Editing Calvin and Hobbes (section)

==Sabbaticals==
Bill Watterson took two [[sabbatical]]s from the daily requirements of producing the strip. The first took place from May 5, 1991, to February 1, 1992, and the second from April 3 through December 31, 1994. These sabbaticals were included in the new contract Watterson managed to negotiate with Universal Features in 1990. The sabbaticals were proposed by the syndicate themselves, who, fearing Watterson's complete burnout, endeavored to get another five years of work from their star artist.<ref name=":1" />

Watterson remains only the third cartoonist with sufficient popularity and stature to receive a sabbatical from their syndicate, the first two being [[Garry Trudeau]] (''[[Doonesbury]]'') in 1983 and [[Gary Larson]] (''[[The Far Side]]'') in 1989.<ref name=":3" /> Typically, cartoonists are expected to produce sufficient strips to cover any period that they may wish to take off. Watterson's lengthy sabbaticals received some mild criticism from his fellow cartoonists including [[Greg Evans (cartoonist)|Greg Evans]] (''[[Luann (comic strip)|Luann]]''), and [[Charles M. Schulz|Charles Schulz]] (''[[Peanuts]]''), one of Watterson's major artistic influences, who even called it a "puzzle". Some cartoonists resented the idea that Watterson worked harder than others, while others supported it. At least one newspaper editor noted that the strip was the most popular in the country and stated that he "earned it".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://timhulsizer.com/cwords/cmixedresponse.html|title=Mixed Response To Second Sabbatical|date=26 March 1994|work=Editor & Publisher|access-date=19 September 2018|issue=13|volume=127|page=30}}</ref>