Late last night, I was extremely bored and started running through sort of random web sites that either a.) I had never visited before, or b.) had not seen in quite a while. At some point I found myself going through various articles that more or less said the same things. The topic was the release of the new anthology containing all 3 thousand-odd strips of Calvin and Hobbes, and the first time its creator, Bill Watterson, “speaks up” about his retreat into seclusion since New Year’s Day 1996.
Of course, the fans’ questions still pour in: why did Watterson hang up his pen so soon? (he was only 38 when he called it quits) Why didn’t he license Calvin and Hobbes? Will he ever return to cartooning? Will we ever see another Calvin and Hobbes strip? Even 10 years later, these questions are still burning strong, perhaps even stronger than 9 years ago. We more or less know the facts behind the situation. Watterson was not going to sacrifice the sanctity of his art to the mindless advertisement regime that has helped bring down America and parts of the rest of the world (although you can’t say George W. Bush didn’t do his part). When I took a Sociology class first semester of last year, we learned about the “MacWorld” influence of mindless American advertising that our once-great country spewed across the globe, and how exploitation, merging, and mindless homogenation of commerce, culture and tradition has turned adiverse culture into a huge McDonald’s. Only a few foreign films, probably known as one of the best film genres, are heard of as much as crappy action movies like “The Matrix Revolution.” Quaint local shops and other attractions are being replaced by megastores like Walmart...
I could go on, but it goes to show only a sliver of what Watterson was going through. Were he to succumb to every little thing Universal Press Syndicate asked of him, Calvin and Hobbes strips would turn to the crapper and lose much of what made it so good. Watching the Simpsons for the past few years has turned me off. We rarely see a new episode in which some famous celebrity, corporation, or popular event was not part of the main theme. Occasionally we’d get a new twist in plot that for some reason wasn’t discovered before and yet if that plot were introduced even five years ago would not have made any sense. Reading other comic strips that used to be great nowadays have also turned me off, as the content often reflects the MacWorld ideology that was brought up earlier.
I’d say it was a good thing though, that Watterson retired when he did. Although I will never understand why he did what he did, I get that he was doing it for peace of mind, and for his integrity. After all, he did claim that he had nothing new to offer to the strip (probably why he introduced a couple new alien characters named Galaxoid and Nebular two months before the strip ended). But it is also possible to assume that perhaps Watterson is more of a painter, a throwback artist who fancies in art before the 20th century, and that he created the Calvin and Hobbes strip merely as a side project that simply captured the hearts of millions of people.
It’s interesting to see how some of the best people at their jobs somehow have their careers cut short. Barry Sanders, a running back for the Detroit Lions during the late 80s and most of the 90s, abruptly stopped his Hall of Fame career during his prime because he no longer had the desire to play the game. This was a guy who ran with the football as good as anyone, and yet when he reached the end zone he simply handed off the ball to the referee. Unlike Deion Sanders, he never did an end-zone dance. He merely shrugged off each personal accomplishment as a means to improve the situation for his team.
George Gerswhin, in my opinion, was one of the best, if not the best, composer of all time. He was ahead of his time (early 20th century), combining jazz, late developments of romanticism, and early developments of modern music. He wrote a lot of Broadway tunes, and perhaps not so many piano and orchestra pieces. But the way he incorporated rhythm, melody, and harmony was absolutely seamless. He managed to keep his music fresh and catchy, and yet logical at the same time. Alas, he died young, at the same age as Watterson at his retirement, but the way he wrote music captured the hearts of many people, in the same way that Watterson’s creation did.
A fourth guy I would have brought up had he not returned to his profession not once, but twice, would have fit very well into this category. Had it not been for his ultimate desire to keep playing basketball, Michael Jordan surely would have topped this list. And for that I am ultimately happy, as I am a die-hard Bulls fan, and was always a huge Michael Jordan fan. But given that after 3 straight championship titles, he temporarily retired from the NBA after his father’s murder and yearning to fulfill his dream of playing baseball. Like Watterson in cartooning, Barry Sanders in football (up for debate), Gershwin in music (also up for debate), Michael Jordan was the best basketball player ever. Had he not returned in 1995, I’m sure he would still enter the NBA Hall of Fame, but as another example of a great career cut short. Of course, depending on how many championship titles LeBron James racks up, MJ’s status will remain intact until James matches or surpasses the six MJ got.
I also ran into a website article (taken from a group blog) comparing Calvinball to a Cubs-Reds game back in September that went wrong in so many ways for both teams. Somehow the Cubs still managed to lose it, by a crappy score of 7-4 in extra innings. As I was reading through it, I started to yearn for the days of the 90s when Calvin was in the papers, the Bulls were champions, and I still had yet to experience life away from home.
On second thought, when I saw the price of another Calvin and Hobbes book (centered on the Sunday strips) that came out in 2001, it was worth around $10 last night. Perhaps in a few years, the big anthologies will be worth around $50 as opposed to the current $150 tag, assuming inflation doesn’t suddenly spike and keep the price sky high. After all I still have all the other Calvin and Hobbes books, except for the aforementioned book that came out 4 years ago and one of the earlier books that got lost during moving season many years ago. I have other more pressing things to think about than some dinky anthology.