyn Heights and to
19844-548: The large immigrant population, African American migrants from the rural South arrived in Cleveland (among other Northeastern and Midwestern cities) as part of the Great Migration for jobs, constitutional rights, and relief from racial discrimination . By 1920, the year in which the Cleveland Indians won their first World Series championship , Cleveland had grown into a densely-populated metropolis of 796,841, making it
20008-424: The later years of the strip, with more panel space available for his use, Watterson experimented more freely with different panel layouts, art styles, stories without dialogue and greater use of white space . He also experimented with his tools, once inking a strip with a stick from his yard in order to achieve a particular look. He also makes a point of not showing certain things explicitly: the "Noodle Incident" and
20172-494: The medium for which it is created (i.e., there is no "high" art or "low" art —just art ). Watterson wrote a foreword for FoxTrot . For years, Watterson battled against pressure from publishers to merchandise his work, something that he felt would cheapen his comic through compromising the act of creation or reading. He refused to merchandise his creations on the grounds that displaying Calvin and Hobbes images on commercially sold mugs, stickers, and T-shirts would devalue
20336-519: The mouth of the Cuyahoga River as part of the Connecticut Western Reserve in modern-day Northeast Ohio by General Moses Cleaveland , after whom the city was named. The city's location on the river and the lake shore allowed it to grow into a major commercial and industrial metropolis by the late 19th century, attracting large numbers of immigrants and migrants . It was among the top 10 largest U.S. cities by population for much of
20500-432: The move, but the strip was so popular that they had no choice but to continue to run it for fear that competing newspapers might pick it up and draw its fans away. Watterson returned to the strip in 1992 with plans to produce his Sunday strip as an unbreakable half of a newspaper or tabloid page. This made him only the second cartoonist since Garry Trudeau to have sufficient popularity to demand more space and control over
20664-523: The name on the newspaper's masthead . The first permanent European settler in Cleveland was Lorenzo Carter , who built a cabin on the banks of the Cuyahoga River. The emerging community served as an important supply post for the U.S. during the Battle of Lake Erie in the War of 1812 . Locals adopted Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry as a civic hero and erected a monument in his honor decades later. Largely through
20828-452: The neighborhoods of Brooklyn Centre , Clark–Fulton , Cudell , Detroit–Shoreway , Edgewater , Ohio City , Old Brooklyn , Stockyards , Tremont (including Duck Island ), West Boulevard , and the four neighborhoods colloquially known as West Park : Kamm's Corners , Jefferson , Bellaire–Puritas , and Hopkins . The Cuyahoga Valley neighborhood (including the Flats ) is situated between
20992-708: The newspaper comic as an art form , and his move back into private life after Calvin and Hobbes ended. Watterson was born in Washington, D.C. , and grew up in Chagrin Falls , Ohio . The suburban Midwestern United States setting of Ohio was part of the inspiration for the setting of Calvin and Hobbes . Watterson lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio as of January 2024. Bill Watterson was born on July 5, 1958, in Washington, D.C. , to Kathryn Watterson (1933–2022) and James Godfrey Watterson (1932–2016). His father worked as
21156-610: The open Cleveland Mall and share a common neoclassical architecture . They were built in the early 20th century as the result of the 1903 Group Plan. They constitute one of the most complete examples of City Beautiful design in the U.S. Completed in 1927 and dedicated in 1930 as part of the Cleveland Union Terminal complex, the Terminal Tower was the tallest building in North America outside New York City until 1964 and
21320-483: The original drawing and the colored finished product, with most pieces featuring personal annotations. Watterson also wrote an accompanying essay that served as the foreword for the exhibit, called "Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985–1995", which opened on September 10, 2001. It was taken down in January 2002. The accompanying published catalog had the same title. From March 22 to August 3, 2014, Watterson exhibited again at
21484-442: The papers to publish it as a half-page. Universal agreed that they would sell the strip as the half-page and nothing else, which garnered anger from papers and criticism for Watterson from both editors and some of his fellow cartoonists (whom he described as "unnecessarily hot-tempered"). Eventually, Universal compromised and agreed to offer papers a choice between the full half-page or a reduced-sized version to alleviate concerns about
