Nearly 28 years since the final strip of his wildly popular Calvin and Hobbes last graced newspaper comics, Bill Watterson is back in the headlines with his first new book since that wildly popular comic strip.
Watterson has partnered with caricaturist John Kascht on The Mysteries, which released Tuesday. Described as a fable for grown-ups about what lies beyond human understanding, it tells the story of a long-ago kingdom afflicted with unexplainable calamities, prompting the king to dispatch his knights to investigate.
Its a rare new release for the famously private artist. Watterson has largely kept out of the public eye since ending Calvin and Hobbes 10-year run in 1995. Described by The Washington Post as the J.D. Salinger of the strips, Watterson gives few interviews, rarely releases new artwork publicly, and made Times list of most reclusive celebrities.
He would like it all to fade away, Wattersons father, Jim, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1998. He doesnt get his kicks by being famous. He was just doing something he enjoyed doing. Wattersons mother, Kathryn, added: He definitely wants to disappear.
Needless to say, Wattersons fans are overjoyed about his first major book since Calvin and Hobbes, especially because new material has been so rare for nearly three decades.