Bill Watterson on "Calvin and Hobbes"

Calvin and Hobbes remains one of my favourite comic strips despite the fact it last appeared on December 31, 1995. It’s in a dead heat with Gary Larson’s Far Side - another strip no longer in circulation - save for books, calendars, mugs, etc;

But Bill Watterson, the man behind Calvin and Hobbes, never did go that route. You can still view the strip but no calendars, bumper stickers or mugs for Watterson.

Here’s a link to a recent interview the reclusive Watterson gave to the Cleveland Plain Dealer. He says he has “no regrets” and when asked about his aversion to attention and how his work has touched so many people he says:

 ...the public attention has faded a lot. In Pop Culture Time, the 1990s were eons ago. There are occasional flare-ups of weirdness, but mostly I just go about my quiet life and do my best to ignore the rest. I'm proud of the strip, enormously grateful for its success, and truly flattered that people still read it, but I wrote "Calvin and Hobbes" in my 30s, and I'm many miles from there.

- with files from CNN (I always wanted to do that.)