I was recently enjoying a look through some of my old Calvin & Hobbes books and lamenting Watterson's self-imposed exile. As I recall, one of the reasons he abandoned the whole comic world was the restrictive format required by the newspapers. He hated being force to use x number of panels and such-and-such layout, and the constantantly shrinking size. So he quit after 10 years.
Well, how about this: forget the newspapers entirely, go direct to books. He would be free to use any format he wanted. Strips wouldn't even have to end at one page. How about a huge, multi-page epics? I know I would buy any new C&H books released.
Can't find a publisher? I doubt any publisher would be idiotic enough to pass up this opportunity. Even if they did, thanks to the wonderful modern world of the internet pipes, he could self-publish and market them through Amazon or something similar. I don't see any insurmountable technical problems.
But perhaps he just grew tired of doing it. Maybe it was better to stop while it was still fresh and good. C&H never jumped a shark, and so will be remembered that much more fondly. Always leave them wanting more.
1 comment:
Calvin and Hobbes was The. Best. Comic. Ever. I miss it terribly, it and the Far Side both. On its best day, Foxtrot almost approaches C&H's average, but those days are rare.
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