Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip by Nevin Martell

Apr 11, 2010 Bob Redmond rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: graphica

Martell's book--somewhere between breathless fanzine and good high-school journalism--tells the story of the brilliant "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip and its creator Bill Watterson.

Watterson is notoriously reclusive and sometimes antagonistic to his colleagues, so the premise--find Bill Watterson and tell his story--was noble. Unlike Michael Moore, Werner Herzog, or Herman Melville, however, Martell is not able to carry off this story of mythic absence. Instead of taking a cue from the strip's...more Martell's book--somewhere between breathless fanzine and good high-school journalism--tells the story of the brilliant "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip and its creator Bill Watterson.

Watterson is notoriously reclusive and sometimes antagonistic to his colleagues, so the premise--find Bill Watterson and tell his story--was noble. Unlike Michael Moore, Werner Herzog, or Herman Melville, however, Martell is not able to carry off this story of mythic absence. Instead of taking a cue from the strip's hero Calvin, who would create elaborate fantasies to explain a missing homework assignment, Martell simply shows us his empty hands and tries to fill space by quoting previously published material.

It is also lamentable, if legally understandable, that there are no reproductions of any comic strips in this book. For a greater artist, that might present yet another opportunity, but Martell passes it by. As a collection of the known facts about Bill Watterson, this book does a service. There are also a few worthy quotes from other cartoonists (each of which Martell uses numerous times), but not a lot of new information about the comics community.

Calvin and Hobbes was a sui generis phenomenon--Watterson wrote, drew, and colored all his strips by himself, didn't participate in many industry events or conversations (except to lob figurative hand grenades about the perils of selling out), and ended the strip at the height of its popularity. None of these things diminish the genius of the work; in fact they are inseparable from it. The achievement of Martell's book is to remind us of the self-contained perfection of the original, and that the only way to experience it, at least so far, is to read that ur-text.

*

WHY I READ THIS BOOK: I grew up in Russell, Ohio, which is the town next door to Chagrin Falls--the town where Bill Watterson grew up. Because Russell consisted of a stop light and a convenient store, we spent a lot of time in Chagrin. My sisters worked at the famous Popcorn Shoppe, my brother worked at the local department store, my "odd jobs" enterprises as a 13-year old took me to various yards and basements in the town. And we all used the local library and local cinema before it got torn down.

A few years ago my brother got me the giant, fabulous, amazing "Complete Calvin and Hobbes." As I read it I realized that one of the drawings was a perfect rendition of Chagrin's Main Street, complete with the old bandstand. I called my brother to find out if he knew why that was. "Bill Watterson grew up there!" he said. I couldn't believe it--no wonder I had such an affinitiy for that strip: its bare winter trees, the toboggan rides, the lakes and days of nothing to do but get into trouble.

My brother got me a signed copy of Nevin Martell's book for Christmas this past year. Its shortcomings as literature were more than balanced by its inclusion of some stories of the librarians at the Chagrin Falls branch library and other familiar locales that I love so well.

(less)

like 2 likes · see review

May 12, 2013 Vegantrav rated it 4 of 5 stars

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is a an interesting history of Calvin and Hobbes written by Nevin Martell, a dedicated fan of the strip. As it is written by an unabashed admirer, it's more of a paean to Calvin and Hobbes and to Bill Watterson, the strip's creator, than a straightforward account of how Watterson brought Calvin and Hobbes into being and then, at the height of its popularity, retired.

What the book really misses, through no fault of Martell's, is first-hand insight from Watterson. Wat...more

like · see review

Sep 10, 2012 Guillaume Jay rated it 3 of 5 stars

Ce livre est à moitié biographie, a moitié recueil d'avis, et à moitié récit personnel (de l'auteur du livre, pas de Waterson). Ce qui fait un peu trop pour un nombre de pages plutôt faible.

