Rating: 
Summary: Watterson in Action
Review: When I bought this "Calvin and Hobbes" book I had a hard time getting into it at first. The first eighteen or nineteen pages contain more prose and philosophy than it does art, and I've always bought "Calvin and Hobbes" books for the humor. I really felt as though the philosophy and description that Bill Watterson was describing was a distraction, at first. But the more I read the more I started to get into "Calvin and Hobbes" from Watterson's perspective. Looking at the evolution of "Calvin and Hobbes" as described by Watterson, and his travails with syndicators, I have a new perspective on what it takes to create a strip like "Calvin and Hobbes."The art and the strips are outstanding, as with the other "Calvin and Hobbes" collections, but this time we also get to see Watterson's perspectives on various characters. Some of Watterson's observations about various characters are as funny as the strips themselves. Watterson makes a rather succinct comment regarding Moe the bully. I'll leave you to read the comment, but it's hilarious. Watterson offers comments on all the major characters along with key details about each. Moe, of course, being a simple moron bully, requires minimal description, but the other key characters have a history associated with them. Watterson provided a bit of a compliment to his wife in his description of Susie Derkins. I also agree with Watterson that I suspect that Calvin does have a mild crush on Susie. Watterson offers nearly a half a page of comments on both Calvin and Hobbes that are interesting reading. I also enjoyed the selection of various strips over ten years of the strip, showing the evolution of the strip and the characters. It's interesting to see how the quality of the strip has improved in ten years as Watterson continually perfected the characters. Being a cartoonist is clearly much more difficult than I ever thought it was. I will miss "Calvin and Hobbes" since Watterson has retired the strip. However, all the collections are still available, and I think they will continue to be fresh in the decades to come. The insight Watterson has provided in this book is valuable for hard core fans interested in Watterson's viewpoint on his creations. If you are uninterested in Watterson's perspective, you can always skip over it and read the strips! I highly recommend this book for all "Calvin and Hobbes" fans.
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