Cartoonist Berkeley Breathed, creator of Bloom County, won April Fool’s Day when he “revealed” that he has taken over ownership of Calvin and Hobbes, noting that his Facebook page would host to the first brand-new strips since Bill Watterson’s retirement. Not only that, there were promises of “new merch”.
As you probably know, Watterson is legendary for his refusal to license Calvin and Hobbes despite the oodles of cash that would come with such a deal. Breathed, however, isn’t burdened by integrity. As you’ll see below, C&H fans will get what they want under his new management.
From Breathed’s Facebook page:
March 11 — A big day for C&H fans: Bill Watterson and myself in Tuscany signing the franchise over to my “administration.” Watterson’s in great shape — he’s out of the Arizona facility, continent and looking forward to some well-earned financial security. You rock, Bill. –bb
The new strip (click to enlarge):
So the big question here is did Watterson have something to do with this joke?
Seems unlikely, but let’s not forget that this wouldn’t be the first time the notoriously private Watterson has come out of retirement. He resurfaced very briefly to “secretly” contribute to Pearls Before Swine back in 2014. He was also involved in the Stripped documentary.
Odds are that this is just Breathed pulling a very brilliant and ballsy joke, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up for a return of C&H. If that’s the case, at least something genuinely amusing came out of April Fools’ Day besides phony ThinkGeek products.
(via Comic Book Resources)