Calvin & Schmobbes

 

You probably already know that Bill Watterson, creator of Calvin & Hobbes and professional recluse, famously dashed the hopes and dreams of his fans by refusing to license any merchandise based on his beloved strip. Something about "artistic integrity" or some such nonsense, and letting the work speak for itself. Feh!

I could see not wanting stores packed with Calvin & Hobbes lip gloss or fishing rods. But would it have killed him to have released a lousy plush Hobbes for the kids? 

I was strolling through Target last night and saw this. It struck me as a pretty reasonable facsimile of a stuffed Hobbes toy. It's not exact, but it's close enough that a kid wouldn't know it's not an officially licensed piece of merch. And it's only $10. Excuse me, $9.99 plus tax.

Take that, Watterson, you anti-capitalist commie! When you refuse the public a product they demand, you just encourage piracy. You've got no one to blame but yourself for the metric ton of "Peeing Calvin" window stickers that adorn the pickup trucks of our Republic.