In the years since
Calvin and Hobbes was ended, many attempts have been made to contact Watterson. Both
The Plain Dealer and the
Cleveland Scene sent reporters, in 1998 and 2003 respectively, but neither was able to make contact with the media-shy Watterson. Since 1995, Watterson has taken up painting, at one point drawing landscapes of the woods with his father. He has kept away from the public eye and shown no interest in resuming the strip, creating new works based on the strip's characters, or embarking on new commercial projects, though he has published several
Calvin and Hobbes "treasury collection" anthologies. He does not sign autographs or license his characters. Watterson was once known to sneak autographed copies of his books onto the shelves of the Fireside Bookshop, a family-owned bookstore in his hometown of
Chagrin Falls, Ohio. He ended this practice after discovering that some of the autographed books were being sold online for high prices. Watterson rarely gives interviews or makes public appearances. His lengthiest interviews include the cover story in
The Comics Journal No. 127 in February 1989, an interview that appeared in a 1987 issue of
Honk Magazine, On December 21, 1999, a short piece was published in the
Los Angeles Times, written by Watterson to mark the forthcoming retirement of
Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. Circa 2003,
Gene Weingarten of
The Washington Post sent Watterson the first edition of the
Barnaby book as an incentive, hoping to land an interview. Weingarten passed the book to Watterson's parents, along with a message, and declared that he would wait in his hotel for as long as it took Watterson to contact him. Watterson's editor Lee Salem called the next day to tell Weingarten that the cartoonist would not be coming. In October 2005, Watterson answered 15 questions submitted by readers. In October 2007, he wrote a review of
Schulz and Peanuts, a biography of Charles M. Schulz, in
The Wall Street Journal. In 2008, he provided a foreword for the first book collection of
Richard Thompson's
Cul de Sac comic strip. In April 2011, a representative for
Andrews McMeel received a package from a "William Watterson in Cleveland Heights, Ohio" which contained a oil-on-board painting of
Cul de Sac character Petey Otterloop, done by Watterson for the
Team Cul de Sac fundraising project for
Parkinson's disease in honor of Richard Thompson, who was diagnosed in 2009. Watterson's syndicate revealed that the painting was the first new artwork of his that the syndicate has seen since
Calvin and Hobbes ended in 1995. In October 2009, Nevin Martell published a book called
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes, which included a story about the author seeking an interview with Watterson. In his search, he interviews friends, co-workers, and family, but never gets to meet the artist himself. In early 2010, Watterson was interviewed by
The Plain Dealer on the 15th anniversary of the end of
Calvin and Hobbes. Explaining his decision to discontinue the strip, he said, In October 2013, the magazine
Mental Floss published an interview with Watterson, only the second since the strip ended. Watterson again confirmed that he would not be revisiting
Calvin and Hobbes, and that he was satisfied with his decision. He also gave his opinion on the changes in the comic-strip industry and where it would be headed in the future: In 2013 the documentary
Dear Mr. Watterson, exploring the cultural impact of
Calvin and Hobbes, was released. Watterson himself did not appear in the film. On February 26, 2014, Watterson published his first cartoon since the end of
Calvin and Hobbes: a poster for the documentary
Stripped. In 2014, Watterson co-authored
The Art of Richard Thompson with
Washington Post cartoonist
Nick Galifianakis and David Apatoff. In June 2014, three strips of
Pearls Before Swine (published June 4, June 5, and June 6, 2014) featured guest illustrations by Watterson after mutual friend Nick Galifianakis connected him and cartoonist
Stephan Pastis, who communicated via e-mail. Pastis likened this unexpected collaboration to getting "a glimpse of Bigfoot". "I thought maybe Stephan and I could do this goofy collaboration and then use the result to raise some money for Parkinson's research in honor of
Richard Thompson. It seemed like a perfect convergence", Watterson told
The Washington Post. The day that Stephan Pastis returned to his own strip, he paid tribute to Watterson by alluding to the final strip of
Calvin and Hobbes from December 31, 1995. On November 5, 2014, a poster was unveiled, drawn by Watterson for the 2015
Angoulême International Comics Festival where he was awarded the Grand Prix in 2014. On April 1, 2016, for
April Fools' Day,
Berkeley Breathed posted on Facebook that Watterson had signed "the franchise over to my 'administration'". He then posted a comic with Calvin, Hobbes, and Opus all featured. The comic is signed by Watterson, though the degree of his involvement was speculative. Breathed posted another "Calvin County" strip featuring Calvin and Hobbes, also "signed" by Watterson on April 1, 2017, along with a fake
New York Times story ostensibly detailing the "merger" of the two strips. Berkeley Breathed included Hobbes in a November 27, 2017, strip as a stand-in for the character Steve Dallas. Hobbes has also returned in the June 9, 11, and 12, 2021, strips as a stand-in for Bill The Cat.
Exhibitions In 2001, the
Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at
Ohio State University mounted an exhibition of Watterson's
Sunday strips. He chose thirty-six of his favorites, displaying them with both the original drawing and the colored finished product, with most pieces featuring personal annotations. Watterson also wrote an accompanying essay that served as the foreword for the exhibit, called "Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985–1995", which opened on September 10, 2001. It was taken down in January 2002. The accompanying published catalog had the same title. From March 22 to August 3, 2014, Watterson exhibited again at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum at The Ohio State University. In conjunction with this exhibition, Watterson also participated in an interview with the school. An exhibition catalog named
Exploring Calvin and Hobbes was released with the exhibit. The book contained a lengthy interview with Bill Watterson, conducted by Jenny Robb, the curator of the museum.
The Mysteries Watterson released his first published work in 28 years on October 10, 2023, called
The Mysteries. It was an illustrated "fable for grown-ups" about "what lies beyond human understanding". The work was a collaboration with the illustrator and caricaturist John Kascht. ==Awards and honors==