Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip [Hardcover]

Nevin Martell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2009

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Nevin Martell's book provides a rare glimpse of the riddle wrapped inthe mystery inside an enigma that is Bill Watterson and his brilliant work, which I now know wasalmost called 'Marvin and Hobbes.'"- Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine

"Wattersoncanhide,buthecan'tdie.Hisworklivesonandwe'reluckytohave Nevin Martell reminding us so colorfully in this joyful book."- Berkeley Breathed

"Martell gets as close as anybody can to Watterson in a book that takes the reader behind the strip, a well-researched portrait of the cartoonist that is both fascinating and revealing." -Currents (Barry Goodrich )

"Martell gives us a tantalizing...glimpse of Bill Watterson in this journalistic exploration of the press-shy cartoonist's life. ...Readers who still hold Watterson's strip in their heart should enjoy the ride." -AM New York

"[A] Don Quixote story that is humorous, well-written and (if I may borrow that tired summer-reading platitude) a real page-turner." - The Strippers Guide (A website for comics)

"[T]his really is a wonderful, warm, and informative book that manages to capture just the right amount of magic about the creator and his creation."--Comics Worth Reading

"Martell, who wears his fan heart on his sleeve, travels far and wide to gather pieces of Watterson lore. He interviews former syndicate employees, comic strip artists from the past and present, and some of Watterson's closest confidants. By doing so, Martell walks a fine line between diligent journalist and obsessive fan. But his journey is a reminder that some things can't be recaptured, no matter how much we may wish otherwise."
-The New York Times, "The Moment" blog



"This story of Nevin Martell's search for the elusive Bill Watterson, the J.D. Salinger of the cartoon world, is so richly infused with the spirit of "Calvin and Hobbes," the genuine innocence and affection and humor, it doesn't even matter that the author never meets his subject. Watterson has never allowed the licensing of his work -- no merchandise, no TV, no movies. After doing a few interviews in the 1980s, he wrote a "manifesto against celebrity": "People love to have you, and then they use you up and there's nothing left." Early on, Martell wrote Watterson, who disappeared from public life after he stopped writing the strip in 1995, but never heard back. Discouraged but determined, he researched Watterson's life, interviewed friends, editors, even Watterson's mother, visited Watterson's childhood home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, talked with other cartoonists, studied the influence of Peanuts, Krazy Kat, Pogo and Winnie the Pooh and pondered the effect of "Calvin and Hobbes" on his own life. Is this a definitive biography? No. But it's in many ways better and truer to the spirit of Watterson's creation."
-The Los Angeles Times Book Review


"This is essential reading for die-hard Calvin and Hobbes fans who want to stalk Watterson. Martell will give you all the reasons why you will never find the man. So instead of attempting something both discourteous and criminal, read this book instead."
-The San Francisco Book Review


"Nevin Martell has written a curious book, although one would probably best consider it a biography. Bill Watterson so consistently shunned the media that one is put in mind of the Shakespeare biography industry in which a few facts are churned in an attempt to generate a larger picture of a life... In spite of Watterson's refusal to speak for himself, Martell has written an engaging and informative book while avoiding most of the traps that catch fan writers."
-The International Journal of Comic Art

Mini review in the '7 books you should own' section of Belfast Telegraph Evening, 28^th August (UK)

'An education for some of us and a treat for the fans'

"Nevin Martell's book provides a rare glimpse of the riddle wrapped in the mystery inside an enigma that is Bill Watterson and his brilliant work, which I now know was almost called 'Marvin and Hobbes.'"- Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine

"Watterson can hide, but he can't die.  His work lives on and we're lucky to have Nevin Martell reminding us so colorfully in this joyful book."- Berkeley Breathed

"Martell gets as close as anybody can to Watterson in a book that takes the reader behind the strip, a well-researched portrait of the cartoonist that is both fascinating and revealing." -Currents (, )

“Martell gives us a tantalizing...glimpse of Bill Watterson in this journalistic exploration of the press-shy cartoonist's life. …Readers who still hold Watterson's strip in their heart should enjoy the ride.” -AM New York

“[A] Don Quixote story that is humorous, well-written and (if I may borrow that tired summer-reading platitude) a real page-turner.” - The Strippers Guide (A website for comics)

“[T]his really is a wonderful, warm, and informative book that manages to capture just the right amount of magic about the creator and his creation.” --Comics Worth Reading

“Martell, who wears his fan heart on his sleeve, travels far and wide to gather pieces of Watterson lore. He interviews former syndicate employees, comic strip artists from the past and present, and some of Watterson’s closest confidants. By doing so, Martell walks a fine line between diligent journalist and obsessive fan. But his journey is a reminder that some things can’t be recaptured, no matter how much we may wish otherwise.”
-The New York Times, “The Moment” blog



“This is essential reading for die-hard Calvin and Hobbes fans who want to stalk Watterson. Martell will give you all the reasons why you will never find the man. So instead of attempting something both discourteous and criminal, read this book instead.”
-The San Francisco Book Review

Mini review in the '7 books you should own’ section of Belfast Telegraph Evening, 28^th August (UK)

'An education for some of us and a treat for the fans’

About the Author

Nevin Martell is the author of Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip (Continuum, 2009), Standing Small: A Celebration of 30 Years of the LEGO Minifigure (DK, 2009), Dave Matthews Band: Music for the People (Pocket, 2004) and Beck: The Art of Mutation (Pocket, 2001). He is a Contributing Editor at Filter magazine and his music journalism has appeared in Paste, Giant, Men's Health, High Times, and Flaunt, as well as online at RollingStone.com. Currently, he lives with his wife outside Washington, DC, where he writes full time. You can find him online at nevinmartell.com

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (October 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082642984X
• ISBN-13: 978-0826429841
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #338,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nevin Martell is the author of Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip (Continuum, 2009), Standing Small: A Celebration of 30 Years of the LEGO Minifigure (DK, 2009), Dave Matthews Band: Music for the People (Pocket, 2004) and Beck: The Art of Mutation (Pocket, 2001). He is a Contributing Editor at Filter magazine and his music journalism has appeared in Paste, Giant, Men's Health, High Times, and Flaunt, as well as online at RollingStone.com. Currently, he lives with his wife outside Washington, DC, where he writes full time. You can find him online at www.nevinmartell.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Oft-Interesting Labor of Love (3.5 stars), October 25, 2009

By 

Timothy P. Young (Rawlins, WY, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip (Hardcover)

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.

66 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dealing with Loss, October 8, 2009

By 

J. Brian Watkins (Laie, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Easy, uninspired read, January 30, 2010

By 

B. Sirvio (Kansas City, MO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip (Hardcover)

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.