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Side note, but every time I DON'T see a Hobbes plushy, a Calvin bauble head, the Calvin and Hobbes TV series, etc. I'm so thankful that Watterson grimly held on
by vunderba 2y ago
Side note, but every time I DON'T see a Hobbes plushy, a Calvin bauble head, the Calvin and Hobbes TV series, etc. I'm so thankful that Watterson grimly held onto the merchandising rights of his characters.
He maintained such a high standard for his comic right unto the end.
Not everything in this world needs to be commoditized to death. "But how will new generations learn about Calvin and Hobbes without Calvin and Hobbes: Gacha game for iOS?". They can experience it the same way that we all did - in syndicated comic form.
https://www.abebooks.com/9780740748479/Complete-Calvin-Hobbes-Bill-Watterson-0740748475/plp https://www.abebooks.com/9780740748479/Complete-Calvin-Hobbe...
- MikeKusold 2y agoThe counterpoint is how many children would love their own stuffed Hobbes to be sitting next to them as their parents read a few comics to them. You can merchandise things without going overboard and losing your soul.
- jjulius 2y agoYou're definitely right that children would love that sort of thing. My perspective, as a parent of a 2 and 4 year-old, is that it would just be another stuffed animal. Both of my kiddos have their own massive pile of stuffed toys that people have given to them over the years. Much of them are forgotten about, and new stuffies are replaced after a short amount of time when a new one comes along or when they get bored of it. I can't tell you how many character stuffies my kids have been excited about only to all but forget about two days later. My kids would love it, sure, but for them it's just the security of a soft cozy friend that seems to be the most important thing. What it looks like/who it is seems to be secondary and entirely mood dependent. There's never been a moment where there's felt like a void because Hobbes isn't in bed with us, and he wouldn't be accomplishing anything that the rest of their stuffies aren't doing already, save for padding Watterson's retirement - which I think is part of his point. But everyone's different, so YMMV. Edit: I suppose if one of my kiddos asked for one and it was super important to them, it would be kind of fun for us to make one from scratch!
- dakna 2y agoYou can also make yourself a Hobbes costume and put that on when you read to your kid.
- barbazoo 2y agoExactly, doesn't always have to be garbage ordered from China through Amazon.
- hinkley 2y agoI swear there used to be Hobbes plushies in the 90’s. Did I imagine that? Did he change his mind and rescind rights later on?
- jjulius 2y agoProbably unapproved third-party merch, like those bumper stickers where Calvin is pissing on something. Watterson is famous for having always been anti-merchandising.
- walterbell 2y ago> children would love their own stuffed Hobbes In lieu of Hobbes™, sellers offer many choices. https://www.amazon.com/hobbes-stuffed-tiger/s?k=hobbes+stuffed+tiger https://www.amazon.com/hobbes-stuffed-tiger/s?k=hobbes+stuff...
- mmastrac 2y ago"unto the end" and "commoditized to death" made me briefly paranoid that Mr Watterson had died, but thankfully he is still quite alive: "Watterson lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio as of January 2024"
- 508LoopDetected 2y agoEven better, last year he published "The Mysteries", which to my understanding is his first book since Calvin & Hobbes ended! https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mysteries/Bill-Watterson/9781524884949 https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Mysteries/Bill-Wa...
- KPGv2 2y agoYeah, although honestly you're paying for the art created by John Kascht. The story is compelling but very, very short. I bought it in hardback right when it came out. I think I read the story in about five minutes.
- swifthesitation 2y agoSame. "Fairly disappointed" would be an understatement.
- TecoAndJix 2y agoI just panic googled him when i read that as well! Wording!
- vunderba 2y agoGeez, sorry about that! He's alive and well and apparently quite the avid cyclist so likely hale and hearty!
- jjulius 2y ago>They can experience it the same way that we all did - in syndicated comic form. You can also buy the entire series in a single collection. I've got it, it's great, and my kids love reading it with me.
- abhgh 2y agoThis was my first big purchase after I finished my Masters. Absolutely loved it. I would often pick a random volume out of the collection, open it to a random page and read. Delightful books, good memories.
