William Boyd Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is an American cartoonist who authored the comic strip ''

Calvin and Hobbes ''Calvin and Hobbes'' is a daily American comic strip created by cartoonist Bill Watterson that was Print syndication, syndicated from November 18, 1985, to December 31, 1995. Commonly described as "the last great newspaper comic", ''Calvin a ...

''. 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 A license (American English) or licence ( Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another par ...

, his efforts to expand and elevate the newspaper comic as an

art form The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive range of me ...

, 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 Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. The

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

setting of Ohio was part of the inspiration for the setting of ''Calvin and Hobbes''. Watterson currently lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.

Early life

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 a patent attorney. In 1965, six-year-old Watterson and his family moved to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, a suburb of

Cleveland 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–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. Watterson has a younger brother, Thomas Watterson, who lives in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, and worked as a musician before becoming an educator. Bill Watterson High School Photo

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 ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, created by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-America ...

'', and Charles M. Schulz's ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' which subsequently inspired and influenced his desire to become 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 the school newspaper and yearbook. After high school, Watterson attended

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

, where he majored in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

. 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 In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

year he painted

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...

's ''

Creation of Adam Creation or The Creation or Creations, may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film * ''Creation'' (1922 film), a British silent drama * ''Creation'' (unfinished film), 1931 * ''Creation'' (2009 film), about Charles Darwin Literature * ''Creation ...

'' on the ceiling of his dormitory room. He also contributed cartoons to the college newspaper, some of which included the original "Spaceman Spiff" cartoons. Watterson graduated from Kenyon in 1980 with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree. Later, when Watterson was creating names for the characters in his comic strip, he decided on Calvin (after the Protestant reformer

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

) and Hobbes (after the political philosopher

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...

), allegedly as a "tip of the hat" to Kenyon's political science department. In ''The Complete Calvin and Hobbes'', Watterson stated that Calvin was named for "a 16th-century

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

who believed in

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...

" and Hobbes for "a 17th-century

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

with a dim view of

human nature Human nature comprises the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of Thought, thinking, feeling, and agency (philosophy), acting—that humans are said to have nature (philosophy), naturally. The term is often used to denote ...

Career

Early work

Watterson was inspired by the work of ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, altho ...

'' 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 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 the city, having grown up in the

area and attended college in central Ohio. The ''Post'' fired Watterson before his contract was up. He then joined a small

advertising agency An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

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 a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

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.

''Calvin and Hobbes'' and rise to success

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'' 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 Zenas Winsor McCay ( – July 26, 1934) was an American cartoonist and animator. He is best known for the comic strip ''Little Nemo'' (1905–1914; 1924–1927) and the animated film ''Gertie the Dinosaur'' (1914). For contractual reasons, he w ...

'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 a cyclist, memories of his own father's speeches about "building character", and his views on

merchandising Merchandising is any practice which contributes to the sale of Product (business), products ("merch" colloquially) to a retail consumer. At a retail in-store level, merchandising refers to displaying products that are for sale in a creative w ...

and

corporations A corporation or body corporate is an individual or a group of people, such as an association or company, that has been authorized by the State (polity), state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law as ...

. Watterson's cat Sprite very much inspired the personality and physical features of

Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered to be one of the founders ...

. 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 stated that art should not be judged by the medium for which it is created (i.e., there is no "high" art or "low" art—just

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

). Watterson wrote a foreword for ''

FoxTrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

.''

Fight against merchandising his characters

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 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 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. Later he said 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 a logo. Watterson has said, "Only thieves and vandals have made money on ''Calvin and Hobbes'' merchandise."

Changing the format of the Sunday strip

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 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 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 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.

End of ''Calvin and Hobbes''

On November 9, 1995, Watterson announced the end of ''Calvin and Hobbes'' with the following letter to newspaper editors: The last strip of ''Calvin and Hobbes'' was published on December 31, 1995.

After ''Calvin and Hobbes''

In the years since ''Calvin and Hobbes'' was ended, many attempts have been made to contact Watterson. Both ''

The Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

'' and 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 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,

. 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 ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing r ...

'' No. 127 in February 1989, an interview that appeared in 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 The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'', written by Watterson to mark the forthcoming retirement of ''Peanuts'' creator Charles M. Schulz. Circa 2003, Gene Weingarten of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' sent Watterson the first edition of the '' Barnaby'' book as an incentive, hoping to land an interview. Weingarten passed 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 a review of ''Schulz and Peanuts'', a biography of Charles M. Schulz, in ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

''. 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 oil-on-board painting of ''Cul de Sac'' character Petey Otterloop, done by Watterson for the ''Team Cul de Sac'' fundraising project for

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

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 the artist himself. In early 2010, Watterson was interviewed by ''

'' on the 15th anniversary of the end of ''Calvin and Hobbes''. Explaining his decision to discontinue the strip, he said, In October 2013, the magazine ''

Mental Floss ''Mental Floss'' (stylized as ''mental_floss'') is an American online magazine and digital, print, and e-commerce media company focused on millennials. It is owned by Minute Media, an international digital media publisher based in London, Engla ...

