--- title: 'Calvin and Hobbes' Creator Pens First Comics in Nearly Two Decades description: Bill Watterson, the lauded creator of "Calvin and Hobbes," drew as a guest on a syndicated strip this week. canonical: https://time.com/2843563/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-new-comic/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-06-07T17:03:39.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:16:54.720Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: 'Calvin and Hobbes' Creator Pens First Comics in Nearly Two Decades og:description: Bill Watterson, the lauded creator of "Calvin and Hobbes," drew as a guest on a syndicated strip this week. og:url: https://time.com/2843563/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-new-comic/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e48912474e538e2/698696a2cd804d8e0eccb5dc/ap050826020930.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: WATTERSON og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Calvin and Hobbes' Creator Pens First Comics in Nearly Two Decades twitter:description: Bill Watterson, the lauded creator of "Calvin and Hobbes," drew as a guest on a syndicated strip this week. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e48912474e538e2/698696a2cd804d8e0eccb5dc/ap050826020930.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'Calvin and Hobbes' Creator Pens First Comics in Nearly 2 Decades by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Jun 7, 2014 5:03 PM CUT  Bill Watterson, creator of the syndicated cartoon strip "Calvin & Hobbes" is shown in this Feb. 24, 1986 file photo at his home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. Bill Watterson, creator of the syndicated cartoon strip "Calvin & Hobbes" is shown in this Feb. 24, 1986 file photo at his home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.C.H. Pete Copeland—The Plain Dealer/AP by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Jun 7, 2014 5:03 PM CUT The reclusive and celebrated cartoonist Bill Watterson, creator of the renowned “Calvin and Hobbes” series, emerged from nearly two decades of retirement this week to [guest-draw in a syndicated strip](http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/ "undefined"). Watterson, beloved for his portrayal of the troublemaker Calvin and the animated stuffed tiger Hobbes, is known considered by many the J.D. Salinger of the cartoonist world. He eschewed contact with the public after his last strip in 1995, and reportedly turned down Steven Spielberg’s offer to make an animated Calvin and Hobbes movie. But when syndicated cartoonist Stephan Pastis drew a strip that praised “Calvin and Hobbes” and sent it to Watterson, thanking him for his influence, Watterson emerged with an offer: would Pastis be interested in teaming up on a strip? Pastis recounted in a [blog post](http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/ "undefined") Saturday that Watterson wanted to guest-draw Pastis’ “Pearls Before Swine,” and would draw as a less-competent Pastis. What resulted was Watterson drawing in the [guise of a very funny second-grader](http://www.gocomics.com/pearlsbeforeswine/2014/06/04#.U5M8W5RdVTN "undefined") on his strip. Pastis called it “the highlight of my career.” You can check out the rest of the strips and the story of Watterson and Pastis’ [collaboration here](http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2843563/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-new-comic/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2843563/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-new-comic/"},"headline":"'Calvin and Hobbes' Creator Pens First Comics in Nearly 2 Decades","datePublished":"2014-06-07T17:03:39.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:16:54.720Z","description":"Bill Watterson, the lauded creator of \"Calvin and Hobbes,\" drew as a guest on a syndicated strip this week","url":"https://time.com/2843563/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson-new-comic/","keywords":["Books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e48912474e538e2/698696a2cd804d8e0eccb5dc/ap050826020930.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e48912474e538e2/698696a2cd804d8e0eccb5dc/ap050826020930.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"WATTERSON","caption":"WATTERSON","creditText":"C.H. 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