engage and imagine what is beyond the obvious

Watterson brings a sense of wonder to the natural world. There is a transportative quality to the snowy mornings and autumn afternoons he sketched out in black and white. You can feel this world wrapping itself around you and drawing you in – and the more you give in to Watterson ‘s power of suggestion, the more fun you’ll have.


In one panel in particular, Calvin and Hobbes are walking across a grassy meadow toward the forest on the far side. Watterson had to sketch only a few blades of grass and a lone tree in order to suggest the whole scene. Less artistically dexterous cartoonists would have to fill in every detail and every blade of grass. Next to nothing can be left to the imagination. This literalism distracts from the richness of the imaginative experience for the reader. The more you give the reader, the less their minds need to work. With Watterson’s drawings you can’t be complacent, you need to engage and imagine what is beyond the obvious. In this way, a casual walk across a meadow becomes an afternoon in the woods for the reader.


Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip by Nevin Martell. Continuum Intl Pub Group, 2010 p. 111