Looking for Calvin and Hobbes by Nevin Martell

I can't tell you how often a student comes into the Media Center looking for a Calvin and Hobbes book - a boy and his tiger who we have not seen for fourteen years continues to entertain kids of all ages. Nevin Martell grew up on Calvin and Hobbes; he has very fond memories of reading the strip every morning while he ate his cereal and now that he's a writer decided to find out what exactly happened to the cartoonist, Bill Watterson who created the strip and why after ten glorious years (for us) he decided to walk away.

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is a book for adults; a book that covers a whole lot of ground. Watterson never gave an interview to Martell so Martell interviewed other cartoonists about the reluctant legend. Put simply, Watterson walked away in 1995, disgruntled and disillusioned. What Martell describes is fascinating on a number of different levels - it is an intimate look at how cartoonists create characters; the cut throat environment of syndication and the power of the almighty dollar (did you know Charles Schultz earned 30 to 40 million dollars a year towards the end of his career).

Is it enough to say Watterson is a tortured artist? Probably not but if it is that simple then we are all the more lucky to have been gifted for ten delightful years.