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| |  | General | Home » » » » Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip | | | | | | | Description: | | For ten years, Calvin and Hobbes was one the world's most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life. In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, Nevin Martell sets out on a very personal odyssey to understand the life and career of the intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. Martell talks to a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, and Brad Bird) as well as some of Watterson's closest friends and professional colleagues, and along the way reflects upon the nature of his own fandom and on the extraordinary legacy that Watterson left behind. This is as close as we're ever likely to get to one of America's most ingenious and intriguing figures - and it's the fascinating story of an intrepid author's search for him, too. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Nevin Martell | | Hardcover:
| 272 pages | | Publisher:
| Continuum | | Publication Date:
| October 05, 2009 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 082642984X | | Product Length:
| 8.5 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.6 inches | | Product Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.95 pounds | | Package Length:
| 8.5 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.8 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.95 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 39 reviews |
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| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
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136 of 141 found the following review helpful:
 An Oft-Interesting Labor of Love (3.5 stars)Oct 25, 2009
By Timothy P. Young
There are problems with Nevin Martell's book, Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip. While the title encourages the reader to think he or she will be reading the story of how Calvin and Hobbes came to be, what we get instead is one man's personal odyssey to score an interview with the elusive creator of the strip, Bill Watterson. It's true that we DO get to read the results of Martell's research (which include lots of tidbits regarding the aforementioned story), and it's often interesting. However, the book suffers from the plethora of personal asides about his wife, prior writing projects, and rock star interviews Martell had done.
Another problem rises due to the fact that Bill Watterson owns "Calvin and Hobbes" lock, stock and barrel. As a result, there are no comics printed in the book. Instead, Martell resorts to taking page upon page to describe individual strips, from first panel to last. While I acknowledge that this wasn't the author's fault, it adds a level of tedium to some sections of the book.
And yet another issue with the book comes in the writing itself. Martell primarily writes for magazines, and that's how this book reads: as a series of magazine articles on the same subject, rather than as a coherent whole. He repeats quotes from earlier parts of the book, summarizes earlier chapters in later ones, and so on. This would be fine if we were reading the book one chapter at a time over several weeks or months, but it doesn't work in book form. Also, his description is sometimes clumsy: "Everything was drenched in pure white, as if God had forgotten to shake the Earth as he would a snow globe." That's a long way to go for a simple image. In addition, Martell sometimes makes errors when discussing the comics themselves. When talking about Calvin's use of the cardboard box (one of the great conventions of the strip), he states that the Atomic Cerebral Enhance-O-Tron is one of the box's many uses. Well, the ACE was a colander that Calvin put on his head. A small error to be sure, but one that a fan will easily catch. Several more are scattered through the book.
However, the book is worth reading. His interviews with Watterson associates are illuminating, and his chapter on how Calvin and Hobbes influenced other comic artists is a must. He rounds up a who's who of current and former comic artists and syndicate bigwigs for these chapters. No one can fault the man's legwork.
Overall, I'm not sorry I read it. It was obviously a labor of love for Martell, and that comes through on every page. The problem is, that often comes through too strongly. It's interesting, but not essential to ones' appreciation for, or understanding of, the wonder that was Calvin and Hobbes. 3.5 stars.
69 of 80 found the following review helpful:
 Dealing with LossOct 08, 2009
By J. Brian Watkins
Apparently, we have moved through denial, anger, and bargaining; we have survived the deep depression and now have reached acceptance--there will be no more Calvin and Hobbes. It is no wonder that Bill Watterson wants us all to go away, he gave birth to a wonderful creation but it lived its natural life and passed on. It is not coming back and let's be honest, we aren't so much interested in Mr. Watterson as we are in somehow squeezing out more of the joy he brought to us with Calvin and Hobbes. To this end, Mr. Martell tells the story of his attempt to recapture the joy of Calvin and Hobbes by coming to understand something more about its creator. Intriguingly, the book ends up teaching us more about life than about either Mr. Watterson or his creation.
Calvin and Hobbes, alas, is dead. I count myself as fortunate enough to have lived in a world where every morning brought a new Calvin strip. My children need not wait; they can merely rip through the complete work by taking down my well-thumbed books off of the shelf. I think it is unanimous that Calvin and Hobbes ranks as one of the great creations and it seems to annoy folks that the creator survives. Sure, we can always revisit Calvin, but the experience is fraught with a kind of ineffable sadness; rather like remembering happy times with a parent or friend who has passed away. As all great art does, Mr. Watterson's efforts have profoundly changed and affected all who encounter them and it is quite understandable that he has no desire to assist us in dealing with the emotions engendered by his unique exploration of life as Calvin and Hobbes spoke on so many different levels to so many people.