21648-495: The presentation of his work. Watterson took a second sabbatical from April 3 through December 31, 1994. His return came with an announcement that Calvin and Hobbes would be concluding at the end of 1995. Stating his belief that he had achieved everything that he wanted to within the medium, he announced his intention to work on future projects at a slower pace with fewer artistic compromises. The final strip ran on Sunday, December 31, 1995, depicting Calvin and Hobbes sledding down
21812-455: The result to raise some money for Parkinson's research in honor of Richard Thompson . It seemed like a perfect convergence", Watterson told The Washington Post . The day that Stephan Pastis returned to his own strip, he paid tribute to Watterson by alluding to the final strip of Calvin and Hobbes from December 31, 1995. On November 5, 2014, a poster was unveiled, drawn by Watterson for the 2015 Angoulême International Comics Festival where he
21976-410: The school bully, recur regularly through the duration of the strip. Watterson used the strip to poke fun at the art world, principally through Calvin's unconventional creations of snowmen but also through other expressions of childhood art. When Miss Wormwood complains that he is wasting class time drawing impossible things (a Stegosaurus in a rocket ship, for example), Calvin proclaims himself "on
22140-458: The school newspaper and yearbook. After high school, Watterson attended Kenyon College , where he majored in political science . He had already decided on a career in cartooning but he felt studying political science would help him move into editorial cartooning. He continued to develop his art skills and during his sophomore year he painted Michelangelo 's Creation of Adam on the ceiling of his dormitory room. He also contributed cartoons to
22304-408: The size issue. Watterson conceded that this caused him to lose space in many papers, but he said that, in the end, it was a benefit because he felt that he was giving the papers' readers a better strip for their money and editors were free not to run Calvin and Hobbes at their own risk. He added that he was not going to apologize for drawing a popular feature. On November 9, 1995, Watterson announced
22468-407: The size of the strip. One of the more common ways is to cut out the top two panels, which Watterson believed forced him to waste the space on throwaway jokes that did not always fit the strip. While he was set to return from his first sabbatical, Watterson discussed with his syndicate a new format for Calvin and Hobbes that would enable him to use his space more efficiently and would almost require
22632-484: The southeast, it borders Warrensville Heights , Maple Heights , and Garfield Heights . To the northeast, along the shore of Lake Erie, Cleveland borders Bratenahl and Euclid . Cleveland's downtown architecture is diverse. Many of the city's government and civic buildings, including City Hall , the Cuyahoga County Courthouse , the Cleveland Public Library , and Public Auditorium , are clustered around
22796-567: The strip was constrained by mandatory layout requirements that made it possible for newspaper editors to format the strip for different page sizes and layouts. Watterson grew increasingly frustrated by the shrinking of the available space for comics in the newspapers and the mandatory panel divisions that restricted his ability to produce better artwork and more creative storytelling. He felt that without space for anything more than simple dialogue or sparse artwork, comics as an art form were becoming dilute, bland, and unoriginal. Watterson longed for
22960-411: The strip's popularity and repeated myself for another five, ten, or twenty years, the people now "grieving" for Calvin and Hobbes would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I'd be agreeing with them. I think some of the reason Calvin and Hobbes still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run
23124-438: The strip. The first took place from May 5, 1991, to February 1, 1992, and the second from April 3 through December 31, 1994. These sabbaticals were included in the new contract Watterson managed to negotiate with Universal Features in 1990. The sabbaticals were proposed by the syndicate themselves, who, fearing Watterson's complete burnout, endeavored to get another five years of work from their star artist. Watterson remains only
23288-509: The suburban United States of the 1980s and 1990s, the strip depicts Calvin's frequent flights of fancy and friendship with Hobbes. It also examines Calvin's relationships with his long-suffering parents and with his classmates, especially his neighbor Susie Derkins. Hobbes's dual nature is a defining motif for the strip: to Calvin, Hobbes is a living anthropomorphic tiger, while all the other characters seem to see Hobbes as an inanimate stuffed toy, though Watterson has not clarified exactly how Hobbes
23452-721: The syndicate allowed the characters to be licensed without the creator's consent, as was standard at the time. Nevertheless, Watterson had leverage by threatening to simply walk away from the comic strip. This dynamic played out in a long and emotionally draining battle between Watterson and his syndicate editors. By 1991, Watterson had achieved his goal of securing a new contract that granted him legal control over his creation and all future licensing arrangements. Having achieved his objective of creative control, Watterson's desire for privacy subsequently reasserted itself and he ceased all media interviews, relocated to New Mexico , and largely disappeared from public engagements, refusing to attend
