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Bill Watterson , of its true name William B. Watterson II , is a scenario writer and American draftsman of Cartoon . He is the father of the humorous series worship Calvin & Hobbes which is also its only real work.

History

Bill Watterson was born the July 5th 1958 with Washington D.C. At the 6 years age, its family moves with Chagrin Falls, in the north of the Ohio. His/her father is legal adviser and his/her mother was a long time municipal adviser. It has also a brother, Tom, with whom is dedicated The Essential Calvin and Hobbes .

Its passion for the drawing goes back to childhood. Teenager, it draws for the newspaper of his college and a local magazine, The Chagrin Herald . In 1976, it begins higher learning in Kenyon College where it draws for the Kenyon Collegian . At the time, its topics were not yet little boys or tigers in cuddly toy, but of the students " beer drinkers, allergic to the libraries and accros to the bicarbonate welds, which makes it possible to better digest a too great quantity of alcohol ". Until 1980 where it obtains a license in Political sciences, but the data base remains always its principal goal.

Its diploma out of pocket, Bill Watterson finds a work of draftsman of press for the Cincinnati Post as political caricaturist, from where it is returned at the end of six months. Later, he will comment on this period thus: " The experiment was horrible, but to be made transfer forced me to re-examine how I was engaged in the caricature ". After its departure of Post, he proposed his drawings with several newspapers which refused all, until Universal Close Syndicate accepts Calvin & Hobbes, in 1985.

The first publication of Calvin & Hobbes takes place the November 18th 1985. It is the beginning of a planetary success which will make of Bill Watterson a " grand" world of the data base

Very quickly, the series knows a strong popularity: of 130 newspapers publishing it in the beginning of the year 1986, it reaches 350 at the end. This same year, Bill Watterson gains a Reuben Award, the Grand Prix of the National Cartoonists Society (NCS). He is then the youngest prize winner of this price. He still gains one in 1988 of them while the series is diffused in 600 supports. In 1991, with 1800 newspapers publishing it, its series receives, at the time of the Saló Internacional del Cómic de Barcelona, the price of the Mejor Obra Extranjera publicada in España. Continuing on its impetus, the series is rewarded for Alph' Art in Angouleme (price of the best foreign album with Ahead tuna head! ) in 1992, whereas it was published completely in France only since 1991. At the same time, it is third once nominated for Reuben Award.

Second half of the year of 1991 and 1994, it decides to agree a few sabbatical months, practices very rare in the world of the American Comic strip (Garry Trudeau and Gary Larson being precursors). During these periods, many newspapers republish gags of the first years of the series. On the return of its first leave, Watterson imposes on the newspapers a publication with Italian boards of Sunday to join again with a disappeared practice which left much more place to each series. This format also applies to the albums starting from The days are just packed . These constraints do not prevent the diffusion of the series since 2.200 newspapers diffuse it in 1993.

In all, the series was diffused in 2400 newspapers throughout the world, translated in forty languages, and was sold with nearly 30 million albums, including more than one million in France.

Lastly, the adventures of Calvin & Hobbes are completed the December 31st 1995, with the publication of the last board in the American press. Bill Watterson considered indeed that it had done all that it could in the space and time constraints that a diffusion in the daily press imposes and which it was time for him to stop. Shift obliges, of the new albums of Calvin & Hobbes will appear in France until in 2005.

Since, it benefits from the life and tries to find its anonymity of before Calvin and Hobbes. It paints and made bicycle. Regularly cartoon film rumors circulate but nothing proves their veracity.

Marketing according to Watterson

In spite of the incredible success of Calvin & Hobbes, the series however remains one of the least marketed. That is undoubtedly due to the natural perfectionism of Watterson and its preference for " quality more than for fast money ". For Watterson, the data base is a form of art which has a clean life. It is thus the duty of the artist to protect his creation.

This choice often caused him many dissensions with its news agency and the newspapers which publish it. Thus, as of 1988, with success strongly crescent of Calvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson must fight with its editor who wants to impose derivative products to him. Indeed, the royalty American is favorable has that which finances creation. The contract signed by Watterson in 1985 obliges it to yield all its rights to the news agency Universal Close Syndicate . After many oppositions, the author recovers the rights of his characters towards 1990 and can thus put a term at all the proposals of derivative products which were made to him.

Criticisms exist outside just like inside the community of the cartoonists, in particular on behalf of people like Mort Walker and Greg Evans.

To note

When one asks them, the parents of Bill Watterson affirm that their son resembled of nothing Calvin.

When it drew Calvin and Hobbes, Watterson spent its spare time in research in astronomy and in paleontology, it is undoubtedly from there that passion comes from Calvin for the dinosaurs and that one of its alter-ego fore-mentioned Spiff the spationaut.

Bill Watterson is married with Melissa, which was with the college with him, with which several albums are dedicated by Hobbes. Currently, he lives with her with Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

They do not have a child but of many cats, of which Sprite (a she-cat now deceased but which inspired much Bill Watterson for Hobbes), Pumpernickel and Juniper Boots.

Series carried out

Calvin and Hobbes.

External bonds

Official site of Calvin and Hobbes a calendar makes it possible to consult the strips of Calvin and Hobbes.
Calvin and Hobbes on Altunis is the French site most complete on the series and Bill Watterson.

Simple: Bill Watterson

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