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Imserba Webstore - Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip
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List Price: $24.95
Our Price: $16.47
Your Save: $ 8.48 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Continuum Pub Group
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.56973
EAN: 9780826429841
Feature: ISBN13: 9780826429841
ISBN: 082642984X
Label: Continuum Pub Group
Manufacturer: Continuum Pub Group
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2009-10-01
Publisher: Continuum Pub Group
Studio: Continuum Pub Group
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Features
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ISBN13: 9780826429841
Condition: NEW
Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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Editorial Reviews:
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For ten years, between 1985 and 1995, Calvin and Hobbes was one the world's most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life. There is no merchandising associated with Calvin and Hobbes: no movie franchise; no plush toys; no coffee mugs; no t-shirts (except a handful of illegal ones). There is only the strip itself, and the books in which it has been compiled - including The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: the heaviest book ever to hit the New York Times bestseller list. In Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip, writer Nevin Martell traces the life and career of the extraordinary, influential, and intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. With input from a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Lethem, and Brad Bird) as well as some of Watterson's closest friends and professional colleagues, this is as close as we're ever likely to get to one of America's most ingenious and intriguing figures - and a fascinating detective story, at the same time. Only 3,160 Calvin and Hobbes strips were ever produced, but Watterson has left behind an impressive legacy. Calvin and Hobbes references litter the pop culture landscape and his fans are as varied as they are numerable. Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is an affectionate and revealing book about uncovering the story behind this most uncommon trio - a man, a boy, and his tiger.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Still Looking
Comment: If you are a fan of Calvin and Hobbes this book will be of interest to you. However it is pretty obvious from the start that the author is not going to get Watterson to talk to him. Which of course would have made it a whole different book and a lot more interesting. It is not the author's fault that Watterson would not cooperate with him in the writing of the book. Although I thought it strange that Watterson gave a newspaper interview right around when this book came out since hes so reclusive. I respect and understand why Watterson likes his privacy. In today's society where everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame its refreshing to see someone who actually earned his fame not take advantage of it and not let it control his life. Watterson unlike so many less talented comic strip creator's chose not to licesne his strip which could have earned him millions. That takes integrity and I will say that it would have been hard for a lot of people myself included to pass up on the easy money. I think the idea of this book is great but the actual book is quite short. In the end we learn more about the author then Watterson. And again I know the author could not get the right to put any of the comic strip in the book but not having even a couple strips really hurts the book. And would have made it so much better.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A personal journey combined with investigative journalism
Comment: When I initially picked up this book, I had a bit of a concern. The first person tone in the opening pages suggested that it could end up being a story that was mostly about the pursuit of knowledge about CH/BW rather than a tome that informed readers about the origins and history of these brilliant works. I can thankfully report that this concern was unfounded. Martell did a superb job of filling in many more details about Watterson's life than I thought would be possible. That he was able to do this while simultaneously weaving it into a very entertaining narrative that illustrated the depth one has to go to in order complete an investigative book of this nature not only showcased his skills as a writer; it also added significantly to the enjoyment of book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Deep insight into one of the most beloved Cartoon Strips
Comment: I have wondered why there have been no Official "Calvin and Hobbes" merchandise available for purchase.
And I had a vague understanding that it was the Creator's decision not to merchandise.
This book gives you those details you always wondered about Bill Watterson and his Calvin and Hobbes creation.
One would almost say that this is a "Documentary" in book form
Customer Rating:
Summary: This book would score high in one of Calvin's polls
Comment: Nevin Martell was definitely the right person for writing this book. His genuine interest in the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip and Bill Watterson create an unforced, natural prose that is both easy to read and pleasurable. His obvious love for the comic strip and all that it represents to him and countless other readers is countered beautifully by the professionalism of his interviews with comic strip artists/authors, critics, colleagues and friend and family of Watterson, which he weaves seamlessly into his discussion of Watterson's life and work. Martell expertly infuses personal experience and humor with factual accounts regarding the subject; his voice speaks loudly of a person who loves the strip and perhaps was greatly influenced by it (i.e. I can often see Watterson's style of prose reflected in that of Martell's).
The first chapters are a pleasure to read because they focus on Watterson's early life and career, as well as his early success with the strip. However, the later chapters can be quite depressing because they reveal the personal and professional hardships that Watterson encountered due to the success of Calvin and Hobbes; this is not by the fault of the writer, but rather by the unfortunate circumstances of this portion of Watterson's life and career. Martell ends on a high note, however, which all but erases any lingering ill feelings from the previous chapters that the reader might have. The last lines of the last, "official" chapter are especially poignant, and the last paragraphs in the appendix chapter where he includes interesting tid-bits regarding Calvin and Hobbes and professes his love of cupcakes are my personal favorites.
A wonderful read that will make you appreciate the wonderfulness of Calvin and Hobbes, and the genius of Bill Watterson; it will make you want to read the strips all over again. I've already started to.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Easy, uninspired read
Comment: Nevin Martell wanted to write about Bill Watterson and the comic strip Martell loved growing up. He ended up writing about himself, and, with a hipster CV boasting appearances in High Times, Paste and the online edition of Rolling Stone, it comes as no surprise.
Works like this can be done well--Nick Tosches' "Where Dead Voices Gather" immediately comes to mind--and they can be fruitful. The effort is clearly there, the writer has painstakingly taken any number of conceivable angles to get at the locus of his project; but, as others here have mentioned, he vacillates amongst being a fanboy, hipster, man-child and journalist, often several times on the same page. It is neither self-deprecating, like the Sklar Brothers' humorous and sentimental "Utility Man" documentary on St. Louis Cardinal cult figure Jose Oquendo; nor truly insightful on micro and macro levels, like the aforementioned Tosches work on minstrel performer Emmett Miller. Instead, it comes off as a self-indulgent odyssey, guided by passions and fetish interest but ultimately going nowhere but into the depths of Martell's ego.
The copy itself is trite and uninspired, no small feat considering the gushing adoration the writer holds for his subject matter, and reads more like an interminable blog entry or a hack effort of a magazine feature. Ultimately, a long-time fan of "Calvin and Hobbes" will find little of new interest or insight here. Some subjects, as much as the curious mind may persist in its hunger to know, should just be left alone.
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