Editing Bill Watterson (section)

==After ''Calvin and Hobbes''==
In the years since ''Calvin and Hobbes'' was ended, many attempts have been made to contact Watterson. Both ''[[The Plain Dealer]]'' and the ''[[Cleveland Scene]]'' sent reporters, in 1998 and 2003 respectively, but neither were able to make contact with the media-shy Watterson. Since 1995, Watterson has taken up painting, at one point drawing landscapes of the woods with his father. He has kept away from the public eye and shown no interest in resuming the strip, creating new works based on the strip's characters, or embarking on new commercial projects, though he has published several ''Calvin and Hobbes'' "treasury collection" anthologies. He does not sign autographs or license his characters. Watterson was once known to sneak autographed copies of his books onto the shelves of the Fireside Bookshop, a family-owned bookstore in his hometown of [[Chagrin Falls]], [[Ohio]]. He ended this practice after discovering that some of the autographed books were being sold online for high prices.<ref name="2005 AP story">{{cite web | url = http://www.projo.com/yourlife/content/projo_20051024_calhobbes.885b8c7.html | title = Calvin and Hobbes creator stays out of view, even at debut of collected strips | date = October 24, 2005 | access-date = April 30, 2010 | archive-date = March 16, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110316172002/http://www.projo.com/yourlife/content/projo_20051024_calhobbes.885b8c7.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

Watterson rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances. His lengthiest interviews include the cover story in ''[[The Comics Journal]]'' No. 127 in February 1989,<ref name="The Comics Journal No. 127, February 1989">{{cite web | url = http://www.tcj.com/the-comics-journal-no-127-february-1989/ | title = The Comics Journal No. 127, February 1989: Featuring an interview with Bill Watterson; an essay by Ralph Steadman; the Brad Holland sketchbook | publisher = Tcj.com | date = November 4, 2013 | access-date = November 4, 2013 | archive-date = November 8, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131108210931/http://www.tcj.com/the-comics-journal-no-127-february-1989/ | url-status = live }}</ref> an interview that appeared in a 1987 issue of ''[[Honk (magazine)|Honk Magazine]]'',<ref name="honk"/> and one in a 2015 Watterson exhibition catalogue.<ref name="wp111">{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/10/read-heres-an-excerpt-from-bill-wattersons-rare-new-calvin-and-hobbes-interview/|title=Read: Here's an excerpt from Bill Watterson's rare new 'Calvin and Hobbes' interview|last=Cavna|first=Michael|date=March 10, 2015|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=October 27, 2016|archive-date=June 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617061942/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/10/read-heres-an-excerpt-from-bill-wattersons-rare-new-calvin-and-hobbes-interview/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On December 21, 1999, a short piece was published in the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', written by Watterson to mark the forthcoming retirement of ''Peanuts'' creator Charles M. Schulz.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-21-cl-45937-story.html|title=Drawn Into a Dark but Gentle World|last=Watterson|first=Bill|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=December 21, 1999|access-date=December 4, 2016|archive-date=December 20, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220090208/http://articles.latimes.com/1999/dec/21/news/cl-45937|url-status=live}}</ref>

Circa 2003, [[Gene Weingarten]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' sent Watterson the first edition of the ''[[Barnaby (comic strip)|Barnaby]]'' book as an incentive, hoping to land an interview. Weingarten passed the book to Watterson's parents, along with a message, and declared that he would wait in his hotel for as long as it took Watterson to contact him. Watterson's editor Lee Salem called the next day to tell Weingarten that the cartoonist would not be coming.<ref name=martell/>{{rp|6}}