Le postulat de base est la tentative de l'auteur du livre de retrouver Bill Waterson, pour obtenir un interview.Ceci, une douzaine d'année aprés que Waterson ait arrêté, au sommet de la gloire de ses deux personnages ( je ne vais pas m'attarder sur le comic strip, si vous ne le connaissex pas, lisez le ! Disp...more

like · see review

May 06, 2012 Justin de la Cruz rated it 3 of 5 stars

In short, this is one fan's big love letter to Calvin and Hobbes. It's a well-researched book on Bill Watterson, his interests and influences and the fans he inspired. It also spends some time on the state of cartooning in America in the '80s and the '90s. There's more raw information here than I expected, such as selections from very early interviews with Watterson, Nevin Martell's own interviews with other cartoonists and (quizzically) other non-cartoonist celebrities who simply liked Calvin a...more In short, this is one fan's big love letter to Calvin and Hobbes. It's a well-researched book on Bill Watterson, his interests and influences and the fans he inspired. It also spends some time on the state of cartooning in America in the '80s and the '90s. There's more raw information here than I expected, such as selections from very early interviews with Watterson, Nevin Martell's own interviews with other cartoonists and (quizzically) other non-cartoonist celebrities who simply liked Calvin and Hobbes. But there's a fair amount of filler and fluff, like long, detailed descriptions of individual Calvin and Hobbes strips, liberal amounts of quotes from Watterson's writing in C&H collections, and an annoying series of repeated quotes (most quotes used as epigraphs for chapters will show up in body text in later chapters, adding to an overall feel of sloppy organizing / editing of the book). My two biggest problems with the book were: (1) the author's stylistic tone and (2) the very noticeable amount of typos and repetitions.

(1) Nevin Martell comes from a background of music journalism, and anyone who has spent any small amount of time in that field (I have a fairly good working knowledge of the field myself, both as a reader of and a writer of music journalism) can tell this. This alone is not a bad thing, but unfortunately for me, Martell is the type of music journalist who attempts, very painstakingly, to create metaphors and similes for things that really don't hold any water. That don't add much to the narrative except confusion and frustration. He stretches descriptions out in what he thinks is an artistic way and what comes off as a clunky way of saying things. One example (that, in honesty, another reviewer chose from the book and I agreed with) is in the following description of Chagrin Falls, Ohio: "As we got close to our destination, [the snow] got deeper and deeper, like a blanket intent on cloaking everything beneath it. . . . When we arrived, Chagrin Falls stretched out before us like a scene in a Christmas fairy tale. Everything was drenched in pure white, as if God had forgotten to shake the earth as he would a snow globe." Martell is also not afraid to insert himself into the narrative, spending a small percentage of time writing about what coffee he was drinking or what donuts he was eating when he was researching or writing certain parts of the book. He tried to make this into a theme (his own journey to discover Bill Watterson), but, like some of his descriptions, this theme fell flat. Worse than all this, though, is that Martell takes a "cool guy" tone on for most of the book. When I bought it, I wasn't under the impression that I would be reading a book of dry academic analysis of Calvin and Hobbes, but Martell's reverence for his subject matter is sometimes sullied by his cool guy tone. For example, this part from his second (yep, second) epilogue: "It wasn't until these conversations [with other Calvin and Hobbes fans who had read his book] that I came to truly appreciate the deeply personal nature of the book [his own book]. Some might call that an epiphany, while others might go, "Duh, dude. It's pretty obvious.'"

(2) I've already mentioned the repeated quotes. They are good quotes from cartoonists and other celebrities, but Martell will use them 2 or 3 times, sometimes in close succession. The far more annoying thing was the number of typos present. Not Martell's fault, I don't think, but still bothersome. The worst of the typos was when he got a title of one of the Calvin and Hobbes collections incorrect, writing "These Days Are Just Packed" instead of "The Days Are Just Packed." A small typo that made me cringe, but only because I had read "The Days Are Just Packed" so much when I was growing up that the cover came off the book. There was maybe one typo every 15 pages or so, which is pretty unacceptable to me when I'm buying a book.