- Miraste 2y agoI have immense respect for Watterson. He's the only artist I can think of to achieve that level of fame and success and not sell out. Selling out is barely even a concept any more because it's simply assumed, and Watterson is still out there in a cabin in the woods, communicating only by mail and refusing every corporate offer that comes his way.
- psunavy03 2y agoI respect his decision, but for many people "selling out" is actually code for "financial security and stability for themselves and their families," which is not nothing and not necessarily worth scoffing at.
- Miraste 2y agoWatterson did get financial security and stability from the success of the comic, he wasn't distributing it for free. The point after that is where you find selling out, and that's where he drew a line.
- boringg 2y agoFor example i think Taylor Swift isnt a sell out, theres still more avenues to pursue merch and tour gear to achieve financial stability.
- khazhoux 2y agoWhenever the topic of copyright comes up on HN, the prevailing view in comments section is that copyrights should be relatively short and cultural artifacts should be available to everyone to use as they please. So I find it interesting ("interesting") how people seem to universally appreciate that Calvin & Hobbes are protected from any 3rd-party use, meanwhile they universally revile Disney for not allowing people to do what they want with (and to) Mickey Mouse.
- dpkirchner 2y agoAs one of those people I guess I can just say: I'd prefer that people respect Watterson's opinion about merch and knock-offs but that I'd also prefer the government not enforce that beyond 14 or so years.
- jjulius 2y agoWell, life is incredibly nuanced, there's no black and whites and we often have to deal with double-edged swords. :) To me, there's a bit of a difference between the two. In one instance, you've got a single corporation owning all the rights to a property and getting all of the cash from the sale of goods related to that property. This is a single party who gets to decide what to do with the IP, and often times this can irk fans and rub them the wrong way. In another instance, you've got C&H released from copyright. Nobody owns the rights, so anybody can do anything with it - assholes can make cheap merchandise for the sake of fast cash the way Disney might with its own IP, but now that there are plenty of other vendors making like-products, we have choices and don't have to buy from one person. The alternatives available are also likely to be made by actual fans with a passion for the project. Broadly speaking, fans can't get irked the way they do when Disney makes a change, because whatever is out there by a third-party is just their creative take on it, not the single rights holder going, "This is the way the IP's universe is now, and what has been canon for thirty years is no longer so, please keep giving us cash". You're right - one decision impacts another in a less than ideal way. But there's a balance and we have to find the right balance. :)
- CSMastermind 2y agoWatterson's motivation seems to be to preserve the integrity of his art. Disney's motivation seems to be to preserve their profit margins on hyper commercializing the creations of others.
- CrazyStat 2y agoI recently got that boxed set for my son’s birthday. I think I’ve spent more time reading it than he has, though I’m sure he’ll get into it eventually.
- tim333 2y agoAlso available online - first strip https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/11/18 https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1985/11/18 or if you go to https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes they cycle through them daily, as I do.
- Suppafly 2y ago>I'm so thankful that Watterson grimly held onto the merchandising rights of his characters. I'm always kind of bummed about it, instead of quality official merchandise there are a bunch of peeing calvin stickers on lifted pickup trucks.
- ChrisMarshallNY 2y agoBut these are a channel of national discourse! https://theonion.com/peeing-calvin-decals-now-recognized-as-vital-channel-of-1819565534/ https://theonion.com/peeing-calvin-decals-now-recognized-as-...
- 01HNNWZ0MV43FF 2y agoI want a sticker of Calvin peeing on a pickup truck
- failrate 2y agoThose stickers would exist regardless. They are a wild meme from the preinternet.
- irrational 2y agoI do wonder what will happen when it enters public domain. Will it have been too long, so nobody will bother creating merchandise and derivative works? Or will there be an explosion of Calvin and Hobbes material? I can’t think of a comparable test case.
- foobarchu 2y agoThat won't be for another 70+ years since Watterson is still alive and it was created after 1977. I can't imagine there'll be that much demand for C&H merch by then