Other kids' games are all such a bore!

When I was in Iowa a couple of months ago, and packing up my car, I happened across a couple of my old Calvin & Hobbes collections. Trotted them back to NY with me, and picked up one last night. Every once in a while, I end up reminding myself how positively classic Watterson's work is.

For those without access to the books, the CHESS (Calvin & Hobbes Extensive Strip Search) came across MeFi a week or so ago. Martijn Reemst has all 3150 strips databased and indexed--wow. I'm sure that it's not legal, but it's a wonderful resource.

Cleveland Scene published a story about Bill Watterson last fall, about his withdrawal from public life and his attempts to resist the "cheapening" of his work (both in terms of shrinking canvas size and cross-market oversaturation). I'm not an especially nostalgic "last episode" kind of person, but I do remember reading the final C&H in 95, and it's stunning to me that Watterson's last public appearance was in 1990.

Finally, if you don't know how to play Calvinball, then (1) you actually do know how to play, and (2) you should visit The Official Rules of Calvinball and see what you're missing. Just wait until you touch the "pernicious poem place"!