Review: Looking For Calvin and Hobbes by Nevin Martell

Like many of us, journalist Nevin Martell is a diehard fan of the utterly brilliant daily comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. Looking For Calvin and Hobbes is equal parts a study of the comic and the story of how Martell sought to find out more about the comic's reclusive author Bill Watterson, who turned his back on multiple deals for merchandising, an animated series and who does not seek fame or notoriety in any way, shape or form. Martell never gets to interview Watterson, but what we go get is a solid story on how a was never spoiled by over-exposure or merchandising and remains beloved by fans, interviews with all kinds of people including Lynn Johnson who created the wonderful For Better of For Worse daily comic, and an outline of Watterson's career. 

This was an interesting read. I knew close to nothing about Watterson but for the fact that he never allowed his comic to be monetised, and the story of how Calvin and Hobbes came into being was an interesting one, along with the pressures that the author faced and how integrity was always put ahead of money. (The story that Watterson burned a set of Hobbes plush toys that was sent to him is particularly interesting.) I was also interested to learn more about the daily comics pages in North America and how similar--and different--they were to what I grew up with in Australia, where approximately half of the comics pages were filled with comics the US and Canada that had themes that were very universal ie Calvin and Hobbes, Peanuts, For Better or For Worse, The Far Side, alongside 'local' comics from the east coast of Australia and also from New Zealand. I cannot remember many of the daily comics that the author mentions, but it certainly made for interesting reading. And for a strange sense of longing for a time when daily comics were read in a newspaper instead of online and for the times when I'd cut those comics out and stick them in a scrapbook. I also love the way that Martell describes the quiet beauty of Calvin and Hobbes--a comic that is rich in imagination, and something about the setting that feels very innocent. 

Overall, this is an excellent glimpse into Calvin and Hobbes and a cartoonist who never compromised their morals to make more money. 

Highly recommended. 

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