In 2004, Watterson and his wife Melissa bought a home in the Cleveland suburb of [[Cleveland Heights, Ohio]]. In 2005, they completed the move from their home in Chagrin Falls to their new residence.<ref>{{citation | url = http://ignatz.brinkster.net/ctigerstrikes.html | first = Neely | last = Tucker | contribution = The Tiger Strikes Again | title = The Washington Post | date = October 4, 2005 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070814014701/http://ignatz.brinkster.net/ctigerstrikes.html | archive-date = August 14, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cprivacy.html | first = Joe | last = Milicia | title = ''Calvin and Hobbes'' Creator Keeps Privacy | publisher = Associated Press | date = October 22, 2005 | url-status=dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110607004646/http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cprivacy.html | archive-date = June 7, 2011 }}</ref>

In October 2005, Watterson answered 15 questions submitted by readers.<ref name="faniv">{{cite web| url=http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/books/comics-and-humor/calvinandhobbes/pw_watterson.html| title=Fans From Around the World Interview Bill Watterson| publisher=Andrews McMeel| date=October 4, 2005| access-date=March 17, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405173424/http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/books/comics-and-humor/calvinandhobbes/pw_watterson.html | archive-date=April 5, 2017}}</ref> In October 2007, he wrote a review of ''Schulz and Peanuts'', a biography of Charles M. Schulz, in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref name="wsj">{{cite news| url=https://www.wsj.com/public/article/SB119214690326956694.html| title=The Grief That Made 'Peanuts' Good |last=Watterson |first=Bill | newspaper=The Wall Street Journal| date=October 12, 2007| access-date=August 27, 2008| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424105925/http://www.wsj.com/public/article/SB119214690326956694.html| archive-date=April 24, 2015 }}</ref>

In 2008, he provided a foreword for the first book collection of [[Richard Thompson (cartoonist)|Richard Thompson]]'s ''[[Cul de Sac (comic strip)|Cul de Sac]]'' comic strip. In April 2011, a representative for [[Andrews McMeel]] received a package from a "William Watterson in Cleveland Heights, Ohio" which contained a {{convert|6|×|8|in|cm|adj=on}} oil-on-board painting of ''Cul de Sac'' character Petey Otterloop, done by Watterson for the ''Team Cul de Sac'' fundraising project for [[Parkinson's disease]] in honor of Richard Thompson, who was diagnosed in 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://richardspooralmanac.blogspot.com/2009/07/some-news.html|title=Cul de Sac: Some News|last=Thompson|first=Richard|date=July 16, 2009|website=Cul de Sac|access-date=July 27, 2016|archive-date=August 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180817023120/http://richardspooralmanac.blogspot.com/2009/07/some-news.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Watterson's syndicate revealed that the painting was the first new artwork of his that the syndicate has seen since ''Calvin and Hobbes'' ended in 1995.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/this-just-in-first-new-art-from-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-in-16-years-syndicate-says/2011/04/22/AF7l7NQE_blog.html|title=This Just In: First new art from 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator in 16 years, syndicate says|first=Michael|last=Cavna|date=April 22, 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 24, 2017|archive-date=October 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171003183129/https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/comic-riffs/post/this-just-in-first-new-art-from-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-in-16-years-syndicate-says/2011/04/22/AF7l7NQE_blog.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 2009, Nevin Martell published a book called ''Looking for Calvin and Hobbes,'' which included a story about the author seeking an interview with Watterson. In his search he interviews friends, co-workers and family but never gets to meet the artist himself.

In early 2010, Watterson was interviewed by ''[[The Plain Dealer]]'' on the 15th anniversary of the end of ''Calvin and Hobbes''. Explaining his decision to discontinue the strip, he said,

