‘Calvin and Hobbes’ Creator Drops New Adult Fable ‘The Mysteries’

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Bill Watterson, creator of the beloved comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes,” has released a new adult fable titled “The Mysteries.” The book, which features illustrations from both Watterson and caricature artist John Kascht, is the cartoonist’s first publication in years after his retirement in 1995.

It’s currently available to purchase on Amazon, where it’s a No. 1 bestseller. The book description reads: “A long-ago kingdom is afflicted with unexplainable calamities.

Hoping to end the torment, the king dispatches his knights to discover the source of the mysterious events. Years later, a single battered knight returns.” Nevin Martell, the author of “Looking for Calvin and Hobbes,” a story of the strip and Watterson that’s also part memoir, spoke to “The Guardian” about Watterson’s new book, calling it “exciting and monumental.” “It’s so wildly different from what [Watterson] did on ‘Calvin and Hobbes’ … and I think that’s a very conscious decision on [his] part,” Martell said. “He would not ever want to be pigeonholed as just the Calvin and Hobbes guy.” “The Mysteries” does appear to be a tonal departure from the more whimsical nature of the “Calvin and Hobbes” comic strips, taking a darker approach to the artwork’s elements.