Looking For Calvin & Hobbes SCMedia Release -- The Cartoon Art Museum welcomes author Nevin Martell on Sunday, November 15, 2009 from 1:00 to 3:00pm as he signs copies of his new book Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip. This event is free and open to the public.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

For ten years, between 1985 and 1995, Calvin and Hobbes was one of the world's most beloved comic strips. And then, on the last day of 1995, the strip ended. Its mercurial and reclusive creator, Bill Watterson, not only finished the strip but withdrew entirely from public life. There is no merchandising associated with Calvin and Hobbes: no movie franchise; no plush toys; no coffee mugs; no t-shirts (except a handful of illegal ones). There is only the strip itself, and the books in which it has been compiled - including The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: the heaviest book ever to hit the New York Times bestseller list.

Cartoon Art MuseumIn Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip, writer Nevin Martell traces the life and career of the extraordinary, influential, and intensely private man behind Calvin and Hobbes. With input from a wide range of artists and writers (including Dave Barry, Harvey Pekar, Jonathan Lethem, and Brad Bird) as well as some of Watterson's closest friends and professional colleagues, this is as close as we're ever likely to get to one of America's most ingenious and intriguing figures - and a fascinating detective story, at the same time.

Only 3,160 Calvin and Hobbes strips were ever produced, but Watterson has left behind an impressive legacy. Calvin and Hobbes references litter the pop culture landscape and his fans are as varied as they are numerous. Looking for Calvin and Hobbes is an affectionate and revealing book about uncovering the story behind this most uncommon trio – a man, a boy, and his tiger.

REVIEWS & PRESS:

"Nevin Martell's book provides a rare glimpse of the riddle wrapped in the mystery inside an enigma that is Bill Watterson and his brilliant work, which I now know was almost called 'Marvin and Hobbes.'”
- Stephan Pastis, creator of Pearls Before Swine

"Watterson can hide, but he can't die. His work lives on and we're lucky to have Nevin Martell reminding us so colorfully in this joyful book."
- Berkeley Breathed, creator of Bloom County and Outland

"...Martell provides the most comprehensive look at the life and work of one of the most influential American cartoonists. A book I highly recommend picking up."
- The Daily Cartoonist

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Nevin Martell is the author of Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip (Continuum, 2009), Standing Small: A Celebration of 30 Years of the LEGO Minifigure (DK, 2009), Dave Matthews Band: Music for the People (Pocket, 2004) and Beck: The Art of Mutation (Pocket, 2001). He is a Contributing Editor at Filter magazine and his music journalism has appeared in Paste, Giant, Men’s Health, High Times, and Flaunt, as well as online at RollingStone.com. Currently, he lives with his wife outside Washington, DC, where he develops documentaries and non-fiction television.