'' 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 the future: In 2013 the documentary '' Dear Mr. Watterson'', exploring 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 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 The Angoulême International Comics Festival (AICF; ) is the second largest comics festival in Europe after the Lucca Comics & Games in Italy, and the third biggest in the world after Lucca Comics & Games and the Comiket of Japan. It has occur ...

where he was awarded the Grand Prix in 2014. On April 1, 2016, for

April Fools' Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. ...

Berkeley Breathed Guy Berkeley "Berke" Breathed (; born June 21, 1957) is an American cartoonist, children's book author, Film director, director, and screenwriter, known for his comic strips ''Bloom County'', ''Outland (comic strip), Outland'', and ''Opus (comic s ...

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 a fake ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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.

Exhibitions

In 2001, the

Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum The Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum is a research library of American cartoons and comic art affiliated with the Ohio State University library system in Columbus, Ohio. Formerly known as the Cartoon Research Library and the Cartoon Libra ...

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

mounted an exhibition of Watterson's

Sunday strip The Sunday comics or Sunday strip is the comic strip section carried in some Western newspapers. Compared to weekday comics, Sunday comics tend to be full pages and are in color. Many newspaper readers called this section the Sunday funnies, t ...

s. He chose thirty-six of his favorites, displaying them with both 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 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.

''The Mysteries''

Watterson released his first published work in 28 years on October 10, 2023, called ''The Mysteries''. It 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.

Awards and honors

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 Jeffrey Kenneth MacNelly (September 17, 1947 – June 8, 2000) was an American editorial cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip ''Shoe (comic strip), Shoe''. After ''Shoe'' had been established in papers, MacNelly created the single-panel ...

Gary Larson Gary Larson (born August 14, 1950) is an American cartoonist who created ''The Far Side'', a single-panel cartoon series that was syndicated internationally to more than 1,900 newspapers for fifteen years. The series ended on January 1, 1995, ...

is the only cartoonist to win a second Reuben since Watterson. In 2014, Watterson was awarded the Grand Prix at the

for his body of work, becoming just the fourth non-European cartoonist to be so honored in the first 41 years of the event. *1986: Reuben Award, Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year *1988: Reuben Award, Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year *1988: National Cartoonists Society, Newspaper Comic Strips Humor Award *1988: Sproing Award, for ''Tommy og Tigern'' (''Calvin and Hobbes'') *1989:

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be a successor to the Kirby Awards, which were ...

, Special Award for Humor, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1990: Harvey Award, Best Syndicated Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1990: Max & Moritz Prize, Best Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1991: Harvey Award, Best Syndicated Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1991: Adamson Award, for ''Kalle och Hobbe'' (''Calvin and Hobbes'') *1992: Harvey Award, Best Syndicated Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1992: Eisner Award, Best Comic Strip Collection, for ''The Revenge of the Baby-Sat'' *1992:

, Prize for Best Foreign Comic Book, for ''En avant tête de thon!'' *1993: Eisner Award, Best Comic Strip Collection, for ''Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons'' *1993: Harvey Award, Best Syndicated Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1994: Harvey Award, Best Syndicated Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1995: Harvey Award, Best Syndicated Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1996: Harvey Award, Best Syndicated Comic Strip, for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *2014: Grand Prix,

*2020: Inducted into the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame

Bibliography

*1987: ''Calvin and Hobbes'' *1988: ''Something Under the Bed is Drooling'' *1988: ''Yukon Ho!'' *1990: ''Weirdos from Another Planet'' *1991: ''The Revenge of the Baby-Sat'' *1991: ''Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"'' *1992: ''Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons'' *1993: ''The Days are Just Packed'' *1994: ''Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection'' *1995: ''The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book'' *1996: ''There's Treasure Everywhere'' *1996: ''It's a Magical World'' *2023: ''The Mysteries'' Treasury collections *1988: ''The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury'' *1989: ''The Lazy Sunday Book'' *1990: ''The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes'' *1992: ''The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes'' *2002: ''Calvin and Hobbes Sunday Pages 1985–1995'' *2005: ''The Complete Calvin and Hobbes'' *2019: ''The Complete Calvin and Hobbes'' (reprint)

Notes

References

External links

* * * * . * *
Bill Watterson's Commencement Address to Kenyon College
* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Watterson, Bill American comics writers American comics artists American humorists 1958 births American comic strip cartoonists American people of English descent Artists from Washington, D.C. Grand Prix de la ville d'Angoulême winners Harvey Award winners Kenyon College alumni Living people People from Chagrin Falls, Ohio Reuben Award winners