{{bquote|
This isn't as hard to understand as people try to make it. By the end of ten years, I'd said pretty much everything I had come there to say. It's always better to leave the party early. If I had rolled along with the strip's popularity and repeated myself for another five, ten, or twenty years, the people now "grieving" for ''Calvin and Hobbes'' would be wishing me dead and cursing newspapers for running tedious, ancient strips like mine instead of acquiring fresher, livelier talent. And I'd be agreeing with them. I think some of the reason ''Calvin and Hobbes'' still finds an audience today is because I chose not to run the wheels off it. I've never regretted stopping when I did.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cleveland.com/living/index.ssf/2010/02/bill_watterson_creator_of_belo.html|title=Bill Watterson, creator of beloved 'Calvin and Hobbes' comic strip looks back with no regrets|author=Campanelli, John |newspaper=[[The Plain Dealer]]|date=February 1, 2010|access-date=February 1, 2010|archive-date=February 2, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202232313/http://www.cleveland.com/living/index.ssf/2010/02/bill_watterson_creator_of_belo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In October 2013, the magazine ''[[Mental Floss]]'' published an interview with Watterson, only the second since the strip ended. Watterson again confirmed that he would not be revisiting ''Calvin and Hobbes'', and that he was satisfied with his decision. He also gave his opinion on the changes in the comic-strip industry and where it would be headed in the future:

{{bquote|
Personally, I like paper and ink better than glowing pixels, but to each his own. Obviously the role of comics is changing very fast. On the one hand, I don't think comics have ever been more widely accepted or taken as seriously as they are now. On the other hand, the mass media is disintegrating, and audiences are atomizing. I suspect comics will have less widespread cultural impact and make a lot less money. I'm old enough to find all this unsettling, but the world moves on. All the new media will inevitably change the look, function, and maybe even the purpose of comics, but comics are vibrant and versatile, so I think they'll continue to find relevance one way or another. But they definitely won't be the same as what I grew up with.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/53216/mental-floss-exclusive-our-interview-bill-watterson |title=Mental Floss Exclusive: Our Interview with Bill Watterson! |date=October 17, 2013 |magazine=[[Mental Floss]] |access-date=October 18, 2013 |archive-date=October 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018002939/http://mentalfloss.com/article/53216/mental-floss-exclusive-our-interview-bill-watterson |url-status=live }}</ref>}}

In 2013 the documentary ''[[Dear Mr. Watterson]]'', exploring the cultural impact of ''Calvin and Hobbes'', was released. Watterson himself did not appear in the film.

On February 26, 2014, Watterson published his first cartoon since the end of ''Calvin and Hobbes'': a poster for the documentary ''[[Stripped (film)|Stripped]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gardner |first=Alan |url=http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2014/02/26/bill-watterson-provides-poster-art-for-stripped-documentary/ |title=Bill Watterson provides poster art for Stripped documentary The Daily Cartoonist |publisher=Dailycartoonist.com |date=February 26, 2014 |access-date=June 12, 2014 |archive-date=June 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140612231921/http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2014/02/26/bill-watterson-provides-poster-art-for-stripped-documentary/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Cohen|first=Nicole|title='Calvin & Hobbes' Creator Pens His First Public Comic In 18 Years|url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/27/283437272/calvin-hobbes-creator-pens-his-first-public-comic-in-18-years|work=NPR|access-date=February 27, 2014|archive-date=February 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140228124744/http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/27/283437272/calvin-hobbes-creator-pens-his-first-public-comic-in-18-years|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2014, Watterson co-authored ''The Art of Richard Thompson'' with ''Washington Post'' cartoonist [[Nick Galifianakis (cartoonist)|Nick Galifianakis]] and David Apatoff.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Art of Richard Thompson|author1-last=Watterson|author1-first=Bill|author2-last=Galifianakis|author2-first=Nick|author3-last=Apatoff|author3-first=David|editor1-last=Sparks|editor1-first=Chris|editor2-last=Rhode|editor2-first=Michael|date=November 25, 2014|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|edition=1st|isbn=978-1449447953}}</ref>

