CNN.com - Where's 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator? - Oct 24, 2005

"Calvin and Hobbes" cartoonist Bill Waterson may not live in Chagrin Falls anymore according to a CNN article. The article appears to pretty accurately give away his previous location, which I think breaks some boundaries and opens up a good stalker opportunity that should not exist.

But that's not the point. The point is that 10 years after "Calvin and Hobbes" ran its last original piece, the famous "Let's go exploring" Sunday strip, the comic itself still stands. I still read it every day courtesy of, I believe, Jerry's Morning Coffee. And it's been long enough that a lot of the jokes are new to me. So in a way, "Calvin and Hobbes" isn't really gone because the reruns are just so damn fun. I understand Watterson's desire for both privacy and creative expression. And I also understand that he must have one hell of a nest egg to be able to live off a commodity that's been defunct for 10 years. And, unlike Jim Davis, there was no massive merchandising tie in for the strip to keep him afloat: no stickers, no Hallmark cards, no Christmas decorations.

Keep in mind that the strip was about a boy and his little stuffed tiger. And Watterson walked away from that market. I don't know how he defines creative freedom, but I say he had it in spades.