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Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

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Re: Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

#91

Post by tracerbulletx »

TheAmazingRace wrote: post #77
acomjean wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve read the “mysteries” book too, and would recommend. I think it’s the first book from Waterson since stopping Calvin and Hobbs. It’s quite different from Calvin and Hobbs, heavier but really thought provoking. I found myself thinking about the story after the fact.

To each their own, but the book would never have sold any copies if Bill's name wasn't attached to it. I purchased a copy on Amazon and thought I was hoodwinked. It felt like a pure cash grab.

Imagine accusing a guy who could with a stroke of a pen have earned many millions of dollars in royalties and didn't for purely artistic purity reasons of a cash crab. What a silly thing to say.

Re: Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

#93

Post by bdjsiqoocwk »

bombcar wrote: post #66
lkdfjlkdfjlg wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Old spider-man content sells for a lot more than old calvin and hobbes content. > Calvin and Hobbes was extremely mainstream. It only stopped being so because the creator stopped creating content for it. I think that's exactly the point. It stopped being mainstream. Spiderman continues to be mainstream because the original author passed on the rights and now it will live for longer than the original author. Calvin an…

Which is exactly what Watterson wanted. (He famously “came back” for a gag, but he hasn’t “sold out” and is apparently happy doing what he does, set for life.) https://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-t...

No, nonsense. What he wanted was to "not sellout". He just didn't understand that meant C&H would slide into obscurity.

Re: Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

#94

Post by JasonFruit »

mdp2021 wrote: post #10
putlake wrote: post #9

Since influential people are on this forum, someone should get Bill Watterson nominated for the Nobel prize in literature. His work deserves that honor as much as, if not more than, Bob Dylan.

Berkeley Breathed could feel left out - and one of his collections was named "Classics of Western Literature".

He should. His work has political and cultural significance, and only that: no literary value. I say that as someone who put too much time into reading Bloom County when I was younger.

Re: Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

#95

Post by sircastor »

tomrod wrote: post #41
lupire wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is a utopia that "actually works"? Star Trek is "What if Communism but it wasn't influenced by human nature?", and totally avoided thinking about how the trillions of humans not in the military lived.

ST:TNG goes into quite a bit of on-the-ground imagining of the lives of Federation individuals and Star Fleet. Colonies, research stations, etc. Though the only earth-side I remember is Jean Luc's winery and estate or when the admiral was mind controlled by some kind of pest.

Part of the challenges of early TNG is that it tries to make the federation perfect. The writing suffers because of it because there appear to be no true internal conflicts. It’s not until Roddenberry takes a back seat in the creative process that the writing starts to get really good. Though that might also in part be the departure of Maurice Hurley as show runner.

Re: Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

#96

Post by taneq »

bdjsiqoocwk wrote: post #12
tomrandle wrote: post #8

I was introduced to Calvin and Hobbes (as well as Sam and Max) as a kid by a taxi driver when on holiday in Florida in the 90s. Loved both. It’s been a delight to re read them with my son recently. I somewhat lament it’s not possible to by any merchandise though! I’d love to have a big print of the pair in their radio flyer crashing down the hill!

Ah!, speaking of merchandise. I once read an essay about the idea of, if you have a successful artistic creation, should you exploit it financially, for example by selling rights for someone else to find new income streams (Bill Waterson famously never did.) The essay argued that even if you are primarily motivated by art and not money, you should for the reason that money being the motivating factor for so many acti…

I thought he eventually did start producing merch, because there was a growing amount of bootleg merch and he realised that it was better to have official high quality products than let C&H become associated with poor quality (or something like that)? Could be misremembering though.

Re: Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

#97

Post by vinnyvichy »

lkdfjlkdfjlg wrote: post #62
vinnyvichy wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like this essay https://www.hbs.edu/ris/Publication%2520Files/09-128.pdf

Hey! Listen, the abstract exactly matches what I described. However, I believe that the essay I read specifically mentioned C&H as an example, which CTRL-F indicates your pdf doesn't. (On the other hand, it's also possible that I originally did read your pdf and in my mind used C&H as an example, and am now mis-remembering it haven been presented as example). Regardless, I'll read your pdf, thank you!

Now that I got your attention, let me (briefly) unpack (via cliche) what 082349872349872 might have meant with his HD.

"Prophets grow stronger when they die." --Villeneuve expressing his headcanon through Irulan, with B Herbert's approval.

My architect friends are not so in love with Jane Jacobs' > -- no mention of beauty, of quality!

Besides the Calvinist ancestor-worship, we might also consider the option of keeping the conversations flowing through non-survival. Heh. That's a lot of vanity, Bill.. but then, JJ could also have allotted Beauty* to the Guardians, especially since she handed the Merchants Truth. We left Heroism on the table..

*From wikipedia: "Let them eat Ostentation!"

Re: Introduction to Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

#99

Post by kragen »

even more than movies and rock-and-roll, comic strips were the primary art form of the 20th century, making charles schulz the most influential artist in history (on the public, not on art). watterson was the greatest of the greats. i wonder if he published any later work under a traveling-wilburys-style pseudonym to avoid it being overshadowed by calvin & hobbes, the way outland was engulfed by breathed's history, or the way nobody knows what songs the rolling stones wrote last year
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