Bottom line is that fans of the strip will get some good information out of this if they can survive Martell's writing style long enough. A fairly good description of Watterson, but no interview with him (he hasn't publicly interviewed since the early '90s). People unfamiliar with the strip will not get much out of the book. Which is confusing since Martell seems to go to great lengths to describe the strip to new-comers, but I honestly don't think anyone but dedicated fans will enjoy this book.(less)

like · see review

Jan 02, 2012 Patrick Sprunger rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2012, general-nonfiction

A journalist trying to pen an unauthorized biography or chronicle his search for the creator of Calvin and Hobbes must, at some point, argue the position of those who want it to come back. But anyone committed to an appreciation of rock and roll or film franchises knows only bad things happen when good things come back after running their natural courses. The only thing about Bill Watterson I respect more than his decision to move on is his reasons for doing so - a combination of artistic and pr...more A journalist trying to pen an unauthorized biography or chronicle his search for the creator of Calvin and Hobbes must, at some point, argue the position of those who want it to come back. But anyone committed to an appreciation of rock and roll or film franchises knows only bad things happen when good things come back after running their natural courses. The only thing about Bill Watterson I respect more than his decision to move on is his reasons for doing so - a combination of artistic and proprietary integrity. Well, that and the comic he made, of course.

It was my cosmic good fortune to be between the ages of 8 and 18 when Calvin and Hobbes was syndicated. One could not have placed a graphic medium in a better ten year window. Those in my general age bracket are the most direct beneficiaries of Calvin and Hobbes. The so-called "Bullwinkle effect" (funny at 5, funnier at 15, hilarious at 25) applies, but it isn't nearly as simple as that. Calvin was the kind of individual a lot of us aspire to be - able to experience and articulate cynicism at the material world while still reveling in the gratuitous wash of pop culture, a paradox all self-righteous elitists must reconcile on their path to self-realization.

Six year olds don't use words like weltanschauung or oeurve and they don't compose bombastic verse worthy of Kipling and they don't actively battle with cognitive dissonance on a daily basis. In this regard, Calvin requires suspension of disbelief. And, like Hal Incandenza, his knowledge of the esoteric corresponds to an inability to fit in (though for different reasons), making him a bad role model, even if we allow for the disciplinary problems and low academic performance. But we want to be like Calvin - even though it means the impossible (returning to an idyllic childhood none of us ever had to engage in internal dialog we lack the present maturity to conduct). Something about him spoke to us all.

The single most effective thing about Looking for Calvin and Hobbes was the author's dependence on others to supply the insight into his subject. Since Watterson himself was famously aloof (not granting so much as a response - let alone an interview - to the author's inquiries), Nevin Martell had to balance the record (restricted in one way) with the amorphous attitude of the effect (uncontrolled in the other way). Looking for Calvin and Hobbes opens the floor for a lot of introspection into what makes Calvin and Hobbes so poignant to the reader. Soliciting thoughts from subjects as diverse as Brad Bird and Jonathan Lethem is as profound a way of teasing out wisdom as asking Michael McKean to talk about They Might Be Giants (or, to a lesser extent, asking Bono to talk about the Pixies).

If the author had his way, he certainly would have been granted unlimited access into Watterson's mind. If he had been, his process might have been easier and the results as vapid as I imagine his other work (on the Dave Matthews Band and Beck) must be. By not being able to so much as reproduce Calvin or Hobbes, even for the cover of this book, required the reader to recall the strip for themselves - remembering the way the tyrannosaurs and poplar trees looked in the mind's eye (or dragging out the collections). Active participation in the biography of a pop icon is pretty uncommon, for what I can tell from a glancing experience with the genre. Looking for Calvin and Hobbes was a surprisingly worthwhile read - fast and a good start to a new year (it would also make a good beach or trans-oceanic flight selection).(less)

like · see review

Jul 27, 2011 Kristal Cooper added it

For the vast majority of fans, Watterson's commentary in The Tenth Anniversary Collection will provide plenty of insight into his motiviations and processes.

This book attempts to uncover more about Watterson -- a task made difficult by the fact that he's a serious recluse and his friends and family are very respectful of that fact. In lieu of a personal interview, Martell pieces together seemingly every bit of media ever printed by or about Watterson. He also relies heavily on interviews with ot...more

like · see review

Apr 21, 2011 Jim McDonnell rated it 2 of 5 stars

An undemanding hagiography written at undergraduate level with minimal evident research, and with little or nothing new to add to the legend that is Calvin and Hobbes - at least for the long-time reader of the strip.

An immediate give-away is the total lack of photographic research or cartoons to illustrate the story being told. In a biography of a cartoonist?!

