Watterson’s Return

Almost thirty years after retiring his beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, artist Bill Watterson returns with a strange new project.

The Mysteries is a new 72-page book by Watterson and fellow artist John Kascht are creating what is described as “a fable for grown-ups.” Scheduled to be published by Andrews McMeel Publishing in late 2023, The Mysteries has reportedly been in the works for years in what’s described as an “unusually close collaboration.”

“[In The Mysteries,] a long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities,” reads the publisher’s description of the book. “Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns.”

You can’t help but notice the similarities between the plot of The Mysteries and the story of Watterson’s own life – his surprise retirement in 1995, the mystery that grew about his departure, and now this surprise return with a very un-Calvin & Hobbes-like story.

According to the book’s Amazon description, Watterson and Kascht worked on this book for years.

I don’t know.

The art looks weird.

But it’s Bill Watterson, who has yet to pledge his public fealty to the Death Cult, at least as far as I’m aware.

He’s one of the rare creators who had the self-control and good sense to go out on top.

We’ll see if coming back was a good idea.