Why the ‘Peeing Calvin’ Meme Has Nothing to Do With Bill Watterson’s Comic ‘Calvin and Hobbes’

Reporter Phil Edwards examined the history of the “peeing Calvin” meme, noting that, despite appearing to be related to the original “Calvin and Hobbes” comic, it had nothing to do with the comic or its creator, Bill Watterson. In fact, Watterson strongly opposed licensing his work in any form.

A lot of people ended up thinking that Calvin’s creator, Bill Watterson, was the guy behind the peeing Calvin decals. ….But Watterson was different. He would never have licensed a peeing Calvin, but he also didn’t want a Hobbes doll or a Calvin video game or anything but calendars and books, despite the huge amount of money that he would have gotten from it.

Watterson was firm in his belief that his job was to be an artist, not a brand manager, and he made this very public, despite the publisher’s wishes. And because the “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strip was so popular, the publisher went along with it.

Watterson gave speeches and interviews protesting the push to license Calvin and Hobbes. He said it would make him a brand manager signing another batch of strips instead of being an artist. This debate even bubbled on to the comics page. “I stand firm in my belief of what’s right. I refuse to compromise my principles.” And eventually Watterson won. He got a new contract with his rights back because Universal knew that he was the magic.