In June 2014, three strips of ''[[Pearls Before Swine (comics)|Pearls Before Swine]]'' (published June 4, June 5, and June 6, 2014) featured guest illustrations by Watterson after mutual friend Nick Galifianakis connected him and cartoonist [[Stephan Pastis]], who communicated via e-mail.<ref>{{cite web |last=Leopold |first=Todd |url=https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/08/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/watterson-pastis-calvin-hobbes-pearls-before-swine/index.html |title=How 'Calvin and Hobbes' met 'Pearls Before Swine' |publisher=CNN.com |date=June 8, 2014 |access-date=May 31, 2018 |archive-date=July 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180724084403/https://www.cnn.com/2014/06/08/showbiz/celebrity-news-gossip/watterson-pastis-calvin-hobbes-pearls-before-swine/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Pastis likened this unexpected collaboration to getting "a glimpse of Bigfoot".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/ |title=Ever Wished That Calvin and Hobbes Creator Bill Watterson Would Return to the Comics Page? Well, He Just Did. &#124; Pearls Before Swine |publisher=Stephanpastis.wordpress.com |date=June 7, 2014 |access-date=June 12, 2014 |archive-date=June 11, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140611150813/http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/ |url-status=live }}</ref> "I thought maybe Stephan and I could do this goofy collaboration and then use the result to raise some money for Parkinson's research in honor of [[Richard Thompson (cartoonist)|Richard Thompson]]. It seemed like a perfect convergence", Watterson told ''The Washington Post''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/06/26/this-just-in-bill-wattersons-pearls-before-swine-art-for-parkinsons-to-be-auctioned-in-august/ |title=This Just In: Bill Watterson's 'Pearls Before Swine' art for Parkinson's to be auctioned in August.; The Washington Post |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=June 26, 2014 |access-date=July 21, 2014 |archive-date=July 20, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720104604/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/06/26/this-just-in-bill-wattersons-pearls-before-swine-art-for-parkinsons-to-be-auctioned-in-august/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The day that Stephan Pastis returned to his own strip, he paid tribute to Watterson by alluding to the final strip of ''Calvin and Hobbes'' from December 31, 1995.

On November 5, 2014, a poster was unveiled, drawn by Watterson for the 2015 [[Angoulême International Comics Festival]] where he was awarded the Grand Prix in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.20minutes.fr/culture/1474575-20141105-createur-calvin-hobbes-devoile-affiche-festival-angouleme|title=Le créateur de Calvin et Hobbes dévoile son affiche pour le festival d'Angoulême|publisher=20 Minutes|date=November 5, 2014|access-date=November 5, 2014|archive-date=November 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141108014247/http://www.20minutes.fr/culture/1474575-20141105-createur-calvin-hobbes-devoile-affiche-festival-angouleme|url-status=live}}</ref>

On April 1, 2016, for [[April Fools' Day]], [[Berkeley Breathed]] posted on Facebook that Watterson had signed "the franchise over to my 'administration'". He then posted a comic with Calvin, Hobbes, and Opus all featured. The comic is signed by Watterson, though the degree of his involvement was speculative.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/photos/a.114529165244512.10815.108793262484769/1169777789719639/?type=3&theater|url-status=dead|title=Calvin and Hobbes signed over to Berkeley Breathed=20 Minutes|website=[[Facebook]]|date=April 1, 2016|access-date=April 1, 2016|archive-date=May 24, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524030301/https://www.facebook.com/berkeleybreathed/photos/a.114529165244512.10815.108793262484769/1169777789719639/?type=3&theater}}</ref> Breathed posted another "Calvin County" strip featuring Calvin and Hobbes, also "signed" by Watterson on April 1, 2017, along with a fake ''[[The New York Times|New York Times]]'' story ostensibly detailing the "merger" of the two strips.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/calvin-county-watterson-breathed-mashup-the-time-warneraol-merger-of-the-comic-world|title=Calvin County: Watterson – Breathed Mash-up: The Time Warner/AOL Merger of the Comic World|last=Derkins|first=Susie|date=April 1, 2017|publisher=BERKELEY BREATHED|access-date=April 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404050114/http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/calvin-county-watterson-breathed-mashup-the-time-warneraol-merger-of-the-comic-world|archive-date=April 4, 2017|url-status=dead }}</ref> Berkeley Breathed included Hobbes in a November 27, 2017, strip as a stand-in for the character Steve Dallas. Hobbes has also returned in the June 9, 11, and 12, 2021, strips<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=343072207180305&set=a.261773351976858|date=June 9, 2021|access-date=June 11, 2021|title=Hobbes stands in for Bill The Cat|website=[[Facebook]]|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610135815/https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=343072207180305&set=a.261773351976858|url-status=live}}</ref> as a stand-in for Bill The Cat.