23616-501: The syndicates. United Feature Syndicate finally responded positively to one strip called The Doghouse , which featured a side character (the main character's little brother) who had a stuffed tiger. United identified these characters as the strongest and encouraged Watterson to develop them as the center of their own strip. Though United Feature ultimately rejected the new strip as lacking in marketing potential, Universal Press Syndicate took it up. The first Calvin and Hobbes strip
23780-468: The tallest in the city until 1991. It is a prototypical Beaux-Arts skyscraper. The two other major skyscrapers on Public Square, Key Tower (the tallest building in Ohio) and 200 Public Square, combine elements of Art Deco architecture with postmodern designs. Running east from Public Square through University Circle is Euclid Avenue , which was known as "Millionaires' Row" for its prestige and elegance as
23944-478: The textbook Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes , which has been described as "perhaps the most difficult piece of official Calvin and Hobbes memorabilia to find." In 2010, Watterson did allow his characters to be included in a series of United States Postal Service stamps honoring five classic American comics. Licensed prints of Calvin and Hobbes were made available and have also been included in various academic works. The strip's immense popularity has led to
24108-583: The things he makes Calvin do or in the austere eccentricities of his own lifestyle. Susie Derkins, who first appears early in the strip and is the only important character with both a first and last name, lives on Calvin's street and is one of his classmates. Her last name apparently derives from the pet beagle owned by Watterson's wife's family. Susie is studious and polite (though she can be aggressive if sufficiently provoked), and she likes to play house or host tea parties with her stuffed animals. She also plays imaginary games with Calvin in which she acts as
24272-556: The third cartoonist with sufficient popularity and stature to receive a sabbatical from their syndicate, the first two being Garry Trudeau ( Doonesbury ) in 1983 and Gary Larson ( The Far Side ) in 1989. Typically, cartoonists are expected to produce sufficient strips to cover any period that they may wish to take off. Watterson's lengthy sabbaticals received some mild criticism from his fellow cartoonists including Greg Evans ( Luann ), and Charles Schulz ( Peanuts ), one of Watterson's major artistic influences, who even called it
24436-415: The victims of the attack were Cleveland natives – Rear Admiral Isaac C. Kidd and ensign William Halloran. The attack signaled America's entry into World War II . A major hub of the " Arsenal of Democracy ", Cleveland under Mayor Frank Lausche contributed massively to the U.S. war effort as the fifth largest manufacturing center in the nation. During his tenure, Lausche also oversaw the establishment of
24600-685: The wartime contributions of those serving the Union from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County would be honored with the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument on Public Square. The Civil War vaulted Cleveland into the first rank of American manufacturing cities and fueled unprecedented growth. Its prime geographic location as a transportation hub on the Great Lakes played an important role in its development as an industrial and commercial center. In 1870, John D. Rockefeller founded Standard Oil in Cleveland, and in 1885, he moved its headquarters to New York City, which had become
24764-410: The wheels off it. I've never regretted stopping when I did. In October 2013, the magazine Mental Floss published an interview with Watterson, only the second since the strip ended. Watterson again confirmed that he would not be revisiting Calvin and Hobbes , and that he was satisfied with his decision. He also gave his opinion on the changes in the comic-strip industry and where it would be headed in
24928-414: Was syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly described as "the last great newspaper comic", Calvin and Hobbes has enjoyed enduring popularity, influence, and academic and even a philosophical interest. Calvin and Hobbes follows the humorous antics of the title characters: Calvin, a mischievous and adventurous six-year-old boy; and his friend Hobbes, a sardonic tiger. Set in
25092-429: Was "a quiet obedient kid (...) almost Calvin's opposite". From Calvin's point of view, Hobbes is an anthropomorphic tiger much larger than Calvin and full of independent attitudes and ideas. When a scene includes any other human, Hobbes appears as a stuffed animal , usually seated at an off-kilter angle with a blank facial expression. The true nature of the character is never resolved, instead as Watterson describes,
