billwattersonIf they were to produce a remake of Field of Dreams, suffice to say Bill Watterson would NOT be one of the characters.

The cartoonist, once so elusive that a whole book was written about trying to find him, , the Calvin and Hobbes cartoonsist is now on a veritable charm offensive. First there was the brilliant cross over with Stephan Pastis on Pearls Before Swine. Now there’s the official news that Watterson will draw the poster for the 2015 Angoulême comics festival — in January Watterson was elected president of the 2015 fest, a position which usually carries very active duties. Although it’s incredibly unlikely that he’ll attend in any way, he’s clearly happy with the honor.

Watterson has been far more public in the recent couple of years—he drew a painting for the Team Culde Sac benefit, drew the poster for the Stripped Documentary and has been interviewed in several places. There was also the retrospective of his art at OSU which he participated in.

There are signs we’ll be seeing even more of Watterson. In October IDW will publish a retrospective of the early satirical Puck Magazine, Puck: What Fools These Mortals Be, with an intro by Watterson. This project (which looks amazing) is even further afield than the previous Watterson sightings, so who knows where he might go next?

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6 COMMENTS

  2. There’s also his (unauthorized) appearance in upcoming issues of A Waste of Time by Rick Worley, where his characters discover the secret of what Bill’s been doing since ending C&H. :)

  3. Hi Heidi!

    I don’t know if you saw, but Bill also gave his first *recorded* interview ever in the Stripped documentary — which was a very kind thing of him to do. He has some lovely things to say in it about the power of comics.

    Dave Kellett

  4. STEVE DITKO FOR ANGOULEME GRAND PRIX 2016
    It worked to bring out Watterson…

  5. And don’t forget that he wrote the intro to the first Cul de Sac collection, then contributed art to the first Team Cul de Sac fundraiser for Parkinson’s. He’s no Salinger; he just reserves the right to choose his shots. I can respect that.

  6. I’m not 100% sure about Watterson, but it’s a misconception that Steve Ditko is some kind of weird recluse. Choosing not to do interviews, be in films, or otherwise engage in personal celebrity does not make one a hermit.

    Even Jonathan Ross was able to easily go up to Ditko’s office and talk to him during the documentary he did (although Ditko naturally did not appear on camera).

    Watterson is likely the same way. Some people value their privacy more than fame.

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