In defense of Bill Waterson and comics

“The business interests, in the name of efficiency, mass marketability, and profit, profit, profit are catering to the lowest common denominator of readership and arc keeping this artform from growing. There will always be mediocre comic strips, but we have lost much of the potential for anything else. We need more variety on the comics page, not less. Those of us who care about the comics need to start speaking up. This is an excellent place and time to do it.”   -----    Bill Watterson

 

 












It is as simple that all medium of art form can’t be adapted to another medium of art. The integrity, uniqueness Calvin and Hobbes retain in print which is not possible to achieve in a Calvin’s animation or film.
Like Calvin and Hobbes, classic “Ulysses” and “One thousand year of solitude” can’t be possible to make a proper adaptation to a film. But as we have example “Lord of Rings” which is very near, sincere to it original of J R Tokein’ novel. “Lord of rings” somehow able to levitate originality of the novel.

Film adaptation of Asterix also a failure, Asterix as a film well made, but the film version is not comparable to its original print version, which is genuine and all most a divine thing. 

Request for Film, animation adaptation for “Toto Chan” also rejected by author Tetsuko Koruyanagi. Bill and Tetsuku both want to keep their creation intact as it is, they both believe in integrity of their medium and at any cost they don’t want to betray their reader.

All major comic are now adapted to films and animation, but somehow those are seems skeletons of the original. Most are modified and as a film they transcend to another level which is not same as original print. Deviation from their uniqueness can be seen easily.

With due all my respect to legendary Stan lee, I must say his super heroes are not same on films as we see them on print or as they dwell in our imaginary world. Of course those are technically well built films. And can be seen as complete different perspective which may not similar to the atmosphere or aura that generated while reading a comic as graphics and text materials.

We are grateful that Bill Waterson and Tetsuko Koruyanagi keep away from all lucrative offers to defend their creation and up to now we able to see a pure and non-polluted appearance of their creation. And we will not going to see them on film and animation and they will never displayed on a commercial product. Steven Spielberg once interested in film/animation adaptation of Calvin and Hobbes, but as usual Bill rejected the offers. Now there is news that Spielberg will make films from adaptation of another great creation “Tin Tin” with some superior technology. It’s no wrong in try or adaptation for another Tin Tin film. But Herge magical strokes are always remain on print, in his four colors “Tin Tin” books and heart of these creation will never replaced by anything.

Invest big money and use big money, use any technology, get authorized to do anything on some art form is again an illusionary, unclear idea about originality or not a proper solution to achieve the goal always.

The Cheapening of the Comics: A speech by Bill Watterson delivered at the Festival of Cartoon Art, Ohio State University, October 27, 1989.