===Exhibitions===
In 2001, the [[Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum]] at [[Ohio State University]] mounted an exhibition of Watterson's [[Sunday strip]]s. He chose thirty-six of his favorites, displaying them with both the original drawing and the colored finished product, with most pieces featuring personal annotations. Watterson also wrote an accompanying essay that served as the foreword for the exhibit, called "Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985–1995", which opened on September 10, 2001. It was taken down in January 2002. The accompanying published catalog had the same title.<ref name="Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages">{{cite web|url=http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/books/detail?sku=9780740721359|title=Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday pages 1985–1995|publisher=Andrew Mcmeel|access-date=October 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606055203/http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/books/detail?sku=9780740721359|archive-date=June 6, 2017|url-status=dead }}</ref>

From March 22 to August 3, 2014, Watterson exhibited again at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University.<ref>{{Citation | publisher = OSU cartoons | title = Exploring Calvin & Hobbes | url = http://cartoons.osu.edu/events/exploring-calvin-and-hobbes/ | date = February 7, 2014 | access-date = July 9, 2014 | archive-date = August 11, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150811001523/http://cartoons.osu.edu/events/exploring-calvin-and-hobbes/ | url-status = live }}.</ref> In conjunction with this exhibition, Watterson also participated in an interview with the school.<ref>{{Citation | date = March 20, 2014 | type = blog | contribution-url = http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2014/03/20/new-interview-calvin-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-and-cul-de-sac-creator-richard-thompson-talk-libraries-comics-and-the-creative-process-with-ohio-state/ | title = Cartoons | publisher = OSU Library | contribution = New interview: Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson & Cul de Sac creator Richard Thompson talk libraries, comics & the creative process with Ohio State | access-date = July 9, 2014 | archive-date = July 15, 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140715163719/http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2014/03/20/new-interview-calvin-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-and-cul-de-sac-creator-richard-thompson-talk-libraries-comics-and-the-creative-process-with-ohio-state/ | url-status = live }}.</ref> An exhibition catalog named ''Exploring Calvin and Hobbes'' was released with the exhibit. The book contained a lengthy interview with Bill Watterson, conducted by Jenny Robb, the curator of the museum.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/09/bill-watterson-talks-this-is-why-you-must-read-the-new-exploring-calvin-and-hobbes-book/ |title=Bill Watterson talks: This is why you must read the new 'Exploring Calvin and Hobbes' book |last1=Cavna |first1=Michael |date=March 9, 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=May 6, 2015 |archive-date=May 8, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150508214730/http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/09/bill-watterson-talks-this-is-why-you-must-read-the-new-exploring-calvin-and-hobbes-book/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===''The Mysteries''===
Watterson released his first published work in 28 years on October 10, 2023, called ''The Mysteries''. It was an illustrated "fable for grown-ups" about "what lies beyond human understanding". The work was a collaboration with the illustrator and caricaturist John Kascht.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cantor |first=Matthew |date=February 22, 2023 |title='He created something magical': Calvin and Hobbes fans rejoice as creator plans first work in decades |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/feb/22/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-the-mysteries-new-book |access-date=August 21, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Degg |first=D. D. |date=February 14, 2023 |title=New Bill Watterson Book – Fall '23 – The Daily Cartoonist |url=https://www.dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2023/02/14/new-bill-watterson-book-fall-23/ |access-date=January 15, 2023 |website=The Daily Cartoonist}}</ref>