Via Michael Cavna of The Washington Post's Comic Riffs: 'Calvin and Hobbes' creator Bill Watterson has returned home to the comics page — even if only for a limited engagement. For three days, Watterson — once known as the J.D. Salinger of the strips — has resurfaced, his inspired visual wit intact. For this, we have Stephan Pastis's real estate and surreal humor to thank. Since Wednesday, Watterson's new artwork has been featured in Pastis's syndicated strip, "Pearls Before Swine." See the strips: http://wapo.st/1ldGATu
So the conceit in this week's strips is that a second-grader named Libby (a name that nods to "Bill") boasts that she can draw "Pearls" better than the feature's creator. Pastis's cartoon avatar turns over his "stick figure" comic to the girl — who proceeds to render rich worlds of imagination beyond the signature style of the strip. From invading Martians to big-mouthed (and Pastis-devouring) crocodiles, the art brims with the life of Watterson's expressive line.
The collaboration is a brilliant pairing of strengths, with Watterson illustrating Pastis's sometimes-meta script. "I think we both got some surprises," Watterson says. "I didn't know what he was going to write, and he didn't know how I was going to draw it."
As for the experience of collaborating with Pastis, whom he had never met prior to this week, the "Calvin and Hobbes" creator welcomed the challenge of a limited return to the page.
"I had expected to just mess around with his characters while they did their usual things," Watterson tells me, "but Stephan kept setting up these situations that required more challenging drawings . . . so I had to work a lot harder than I had planned to! It was a lot of fun."
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Molly Gannon
Senior Publicist, The Washington Post
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