{"id":2094,"date":"2009-10-15T07:00:55","date_gmt":"2009-10-15T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/?p=2094"},"modified":"2009-10-13T17:18:15","modified_gmt":"2009-10-13T21:18:15","slug":"dear-mr-watterson-a-thank-you-to-the-creator-of-calvin-and-hobbes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/onceuponageek.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/15\/dear-mr-watterson-a-thank-you-to-the-creator-of-calvin-and-hobbes\/","title":{"rendered":"Dear Mr. Watterson… A Thank You to the Creator of Calvin and Hobbes"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Dear Mr. Watterson<\/em><\/a> is a film project spearheaded by Joel Allen Schroeder.\u00a0 According to their website,\u00a0 “Dear Mr. Watterson<\/em> is a film that will look to the readers and fans of Calvin & Hobbes<\/em> to tell the story of the strip and its creator. As we follow the life and career of Bill Watterson through this unique perspective, the undying appreciation and love of Calvin & Hobbes<\/em> and the man behind it will be evident in the anecdotes, stories, and memories shared by readers of the strip and friends and colleagues of Mr. Watterson.”<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been reading ONCE UPON A GEEK for a while, then you probably know I\u2019m a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes<\/em>.\u00a0 I gotta say folks, this film looks great!\u00a0 Check out the trailer below:<\/p>\n

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Teaser<\/a> from DMW<\/a> on Vimeo<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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I’m really excited for this project!\u00a0 In the spirit of the upcoming film, I wanted to share my own first experience with Calvin and Hobbes<\/em> here.\u00a0\u00a0I first became aware of the strip in the summer of 1987. I was about 15 years old and visiting my father in Madison, Wisconsin.\u00a0 Where I lived in Florida, the local newspaper did not carry the Calvin and Hobbes<\/em> comic strip; in fact, I’d never heard of it. Like any bored teenager in the 1980s, I read the daily comics for amusement.\u00a0 I quickly discovered that the Madison paper carried a much wider variety of strips than my paper back home.\u00a0 One such strip was called Calvin and Hobbes<\/em>.\u00a0 It was hilarious!\u00a0 I immediately related to the character of Calvin and began seeking out the strip each morning. As Madison was a recycling town (not a common practice back in ’87), my father’s garage was full of old newspapers. I spent hours sifting through these old papers reading Calvin and Hobbes<\/em> strips. Within the matter of a week, I’d read several months worth of the strip.\u00a0 I was hooked!\u00a0 At the end of the summer, I returned to my hometown and it’s sadly inadequate newspaper.\u00a0 This could have resulted in the end of my love affair with Calvin and Hobbes<\/em>, however, my step-mother intervened to provide my much needed Calvin-fix.\u00a0 She dutifully cut out the Calvin and Hobbes<\/em> strips every day and would mail them to me in batches about once every three weeks. I would wait anxiously for this package of joy. I’d then tape the strips down on three-ring paper, essentially making my own books. Eventually, my local paper picked up the strip and the official collections became readily available. However, I’ll never forget my initial discovery and those wonderful packages from my generous step-mother. There you have it… the secret origin of a Calvin and Hobbes<\/em> junkie!<\/p>\n

If the upcoming film looks interesting to you, there are a few avenues for you to stay connected with the project.\u00a0 First, check out the web site at dearmrwatterson.com<\/a> for updates on the film.\u00a0 Next, join the Facebook group dedicated to this movie<\/a>.\u00a0 Finally, check out their new Twitter account<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I found out about the film recently when I was interviewed for Racket Magazine<\/em>.\u00a0 They stumbled across my praise for Calvin and Hobbes<\/em> here and contacted me to ask about my fandom of the comic strip.\u00a0 You can read the interview Racket Magazine<\/em> did with both Joel Allen Schroeder and myself by clicking here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And remember each night as you lay down to fall asleep… something under the bed is drooling.<\/p>\n

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Tell the world about ONCE UPON A GEEK:<\/h3>