The thing with Watterson, as any lover of Calvin and Hobbes will tell you, is that he's been notoriously private and near-reclusive since...more

like 1 like · see review

Apr 19, 2011 Tom Franklin rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This was a book I wanted to like in so many ways...probably about as many ways as it disappointed me.

In LOOKING FOR CALVIN AND HOBBES, Nevin Martell sets an almost impossible goal for himself: to get Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, to agree to an interview. Martell states early on how unlikely his goal is: Watterson has given very few interviews in his career, actively shunning the fame that his comic strip brought to him. In fact, Watterson has been quoted by family and friend...more This was a book I wanted to like in so many ways...probably about as many ways as it disappointed me.

In LOOKING FOR CALVIN AND HOBBES, Nevin Martell sets an almost impossible goal for himself: to get Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, to agree to an interview. Martell states early on how unlikely his goal is: Watterson has given very few interviews in his career, actively shunning the fame that his comic strip brought to him. In fact, Watterson has been quoted by family and friends as not understanding why anyone would be interested in him or what he's doing now. As for his famous comic strip characters, Watterson apparently considers them to be a part of his past, a past he's not interested in revisiting.

It becomes apparent early on that Martell never gets the interview he so strongly desires. However, he refuses to come out and say so until the end of his book--and by then I felt strung along for so too long in a somewhat dishonest way.

Instead of an interview, Martell attempts to give us a lengthy appreciation (almost an obituary) of the boy, the artist and the reclusive man behind Calvin and Hobbes. There are a number of weak chapters (the chapter describing the humor behind Calvin and Hobbes was particularly painful--there's little less funny than discussing what makes something funny) that show Martell's devotion to researching and soliciting opinions from other cartoonists about his subject. There are several biographical chapters on Watterson's life, drawn either from interviews or the few interviews Watterson has given, that detail his love for drawing, his developement of Calvin and Hobbes and the struggles with the syndicate (including pressures to market Calvin and Hobbes figures) that finally drove Watterson away from creating his comic strip.

The biggest problem with LOOKING FOR CALVIN AND HOBBES is that without the Grail of an interview with Watterson, after Martell gives us Watterson's biography, there's very little left to write about. Instead of stopping, Martell switches gears and turns the focus of his book from Watterson to himself or, rather, his vague attempts to track Watterson down. Martell visits the artist's hometown, hoping to better understand Watterson, and speaks with some of Watterson's old friends who will talk to him.

The book ends, weeks before his manuscript is done, with Martell finally getting an interview... with Watterson's mother. An interview he covers in less than four pages. And really doesn't reveal anything new (other than Watterson found a racoon as a child that he tried to nurse back to health that died).

What added to the mounting disappointments in this book is the unforgivable lack of photographs and cartoons. For all of Martell's talk about meeting cartoonists and seeing old newspaper/yearbook photographs of Watterson, and the Watterson archives (at the Ohio State University Cartoon Library and Museum) not a single image appears within the pages of LOOKING FOR CALVIN AND HOBBES. (The barest of glimpses of Calvin's shoe and the very end of Hobbes' tail walking off the cover, in opposite directions, should have been a giveaway) For a book about the illusive search for a man, the town that helped shape him and a cartoon, this is analogous to writing 240+ pages about a composer and the symphony he created. Without actually hearing the music that inspired any of the writing or photos of the significant people, it becomes an intellectual exercise at best. In this case, it is one that becomes overshadowed by the author's own quest to understand something he can, at best, only pretend to understand.

I was and continue to this day to be a huge Calvin and Hobbes fan. Watterson's characters and imagination played an important part in my life (the day I realized I was An Adult was the day I realized I was identifying more with Calvin's father than with Calvin, for instance) and I still read the comic strip on an almost daily basis (thanks to a great Tumblr blog). Martell must have known he was setting not only an impossibly risky bar for himself in hoping to secure an interview with someone who does not want to be interviewed, but also that the expectations for any book on Watterson and Calvin and Hobbes would be impossibly high.

I know it's said that it's better to fail than to never try in the first place, but, sadly, I'm not so sure that holds up here. While I'm not disappointed that I read this book, I do think I would have been better off reading some of Watterson's interviews that are posted online and reading my old Calvin and Hobbes collections.

