Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for June 15, 2014

Your mother isn’t on Stupendous Man time.

Mom may regret making Calvin that costume!

I am impressed!!!

Backward, turn backward, O time, in thy flight….

Wouldn’t evertthing and everybody go flying off into space if theearth stopped spinning? Law of Unintended Consequences, orsomething…. Not to mention possible collision with other celestialbodies

That cape isn’t the only thing of Stupendous Man’s that’s going to be red.

Today, as we turn back the clock 25 years and read Calvin and Hobbes, we see Calvin turning back the clock.

By now, many of you know that Bill Watterson came out of retirement briefly, a week ago, as a secret contributor of artwork to Pearls Before Swine on June 4th, 5th, and 6th. It was a collaboration that Bill proposed to Pearls Before Swine cartoonist Stephan Pastis, in order to raise money to help fight Parkinson’s disease, and in honor of Richard Thompson, the cartoonist behind Cul de Sac who has been forced to stop drawing that strip due to Parkinson’s.It is a testimony to Bill Watterson’s compassion for other people that he was willing to do this, in spite of his strong desire to live in isolation following the remarkable popularity of Calvin and Hobbes. As Bill said in a 2013 interview, “Calvin and Hobbes created a level of attention and expectation that I don’t know how to process.”Bill Watterson previously created artwork to support Parkinson’s research and Richard Thompson, in the form of a painting of Petey from Cul de Sac. Click here: Article on Bill Waterson’s Painting of PeteyStephan Pastis wrote about the experience of collaborating with Bill Watterson to produce the three strips:Click here: Stephan Pastis’s June 7th BlogAnd Bill Watterson commented on the experience in a Washington Post article:Click here: Bill Watterson, Washington PostAfter the collaboration was over, Stephan Pastis finally got to meet Bill Watterson in person when they went to visit Richard Thompson. Here is an excerpt from a CNN article:“After their long-distance collaboration — which was done entirely through e-mail, without so much as even one phone call — Pastis finally got to meet his hero last week in Washington when they went to visit Thompson. The pair spent hours talking about Charles Schulz — a mutual influence — the challenges of the comic strip business, and simply the wonders of humor. Watterson is ‘quick to laugh,’ says Pastis. ‘When you make him laugh, he really laughs.’ "Here is what Richard Thompson says about Bill Watterson:“Calvin and Hobbes is still the benchmark of the last 30 years when it comes to instantly classic strips. It’s hard to touch upon the subjects he did without infringing on the territory.”And here is what Bill Watterson said about Richard Thompson:“Richard Thompson’s Cul de Sac has it all – intelligence, gentle humor, a delightful way with words, and, most surprising of all, wonderful, wonderful drawings….. The artwork in Cul de Sac bowls me over. It is a pleasure to study long after the strips are read.”This is an incredible compliment coming from Bill Watterson, himself a creator of incredible artwork.

Another of Bill Wattersons’ creations is reincarnated for the space age: Calvinball in space!

New rules, new players, new fun!

Calvin would be proud. (And jealous!)

Here are the six recent Pearls Before Swine strips that include three days of Bill Watterson’s artwork. The little girl’s name “Libby” is code for “Billy,” i.e., Bill Watterson.Click here: Pearls Before Swine (June 2, 2014)Click here: Pearls Before Swine (June 3, 2014)Click here:Pearls Before Swine (June 4, 2014)Click here: Pearls Before Swine (June 5, 2014)Click here: Pearls Before Swine (June 6, 2014)Click here: Pearls Before Swine (June 7, 2014)The final strip in this series is a reference to Bill Watterson’s final Calvin and Hobbes strip. Libby, with the toboggan, is wearing a purple coat, red mittens, and blue hat with green tassel – just like Calvin. And if you ignore Libby’s hair, she looks a little like Calvin.Click here: Final Calvin and Hobbes, December 31, 1995

I can confirm that our local publisher of Calvin & Hobbes is printing them in sync with GoComics too, we even get the Sunday strips as part of that paper’s comics section.

As for the strip itself, would this strip be the only time that Stupendous Man has featured in a Sunday strip? Either way, the red cape is a nice match for Calvin’s T-shirt! :)

@SydneyCityTV: Today’s Calvin and Hobbes strip is from May 7, 1989, but there was an earlier Sunday strip featuring Stupendous Man:Click here: Calvin and Hobbes (December 4, 1988)

Great! I have an extra day off this week, Thanks, Calvin.

In your dreams, fly boy.

Cher will be calling you Cal…I mean STUPENDOUS MAN.

We had father’s day last week!!

Calvin is slightly behind the times.

Yeah, right. We’ll see about that.

Why is his mom complaining? Many kids don’t want to go outside.

Yep. That’s how it starts… “I’ll do it tonight”

Next thing he knows it’s Monday morning.

xxx

@Nun’Ya Bidness, @Gweedo, @rgcviper: You’re welcome – glad to share the information. Really an unusual event.

Wasn’t this done in a Superman film, where Superman spins the planet backwards to reverse the death of Lois Lane?The film was released in 1978, which predates the Calvin strip; so, did Watterson borrow the idea?

Calvin may want to not announce what he’s done, who knows what will happen in modern times? hee hee

All this time, and I’m just learning Calvin is left-handed. Perhaps that explains him.

Nice try Cal.

Calvin should be grateful he does not live in Japan or England. They have school on Saturday.