I mentioned Eli's reading of The Complete Works of Calvin and Hobbes; well, last night I read the intro to the books, which is the story of the development of Bill Watterson's drawing/writing career and the incarnation of Calvin and Hobbes, written by Watterson himself. One of the big topics he covers is his struggle with the decision not to license/merchandise his characters, because it doesn't feel consistent with the message and spirit of the strip. Lots of hard feelings and burned bridges between him and his publishing syndicate. Hmmm, I thought, I guess I hadn't really noticed that there are no Calvin & Hobbes t-shirts or figurines or plush dolls or greeting cards or TV shows or movies, but now that you mention it...
It sunk in slowly at first, and then came over me in a wave: Bill Watterson flat-out turned down millions and millions of dollars, for which he would have had to do virtually nothing, other than to okay contracts and projects and do (paid) art direction for bigger things like movies. The strip itself would be unaffected, other than existing within the mix of other Calvin stuff, which might contractually be high-quality "Watterson Approved." Sort of like the whole "Peanuts" franchise.
And now, he's given up doing comics entirely, and is developing his painting and music skills. He's not even doing the strip any more, and still he won't license (sell) it out.
Wow, this man (of whom there are only two or three photos on the internets) really lives by his artistic principles. Agree with him or not, the guy deserves a lot of respect!