And that's my recommendation to any Calvin and Hobbes fan. (less)

like · see review

Jun 20, 2010 Will rated it 2 of 5 stars

So Calvin and Hobbes is one of the best artistic triumphs ever. And that's an understatement. Bill Watterson is a bona fide genius. This is indisputable. This we already know. Just like 90% of this book. This Nevin journalist guy actually just mostly quoted Bill Watterson himself from essays and speeches and interviews that are like 15 and 20 years old (as well as quotes from comic strip industry big wigs and cartoonists who were Watterson's contemporaries and those now influenced by him...which...more

like · see review

Feb 19, 2010 Justin rated it 2 of 5 stars

Nevin Martell is neither an exceptional writer nor an intrepid journalist. The author of a couple airplane-gift-store-quality pop music biographies, his skill involves tracking down information that has already been recorded, and streamlining it into a highly readable format. As such, his Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is a couple hundred pages of highly readable information about the comic strip's creator, Bill Watterson.

Like many people who read their local newspaper's comic page in the mid-'8...more

like 1 like · see review

Jan 18, 2010 Mason rated it 2 of 5 stars

It's pretty inexcusable for a book about a comic strip and its creator to include zero images of said creator's work. Also, Martell's gratuitous insertions of himself into the narrative, ranging from "I felt creepy" stalking Watterson's childhood home to "my wife would rather be listening to Arcade Fire or TV On The Radio" are incredibly unnecessary and distracting to boot. I understand Bill Watterson was a difficult subject to tackle, and Martell does an admirable job of reconstructing parts of...more

like 1 like · see review

Dec 21, 2009 Jeff rated it 3 of 5 stars

It's got to be insanely difficult to write a biography of a man who hasn't given an interview in over 20 years, and Martell does pretty well, though he fills too much space with his personal quest. Out of sheer desperation he talks to everyone Watterson has ever shaken hands with and (I'm ruining the ending here) finally scores a phone interview with Bill's mom. He also has a whole chapter of interviews with Watterson's peers and disciples - Berke Breathed, Lynn Johnston, Bill Amend, Craig Thomp...more

like · see review

Oct 12, 2009 Michael rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2009

As someone who considers Calvin and Hobbes to be one of his very favorite things, I breezed through this biography with expectations that in retrospect I know had no business being so lofty. Anyone familiar with C&H knows that Bill Watterson has chosen not to be a public figure and has not bastardized his creation with countless knockoffs; it's part of the mystique of the strip which consequently has a purity that I assume is why so many people continue to revere it. So the idea that we need...more

like 4 likes · see review

Oct 10, 2009 Mac rated it 2 of 5 stars

I was slightly disappointed after reading this book. (Okay, maybe more than slightly.) I wanted more commentary from other artists, and less quotes from Watterson's essays in his previously published books. I mean, dang gina, Martell quotes Watterson more than he quoted anyone else...I've read what Watterson has to say already...I want more outside opinion.

The book totes itself as a journey to find and meet with Watterson...but in reality, it seems Martell just made lots of phone calls leading t...more

like 3 likes · see review

Mar 03, 2010 Sara rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: comics, pop-culture, own

Although this book is a little bogged down with clunky and already-dated pop culture references (Season 2 of Flavor of Love, I'm looking at you), it's as close as we get to a biography of Watterson and a history of his beloved strip (and his struggles with fame and the commercialization of comics, of course). I'm sad that there are no illustrations at all--it's all text. It's easy for me to picture the strips, as I've read all of them obsessively so many times, but it's still a letdown.

Martell c...more

like · see review

Sep 16, 2012 Jennifer Surkan rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, september-12

I am thrilled by Bill Watterson as a subject. Unfortunately, this book is not particularly useful on that front. Scarcely any new information is provided regarding Watterson and his creations, and most of what is is taken from brief interviews with people who seem to have barely known the man, or are quite unwilling to discuss him in any depth. If you have read Calvin and Hobbes comics for years including the Tenth Anniversary Edition, which includes Watterson's personal commentary, you will alr...more I am thrilled by Bill Watterson as a subject. Unfortunately, this book is not particularly useful on that front. Scarcely any new information is provided regarding Watterson and his creations, and most of what is is taken from brief interviews with people who seem to have barely known the man, or are quite unwilling to discuss him in any depth. If you have read Calvin and Hobbes comics for years including the Tenth Anniversary Edition, which includes Watterson's personal commentary, you will already know all the relevant material provided in this book.