25256-495: Was an illustrated "fable for grown-ups" about "what lies beyond human understanding". The work was a collaboration with the illustrator and caricaturist John Kascht. Watterson was awarded the National Cartoonists Society 's Reuben Award in both 1986 and 1988. Watterson's second Reuben win made him the youngest cartoonist to be so honored, and only the sixth person to win twice, following Milton Caniff , Charles M. Schulz, Dik Browne , Chester Gould , and Jeff MacNelly . Gary Larson
25420-524: Was awarded the Grand Prix in 2014. On April 1, 2016, for April Fools' Day , Berkeley Breathed posted on Facebook that Watterson had signed "the franchise over to my 'administration'". He then posted a comic with Calvin, Hobbes, and Opus all featured. The comic is signed by Watterson, though the degree of his involvement was speculative. Breathed posted another "Calvin County" strip featuring Calvin and Hobbes, also "signed" by Watterson on April 1, 2017, along with
25584-575: Was completed in 1923 by the Cleveland architectural firm Walker and Weeks . The headquarters of the Federal Reserve System's Fourth District, the bank employs 1,000 people and maintains branch offices in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh . Cleveland and Cuyahoga County are home to Fortune 500 companies Cleveland-Cliffs , Progressive , Sherwin-Williams , Parker-Hannifin , KeyCorp , and Travel Centers of America . Other large companies based in
25748-539: Was first published on November 18, 1985. In Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book , he wrote that his influences included Peanuts , Pogo , and Krazy Kat . Watterson wrote the introduction to the first volume of The Komplete Kolor Krazy Kat . Watterson's style also reflects the influence of Winsor McCay 's Little Nemo in Slumberland . Like many artists, Watterson incorporated elements of his life, interests, beliefs, and values into his work—for example, his hobby as
25912-410: Was named for "a 16th-century theologian who believed in predestination ", and Hobbes for "a 17th-century philosopher with a dim view of human nature ". Watterson was inspired by the work of The Cincinnati Enquirer political cartoonist Jim Borgman , a 1976 graduate of Kenyon College, and decided to try to follow the same career path as Borgman, who in turn offered support and encouragement to
26076-570: Was not well-enforced in Cleveland), became law with the Volstead Act in 1920, and was eventually repealed nationally by Congress in 1933. The ban on alcohol led to the rise of speakeasies throughout the city and organized crime gangs, such as the Mayfield Road Mob , who smuggled bootleg liquor across Lake Erie from Canada into Cleveland. The era of the flapper marked the beginning of
26240-653: Was once known to sneak autographed copies of his books onto the shelves of the Fireside Bookshop, a family-owned bookstore in his hometown of Chagrin Falls , Ohio . He ended this practice after discovering that some of the autographed books were being sold online for high prices. Watterson rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances. His lengthiest interviews include the cover story in The Comics Journal No. 127 in February 1989, an interview that appeared in
26404-542: Was one of the more violent instances of labor strife in the city during this period. By 1910, Cleveland had become known as the "Sixth City" due to its status at the time as the sixth-largest U.S. city. Its automotive companies included Peerless , Chandler , and Winton , maker of the first car driven across the U.S. Other manufacturing industries in Cleveland included steam cars produced by White and electric cars produced by Baker . The city counted major Progressive Era politicians among its leaders, most prominently
26568-459: Was published on November 18, 1985 in 35 newspapers. The strip quickly became popular. Within a year of syndication , the strip was published in roughly 250 newspapers and proved to have international appeal with translation and wide circulation outside the United States. Although Calvin and Hobbes underwent continual artistic development and creative innovation over the period of syndication,
26732-590: Was really no upside for him in doing so. The strip borrows several elements and themes from three major influences: Walt Kelly 's Pogo , George Herriman 's Krazy Kat and Charles M. Schulz 's Peanuts . Schulz and Kelly particularly influenced Watterson's outlook on comics during his formative years. Elements of Watterson's artistic style are his characters' diverse and often exaggerated expressions (particularly those of Calvin), elaborate and bizarre backgrounds for Calvin's flights of imagination, expressions of motion and frequent visual jokes and metaphors. In
26896-466: Was to cut the color tabs the syndicate sent him into individual squares, lay out the colors, and then paint a watercolor approximation of the strip on tracing paper over the Bristol board and then mark the strip accordingly before sending it on. When Calvin and Hobbes began there were 64 colors available for the Sunday strips. For the later Sunday strips Watterson had 125 colors as well as the ability to fade
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