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10.18.2005

Bill Watterson on "The Cheapening of Comics"

"The early cartoonists, with no path before them, produced work of such sophistication, wit, and beauty that it increasingly seems to me that cartoon evolution is working backward. Comic strips are moving toward a primordial goo rather than away from it."

The text of a Bill Watterson speech on the current state of newspaper comics. Given in 1989, but it seems to still hold true.

Bram at 10:57 PM  |  link to this     

2 Comments

It was a sad day when Mr. Watterson decided to end the publication of Calvin and Hobbes after a decade of making us laugh.
And now we have to deal with those awful Calvin stickers slapped on the back of these redneck trucks! I think because of this situation, a lot of comic artists are going their own route and bringing comics back as a true artform. Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell wrote a lot about this sad state of affairs in his ten year anniversary book. His stuff is some of the best work to be found in the funnies pages today with some of the highest praise from the likes of Charles Shultz and Matt Groening. Sure he pimps his work on t-shirts and mugs but he earned it (plus it's done through his fan site). Patrick's style is simple yet brilliant with characters who are witty without trying to be too clever. On the surface Mutts can appear to be too cute but many times the scenarios tackle some relevant issues without being too heavy or ramming them down people's throats. His work and Gary Trudeau's are about the only comics that have me checking the funnies pages in the big papers anymore unfortunately.

steve at 10/19/2005 11:25 AM   

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/books/10/24/reclusive.cartoonist.ap/index.html

Here's an interesting read....

Dembicki at 10/25/2005 10:53 AM   

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