Like Sunday Pages, this is a collection based around an exhibition at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University. A lot of it is original artwork for the strip, which I'm sure is cool to see in person, but in book form is not much different to seeing the finished art in the regular books. There isn't much commentary on the strips, though it is nice to see oldies and goodies again.

What does make the book interesting is the interview and the non-Calvin and Hobbes strips. The book opens with a 35-page interview with Watterson, which digs into some stuff I hadn't seen covered before-- biographical details, mostly, like thoughts about his youth, and a particularly harrowing story of the time he ran out his buffer of completed strips, and how he had to be disciplined enough to build it back up again. In some ways it seems like the ten years of Calvin and Hobbes was a particularly miserable time in his life, in that it left him with no time to do anything but create the strip. I also liked seeing the non-C&H art, which is a combination of strips that influenced Watterson (with his commentary) and Watterson's early, pre-C&H work. I would have liked even more of this, to be honest, but the couple pages we got was neat: editorial cartoons, pitches for other comic strips, and ur-forms of C&H itself. Also as a Cincinnatian, I was pleased to see Jim Borgman included as one of Watterson's influences (they overlapped at Kenyon) and to see Watterson discuss his Cincinnati Post days a little.

So, a decent book with some new stuff. I'd say about a third of its 150 pages will reveal something new to the Calvin and Hobbes aficionado.

This book is sort of like a "history of" and a "greatest hits of" Calvin and Hobbes! I did not know Calvin had a previous name (Marvin!) or haircut (bangs!)! Or that there was a strip called "Critturs", the sample of which looks sort of like a precursor to C&H! Cool stuff!
I didn't give it a full 5 stars because of the loooong interview that seemed pretty dry and bored me quite a bit. But the rest of the book is awesome and fully enjoyable for a Calvin and Hobbes fan - like me! ( )

The highlight of this book is the new interview with Bill Watterson that talks about his career and influences, and how the exhibition was put together. Seeing the strips from the exhibition was also good, although with a Calvin and Hobbes "best of", there's never enough strips! Be sure to have your Calvin and Hobbes collections on hand for a reread once you finish this. ( )

This book is what it states and nothing more, which for an avid fan of Calvin and Hobbes can feel a bit disappointing. Perhaps having this catalogue while physically at the museum is a better approach. The tone of the catalogue is such that Bill Watterson interviews almost like an unwilling participant, keeping his answers and details sparse. This was particularly noticeable during the "Tools" chapter, where his favorite artist items are displayed. There were multiple opportunities for Watterson to illuminate for the reader how he chose and ultimately used his drawing implements, but instead each numbered item is sparsely labeled. Readers accustomed to his illuminating prose in his own anthologies will be greatly misled. ( )

Ten years after ending his great comic strip, "Calvin and Hobbes" in 1995, Bill Watterson donated his collection of some 3,000 original cartoons to Ohio State University's Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum. In 2011, after a new building was constructed, the Museum (which I would love to visit someday) put together an exhibition of Watterson's work, of which this book is the Exhibition Catalogue. It includes a rare free-ranging interview with Bill Watterson, who proves to be engaging, witty and thoughtful. The book additionally shows examples of Watterson's comic influences, the original comic strips featured in the Exhibition, and examples of Watterson's other work, before and after C&H. A fine addition to the library of any "Calvin and Hobbes" admirer. ( )