This is not particularly surprising. Bill Watterson is well-known to be reclusive and unwilling to discuss his life or work with any press, and that includes the author. Likely his closest friends and family are willing to respect his desire for privacy and were also unwilling to share information. There was evidently not enough material to make this a good book, which brings one to wonder why it was even written.

In addition to the lack of substantial new information, the author also lacks the notable talent required to convey known information in a new and exciting way. Instead, the presentation is dry and repetitious of the Tenth Anniversary Edition, and often feels like one is reading 'filler'. There are multiple references and detours into things largely irrelevant to Calvin and Hobbes, such as past cartoons which maybe perhaps could have been an influence on Watterson (but were confirmed not to be), the author's past enjoyment and growing dislike of Garfield, or the careers of those who were interviewed (these mentions were often followed by a sentence acknowledging that the interviewee in question had scant ties to Watterson). The author also makes a number of subjective statements that are largely out of place along the dry statement of facts. These statements are usually critical or laudatory of the quality of other cartoons, or tangents about what kind of clothes or record the author was listening to at some point in time. They, again, feel like filler.

Also disappointing is the lack of imagery. For a book about a comic strip which references multiple other comic strips, the book does not include a single picture. Instead, the book relies upon detailed descriptions of strips and characters we are familiar with. These detailed descriptions are rendered irrelevant and filler-esq due to the fact that the reader is already familiar with the subject. One picture could render several paragraphs unnecessary many times throughout this book, but this is not taken advantage of, likely because no owner of the properties in question was willing to agree to their use.

TL;DR: This book conveys very little new information that a fan of Watterson's work would not already know. In addition, the writing style varies between incredibly dry, bizarrely tangental, and inappropriately personal. I, sadly would not recommend this to all but the most die-hard Calvin and Hobbes fans. But if you are one of said fans, you probably already know every fact this book contains.(less)

like · see review

Mar 13, 2011 Pat rated it 2 of 5 stars

Given the title, I expected a biography of Bill Watterson, not a memoir of Martell's attempt to write said biography.

This mess alternated between: actual interesting history of Watterson's early career and the evolution of newspaper comic strips; summary of "Calvin and Hobbes" strips; and the author's desperate attempts to contact the reclusive artist or interview his contemporaries, while making sure to let readers know how much he loves or hates their strips.

There are plenty of volumes out the...more

like · see review

Mar 06, 2010 Chris rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010

I'm a high school teacher and this book feels like one of the many research projects that comes across my desk where a student regurgitates something they found in a book, changes the phrasing around a little bit, and comes to no conclusion of their own besides what has already been said a thousand times. Although the subject is near and dear to my heart, my affection for Calvin & Hobbes can't excuse how clunky a lot of this book is. Would have made a better long-form newspaper article than...more

like · see review

Jan 01, 2013 Pappy added it

I love C&H. I used to buy the collections when they would go on sale at Barnes & Noble, and I bought the Complete Calvin & Hobbes the first day that I saw it on the shelves, even though it was well out of my price range. Ramen for however long was worth it. These were the strips that kept me sane and gave me a sense of permanence in a life that lacked it. No matter where I moved, who I was with, who my friends were, or what was going on, I always had C&H. Reading this book was in...more

like · see review

Oct 21, 2009 Michael Haydel rated it 5 of 5 stars

When I first found out about Looking for Calvin and Hobbes (from a BoingBoing post), I knew instantly that it was something that I wanted to get my hands on. Consequently, I pre-ordered the book immediately, and waited over 4 months for it to reach me. I was in the middle of another book that I really wasn't in to, so it was easy for me to quit reading that (Desolation Road, FWIW), and start in on Looking for Calvin and Hobbes.

I approached the book much like I do cupcakes: I was really excited t...more When I first found out about Looking for Calvin and Hobbes (from a BoingBoing post), I knew instantly that it was something that I wanted to get my hands on. Consequently, I pre-ordered the book immediately, and waited over 4 months for it to reach me. I was in the middle of another book that I really wasn't in to, so it was easy for me to quit reading that (Desolation Road, FWIW), and start in on Looking for Calvin and Hobbes.

