I don't think of comics as just entertainment. It's a rare privilege to be able to talk to millions of people on a given day, so I'm eager to say something meaningful when I can. There is always pressure to write some snappy one-liner that will buy me another twenty-four hours of lead time on deadlines, but nothing depresses me like thinking I've become a joke factory to fill newspaper space.

I think the best comics (like the best novels, paintings, etc.) are personal, idiosyncratic works that reflect a unique and honest sensibility. To attract and keep an audience, art must entertain, but the significance of any art lies in its ability to express truths - to reveal and help us understand our world. Comic strips, in their own humble way, are capable of doing this.

Surprise is the essence of humor, and nothing is more surprising than truth. I believe that comics are an art form capable of any level of beauty, intelligence, and sophistication.

The best comics expose human nature and help us laugh at our own stupidity and hypocrisy. They indulge in exaggeration and absurdity, helping us to see the world with fresh eyes and reminding us how important it is to play and be silly. Comics depict the ordinary, mundane events of our lives and help us remember the importance of tiny moments. They cleverly sum up our unexpressed thoughts and emotions. Sometimes they show the world from the perspective of children and animals, encouraging us to be innocent for a moment.

The trick to writing a comic strip is to cultivate a mental playfulness - a natural curiosity and eagerness to learn. If I keep my eyes open and follow my interests, sooner or later the effort yields questions, thoughts, and ideas - unexpected paths into new territory. Like Calvin, I just head out into the yard in search of weirdness, and with the right attitude, I make discoveries.

The strip reflects my interests, values, and thoughts, my cartoons are a sort of self-portrait. The longer I've worked, the more I've used the strip to explore personal issues. When I come up with an idea that surprises me, I'm happy to offer it to anyone who shares my interests. I'm flattered when people respond to my work, but I don't feel accountable to public demand. Trying to please people encourages calculation, and the strip is valuable to me only as a comic that is honest and sincere.

It's not hard to write jokes - good characters will always have something amusing to say about their situation - but it's very difficult to keep the strip's world energized and expansive year after year. At the beginning of a strip, virtually every installment explores new territory, but it's frightening how fast stories and situations become predictable. Today's funny innovation is tomorrow's stale formula.

My early strips look crude and forced to me now, but the characters were still introducing themselves to me. The first couple of years were exploratory efforts to create an engaging world and rounded characters. I began writing longer stories when I saw how they added dimension to the characters' personalities and relationships. Lately, I've had trouble writing extended narratives that satisfy me, and I've been doing fewer of them. Instead, my enthusiasm has drifted to the visual possibilities of the larger Sunday strip. Over the years, 'Calvin and Hobbes' has changed directions, but I don't control where it goes. When everything is working, I'm more surprised by the strip's destination than anybody.

Putting myself in the head of a fictitious six-year-old and a tiger encourages me to be more alert and inquisitive than I would otherwise be. Sometimes I resent the pressure to exploit every waking moment for strip ideas, but at its best, the strip makes me examine events and live more thoughtfully. I love the solitude of this work and the opportunity to work with ideas that interest me. This is the greatest reward of cartooning for me.BACK TO TOP

[ also ]

autobiography

christie interview

west interview

comments on calvin and hobbes by cartoonists

question and answer with 'calvin and hobbes' creator

[ and ]

the cheapening of comics

thoughts on comics and calvin and hobbes

thoughts on licensing and calvin and hobbes

thoughts on the real world by one who glimpsed it and fled