Calvin And Hobbes New Cartoon: Creator Bill Watterson Illustrates Upcoming Stripped Documentary Poster
Almost 20 years after the adored comic strip Calvin and Hobbes graced newspapers for the final time, its talented artist and creator Bill Waterson designed his first cartoon since the strip's ending in 1995.
According to The Washington Post, Watterson was tapped by documentary filmmaker Frederick Schroeder and cartoonist Dave Kellett to illustrate the poster of their upcoming film, Stripped, which would be Watterson's first public released art since 2011.
Stripped is the duo's documentary, funded by Kickstarter, about the history of comic strips and the current state of the newspaper industry. The film features 60 artists, including the 55-year-old Watterson who went into retirement in 1995 after a successful artist career.
The cover poster illustrates a nude cartoonist essentially jumping out his clothes in disbelief as he reads a newspaper bearing the headline, "Bye-Bye Newspapers!"
Watterson told the Post the drawing was inspired by the film's title and the hilarity of human nudity.
"There are few things funnier than human nudity, the idea popped into my head largely intact," Watterson said, adding, "The film is a big valentine to comics, so I tried to do something really cartoon-y."
According to the Post, in mid-2011 Watterson contributed an oil painting for artist Richard Thompson's Parkinson's disease research fundraising project Team Cul de Sac. This would mark the first time since Calvin and Hobbes that Watterson released his artwork to the public.
According to Biography.com, at 27 years old the artist created Calvin and Hobbes, a comic strip featuring the adventures of a rambunctious first-grader, Calvin, and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who only came to life when the pair were alone.
The comic was purchased by Universal Press Syndicate in 1985 and would run in newspapers around the nation until 1995, gathering a wide audience making it the beloved comic it is known as today.
Watterson received the Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in 1986, making him the youngest person to accept the honor.
The documentary Stripped will be released on DVD on April 2.
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