I approached the book much like I do cupcakes: I was really excited to dig in to it, but I was hesitant because I knew that I'd be done with it before I realized it. It was with that in mind that I began reading, telling myself that I'd pace myself, and enjoy the journey.

And enjoy the journey I did. Martell does a fine job bringing his quest to seek out the man behind Calvin and Hobbes to the pages of the book and before readers' eyes. A quest that, while it may not have gone *exactly* as he wanted it to, still ultimately yielded some incredible results.

Most everyone knows how Watterson pretty much swore off any publicity to an even higher degree after he finished the strip than when he was actually actively drawing it, but what I never really knew much about was how the strip came to be, and Martell gives ample background information on just how Calvin and Hobbes was shaped into the bad-ass comic strip it became. From Watterson's humble beginnings drawing one-off panels for his HS paper, or early (and relatively quick) career as a political cartoonist, looking back and the events leading up to the strip's publishing, and thinking about all that had to happen in order for it to take place, it's a miracle that Calvin and Hobbes even made it to the comics page. But man, what an impact it had on a wide range of people.

Martell also includes many tidbits from interviews he had with a multitude of Watterson's contemporaries, including the artists behind Outpost, Garfield, and a host of others (honestly, I just can't remember all of them!). It was amazing to hear just how many artists had so much respect for Watterson, and how the vast majority of his peers also felt like that they wished Watterson had been just a bit more acknowledging and receptive of their respect and praise. Ultimately though, it becomes apparent as Martell begins to piece together the enigma that is Bill Watterson, that that sort of "static" was really just superfluous to Watterson; he didn't need that to get by, and never set out to garner it in the first place. He was just "born with a pencil in his hand", to paraphrase an interview with someone close to Bill (no spoilers!), and cartooning was what he loved, and he did that - for 10 years, until he decided it wasn't for him anymore, at which point he moved on, and shied away from even coming in contact with anything that reminded him of that.

So, I came away from my reading of this book with a new found respect for Bill Watterson, a respect that I know I didn't have or realize I could have when I was consuming every single Calvin and Hobbes strip and book collection I could get my hands on when I was younger. I got a better sense of why Watterson shunned licensing and merchandising offers, turned down movie deals, and hardly flinched when big names came to him wanting to collaborate. I got a better sense of how Watterson's childhood and formative years (what little is known about them, that is; needless to say, Martell put on his sleuthing hat to ferret out as much as he could) played into what he did with his life after Calvin and Hobbes. And, I got a better sense of what not only his peers, but those closest to him (friends, editor, etc.) had to say about the man who gave us Calvinball, the Transmogrifier, Spaceman Spiff, and countless other morsels of comic-y goodness. I also have respect for Martell, for tackling such a mysterious subject as Bill Watterson, and allowing the reader to live vicariously through him during his journey.

All in all, this book was a wonderful experience, albeit a quick one, that I never felt like was bogged down with filler one bit.

Just like I like my cupcakes. (less)

like 2 likes · see review

Oct 12, 2009 Lindsey rated it 4 of 5 stars

Like the author, I too, grew up reading Calvin and Hobbes on the funny pages, so this book brought back some great memories. Calvin was part of what jump-started my bleary eyed mornings, back when I had to be up at the crack of dawn to catch my 6:30 school bus.

I enjoyed reading about Bill Watterson's early influences, and the evolution of the comic strip that eventually made it onto the pages of hundreds of newspapers around the world. His work had such an amazing appeal to so many people. It h...more

like · see review

Feb 15, 2013 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars

Having been 12 years old when Calvin & Hobbes first hit the Chicago Tribune's funny pages in 1985, and having grown up anticipating the Sunday paper each and every week to read, clip, collect, and revisit the epic adventures of Calvin and his heroic imagination, this book is a wonderful time-warp investigation into the enigmatic man who gifted the world with such splendor and artistry that has crossed generations and remains timeless in its humor, beauty, philosophical wanderings, and child-...more

like · see review

Nov 17, 2011 Kaitlin O'brien rated it 1 of 5 stars

The author injected himself into this book WAY too much - especially as he comes across as a self-serving, single-minded boob. I really wanted to love this book - but at points I found myself slapping my forehead in agony as Nevin Martell launched yet another un-witty cliched comment. (example: "Like John Lennon Calvin was a dreamer but he was not the only one." --- please shoot me now)

The good thing about the book was Nevin did his research and exposes a lot of early interviews did which otherw...more

like · see review

Jan 05, 2010 Rich rated it 1 of 5 stars

This book was appallingly bad. I would NOT recommend this to anyone. This book was seemingly written to simply cash in on the Calvin and Hobbes name and nothing else.