The value of Mr. Martell's fine effort is found in the examination of how to deal with loss and change. It is literally the story of bereavement and the finding of joy in what remains. Mr. Watterson tapped into something great and was pleased to share his talents; now, the man wishes to be left alone to enjoy life's journey in his own private manner. There is a lesson to be had in Mr. Watterson's devoted efforts to keep Calvin and Hobbes the purest expression of its medium, free from exploitation and complications. It is the highest evidence of Mr. Watterson's wisdom that he recognizes and appreciates that fame and fortune are more punishment than reward and this volume succeeds by highlighting this fact.
In nothing do we honor Mr. Watterson's creation more than by recognizing that--it's a magical world, let's go exploring.
10 of 10 found the following review helpful:
 Fan NonfictionFeb 13, 2011
By AliceatetheCake
I expected this to be a book about Bill Watterson, and not a lengthy blog about the author. After the introduction, when Martell says he would have to write the book as though the author were dead, he should have subsided mentioning trying getting in contact with Watterson, and he should have adopted a more formal, respectful tone, rather than the whiny, redundant, "why won't you talk to me?!"
The book is some two-hundred pages of fillers. Many vague quotes and anecdotes could have been cut. Most of Martell's material comes from very polite reaction stories, lacking depth and uniqueness.
That said, the quotes from Watterson--which can be found in full in /his/ books--provided perspective as to why he has made the choices he did. It is almost funny, that Martell, with his wealth of resources, was unable to provide any insight into his subject. It seems that Watterson has already explained everything. Why grant further interviews just to repeat yourself? Because this magazine wants their own? So this guy can put his name on it? Answers to why he refused commercialization, further work, and interviews have already been provided. From my understanding, Watterson is not a grouchy, old man--he is a serious writer, and when he finds subjects he is passionate about--say old comics that have lost relevancy but remain in publication for profits--he speaks on it. I see him as more selective than reclusive.
When Martell writes about Watterson's process, he mentions a quality filter on anything that left the drawing room; this is one of many lessons which Martell should have taken away from his own project. Had the book been rewritten with the tools obtained--instead of being about the search for tools--I think this could have been an excellent read.
I believe Bill Watterson has chosen intelligently in his non-participation with /Looking for Calvin and Hobbes/.
15 of 18 found the following review helpful:
Should have been a magazine article, not a bookJan 05, 2010
By D. Kemp
I don't blame Martell for conceiving the idea and writing the book. I blame his editors for allowing this to go forward and not putting the brakes on this lame project. All you need to know, which any C+H fan would know already, is found on page 4. Ergo, Watterson came up with a brilliant strip, he's a grump, he's stubborn about publicity, and Martell never made contact with him. One can debate the merits of whether Watterson was/is being realistic about avoiding merchandising, quitting the strip and his privacy, but that wasn't supposed to be the point here.
Completists will read this book and not learn a thing. Casual or non-fans will wonder if they can get their money back. I'm sorry to say this book is a waste of time.
10 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 Easy, uninspired readJan 30, 2010
By B. Sirvio
Nevin Martell wanted to write about Bill Watterson and the comic strip Martell loved growing up. He ended up writing about himself, and, with a hipster CV boasting appearances in High Times, Paste and the online edition of Rolling Stone, it comes as no surprise.
Works like this can be done well--Nick Tosches' "Where Dead Voices Gather" immediately comes to mind--and they can be fruitful. The effort is clearly there, the writer has painstakingly taken any number of conceivable angles to get at the locus of his project; but, as others here have mentioned, he vacillates amongst being a fanboy, hipster, man-child and journalist, often several times on the same page. It is neither self-deprecating, like the Sklar Brothers' humorous and sentimental "Utility Man" documentary on St. Louis Cardinal cult figure Jose Oquendo; nor truly insightful on micro and macro levels, like the aforementioned Tosches work on minstrel performer Emmett Miller. Instead, it comes off as a self-indulgent odyssey, guided by passions and fetish interest but ultimately going nowhere but into the depths of Martell's ego.
The copy itself is trite and uninspired, no small feat considering the gushing adoration the writer holds for his subject matter, and reads more like an interminable blog entry or a hack effort of a magazine feature. Ultimately, a long-time fan of "Calvin and Hobbes" will find little of new interest or insight here. Some subjects, as much as the curious mind may persist in its hunger to know, should just be left alone.
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