A man, a boy and their stuffed tiger

How many of us would really sit up and notice the name William B. "Bill" Watterson II?

Better known as the creator of the iconic 'Calvin and Hobbes' cartoon strip the reclusive artist is hard to track down in reality. He stood for years as a force against syndication and merchandising of his art.

"My strip is about private realities, the magic of imagination, and the specialness of certain friendships. Who would believe in the innocence of a little kid and his tiger if they cashed in on their popularity to sell overpriced knickknacks that nobody needs?" - Bill Watterson.

A man with a degree in Political science and a knack for seeing things a bit differently, Watterson created a simple template that he could extrapolate to any length he wished. In his own words he never tried to "push the boundaries" or use his own personal life as inspiration for the strip. Calvin and Hobbes are just Calvin and Hobbes.

His views, however, are clear as day in his work. Whether it was his well placed jabs at the state of affairs of the world in general or his attempts to identify things closer to home, such as parenting and the way children have no filter between their brains and their mouths (the latter very well displayed by Calvin).

Both titular characters are in themselves complex if you choose to know more. Named after the philosophers John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes, both characters are actually quite their opposites.

Calvin is a impulsive yet imaginative kid and his views on religion are mostly centred around the debate of being good for Christmas presents while battling his urge to be bad. Hobbes is the more stable, intelligent albeit sarcastic part of the duo with Watterson himself admitting that he used Hobbes as a mouthpiece for his views.

Add to this Calvin's long suffering parents, known only as Mom and Dad, who have a very sardonic and often controversial way of parenting, recurring crush Susie Derkins (who Calvin torments and tortures since he is unsure of what love is), his bossy babysitter Rosalyn who is the only person, Watterson claims, Calvin really fears and Moe the bully.

Running for a decade between 1985 and 1995, the strip has a huge following around the world and has been translated into many languages giving countless folk around the world a laugh and a chuckle.

All in all, for me Bill Watterson is one of those people who stood for character and sensibility. At no point was he being boring with it, but rather pointing a well placed mirror to ourselves. His views on art are defined as there being "no 'high art' or 'low art' - Just art." while at the same times constantly amazing us as an artist rather than a cartoonist.

A humble man from a place in the past we forget all to easily.

I leave you with Bill's trademark wit being displayed in an answer he gave to one of his fans:-

Q: What attributes do you wish were seen more commonly among children?

A: Good parents!

- taken from Fans around the world interview with Bill Watterson