Bill Watterson, the creator of “Calvin and Hobbes”, rarely talks about his craft, but he isn’t a complete enigma. Here are some of his interviews…
There’s been some discussion about Bill elsewhere (his often assumed views a topic of conversation often revisited, going back as far as 2004!) so I thought it useful to have a list of items of His Own Words as opposed to Words Put in his Mouth…
In 1990, he took the podium at Kenyon College and gave the graduating class a gift of equally remarkable insight and impact, which remains among the greatest commencement addresses of all time, featured here on The Marginalist.
Rich Harvey also features two speeches by Bill here.
He was interviewed for HONK Magazine Issue 2 in 1986, republished here, where he discusses creating newspaper strips and his peers.
Sy O’Neill interviewed Bill for the Cleveland Plain Dealer for an article titled “A boy, his tiger and their best friend; Recalling a rare chat with the creator of ‘Calvin and Hobbes’”, published 6th October 2005. This link kindly provided by Mike Rhode may be region specific or subscription based.
There’s also a short interview with him here by John Campanelli for Cleveland’s The Plain Dealer, published in 2010, believed his first since 1989. Another short interview ran in Mental Floss, published in 2013.
The 1989 interview was for The Comics Journal #127 (March 1989), conducted by Richard Samuel West, online here.
One of his most extensive in-depth interviews was published in 2014 interviewed by Jenny Robb, curator and associate professor at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at Ohio State University, published in Exploring Calvin and Hobbes: An Exhibition Catalogue, by Andrews McMeel Publishing (AmazonUK Affiliate Link). The Columbia Dispatch ran an excerpt from their conversation.
Michael Cavna also interviewed Bill for the Washington Post on 6th June March 2014, that item behind a paywall. The interview followed Bill’s “ghosting” of Stephan Pastis’ “Pearls Before Swine” strip. The Post currently offers one week’s access for £5. They also feature an excerpt from Jenny Robb’s interview here.
Bill has also talked to the Washington Post about about painting a portrait of “Cul de Sac’s” Petey Otterloop and his professional admiration for “Cul de Sac’s” Richard Thompson in 2011; his dual exhibit with Richard Thompson at OSU’s Billy Ireland cartoon museum in 2013; on creating his poster art for the “Stripped” documentary in 2014.
The STRIPPED documentary, available now on iTunes, as well as DVD (DRM-free and region-free), and on VHX (DRM-free, worldwide), and as a Deluxe Edition, brings together the world’s best cartoonists to talk about the art form they love, and what happens to it as newspapers die. Over 70 interviews were conducted, including the first-ever audio interview with Bill Watterson, as well as Jim Davis (Garfield), Cathy Guisewite (Cathy), Mort Walker (Beetle Bailey), Mike & Jerry (Penny Arcade), Matt Inman (The Oatmeal), Jeff Keane (The Family Circus), Ryan North (Dinosaur Comics), Lynn Johnston (FBOFW), Zach Weiner (SMBC), Scott Kurtz (PvP), Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics), Richard Thompson (Cul de Sac), Jeph Jacques (Questionable Content), Stephan Pastis (Pearls Before Swine), Bill Amend (Foxtrot), Kate Beaton (Hark! A Vagrant) and more. Set to a gorgeous original score by Stefan Lessard of Dave Matthews Band, STRIPPED explores comic strips in depth, why they’re so loved, and how they’re navigating this dicey period between print and pixels. More information here at StrippedFilm.com
Bill was also interviewed by Richard Thompson in The Art of Richard Thompson, published by Andrews McMeel Publishing. Hardcover copies can be pricey, but it’s available digitally for a reasonable price (AmazonUK Affiliate Link). Excerpts were published to help promote the release here on Mike Rhode’s ComicsDC blog and here on the Cul de Sac blog, the latter Richard’s own blog.
More recently, there’s “Life After Calvin and Hobbes”, for New Yorker in 2024, following publication of The Mysteries in 2023.
• Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson (AmazonUK Affiliate Link)
If you have links to further Bill Watterson interviews do let us know, below. Thanks
This item was last updated on Saturday 10th January 2026 with thanks to information from Mike Rhode, that led us to a cache of interviews with the Washington Post
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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Bill interviewed Richard Thompson in The Art of Richard Thompson.
Watterson, Bill and Richard Thompson. 2015. The Art of Richard Thompson book excerpt: Thompson and Bill Watterson talk comics. ComicsDC blog (April 1): http://comicsdc.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-art-of-richard-thompson-book.html
Watterson, Bill and Richard Thompson. 2015. The Art of Richard Thompson book excerpt: Thompson and Bill Watterson talk comics some more. Cul de Sac blog (April 2): http://richardspooralmanac.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-art-of-richard-thompson-book.html
O’Neill, Sy. 2005. A boy, his tiger and their best friend; Recalling a rare chat with the creator of ‘Calvin and Hobbes’. Cleveland Plain Dealer (October 6): http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/112860182382450.xml&coll=2
and Michael Cavna interviewed him for the Washington Post but I’m not finding that right now.
Thanks for these, Mike! I’ve incorporated them into the article, and sourced paywall links to the interview for the Washington Post you mention, and several other items, too. Much appreciated.