>>211920700
Watterson's net worth is in the ball park of $100 million. That's not bad at all, all things considered. Its rumoured he could have sold it at his peak for about $400 million at the strips peak, or up to a billion. However high or much he wanted, but he never did. As a kid, I would have absolutely LOVED to have had some Calvin and Hobbes merch or a movie or cartoon ANYTHING, but its not until you become an adult do you respect the man's integrity to not sell out. And that HAD to have been a hard choice, but the comic is what it is: a comic. Nothing more. The man had to fight tooth and nail for the tiny space he got in the papers, but those strips in colour were marvels of beautiful art right in the middle of the Sunday funnies.
Both Lucas and Spielberg wanted to adapt it and made overtures to him, but he refused. Spielberg however, actually managed to get his phone number to call him up to make an offer. According to Spielberg, Watterson's wife answered the phone and the entire conversation without Bill even picking it up to talk went about as follows:
>Bill's wife: Honey? Steven Spielberg's on the phone. He wants to talk to you.
>Bill: Why on earth would I ever want to talk to Steven Spielberg?
Now that's based, period.
You still gotta wonder though: Did the Peanuts gang and Charles Schulz sell out and lose their integrity when the characters began appearing in MetLife Insurance advertisements? But at the exact same time, I could do without all the Garfield merchandise shit. Calvin and Hobbes was at least thought provoking and funny, not a repeated joke about a fat ass cat hating Mondays and indulging in pasta.
I agree with Bill though; I don't ever want to hear that kids voice. I don't want to see him become Disneyfied or heebed or anything. There is a purity and innocence and integrity to that strip that Bill fought hard to protect and still does. No fan animations for Youtube, he got pissed off at the Robot Chicken guys for their skit, nothing.