This book consists of three main things...

1 - Information Bill Watterson already included in his "Calvin and Hobbes" collections. Information about growing up, his interests, his family, his influences, his on views on the strip and its characters, etc...

2 - Interviews with other cartoonists - but the only real things they can say i...more

like · see review

Jun 12, 2012 Jesse rated it 1 of 5 stars

Have you ever wondered what a music journalist/C&H fanboy has to say about a legendary comic strip? No? Well, I certainly can't blame you.

Nevin Martell doesn't have a background in art/art history/comics/anything relevant, and thus isn't able to provide any interesting insight into Watterson's work as it pertains to the history of the medium, its impact, or into the essence of his art style. He wasn't able to actually interview Watterson, so all of his information is either just rehashing ot...more

like · see review

Jul 29, 2011 Steve Mitchell rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A biography of Bill Watterson and his most famous creation; the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. The strip lasted for ten years before the reclusive Watterson retired and retreated totally from public life. Calvin and Hobbes finished right at the top of their game and never went stale and is arguably the greatest comic strip ever to grace the funny pages of newspapers; especially in terms of consistency. The fact that Watterson held total ownership of the characters and refused to allow any mercha...more

like · see review

Feb 09, 2011 Jake rated it 1 of 5 stars

This is one of the great disappointments I've read in recent years, as Martell focuses almost exclusively on his own personal feelings about the comic and republishes countless quotations and excerpts from other books. His research comes across as superficial and lazy in some places, and irrelevant and uninteresting in others. I don't doubt that he worked very hard on this book, but hard work doesn't necessarily result in a captivating, entertaining, and thought-provoking text.

I think that Marte...more

like · see review

Feb 07, 2010 Andrew Boscardin rated it 1 of 5 stars

I was really looking forward to this book, which looked like it might be a well-considered, thoughtful look at Calvin and Hobbes and creator Bill Watterson. I tried not to be too skeptical of the author, whose credits include a Dave Matthews biography and a book about a Beck album, but I probably should have been.

Using "hooking up with Jessica Biel" as a metaphor and imagining that bootleg merchandise might make Watterson "well, pissed" are just a couple of the examples of how bad the writing i...more

like · see review

Jan 21, 2013 Michelle rated it 3 of 5 stars

While the author has a couple of books under his belt - and a few articles in noteworthy news-ines and papers, I would not call this book "journalism" or even researched all that well. I WOULD say that this is a fun little romp - it is a book written by a fan - more than a fan - someone IN LOVE with Calvin and Hobbes. What I think is particularly fun about the book (once you commit to the pretense and succumb to pop culture) is the oftentimes boy-ish "look what I found" perspective. I also appre...more

like · see review

Jan 13, 2011 Jono rated it 1 of 5 stars

I loved learning more about Bill Watterson because I love Calvin and Hobbes and who isn't curious about this genius that created it. I also enjoyed learning more about Watterson's struggle to not sell out. The way he has avoided tainting Calvin and Hobbes in any way against immense pressure is pretty inspirational. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of the writing, and Martell's style reminded me a little too much of writing a school report to care too much about his personal journey. I just wanted t...more

like · see review

title link	preview: Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip
avg rating	preview: Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comi Goodreads rating: 3.20 (408 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6234209-looking-for-calvin-and-hobbes?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1349077986l/6234209.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6234209-looking-for-calvin-and-hobbes?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip by Nevin Martell[/url]

Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip

Friend Reviews

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

combine
Other Editions (4)

Genres

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Nevin Martell

Books by Nevin Martell

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website

Trivia About Looking for Calvi...