Seventeen years after the last comic-strip was created by elusive artist Bill Waterson, an original Calvin & Hobbes drawing for the 1989-1990 calendar fetched $107,550 at an auction this weekend. The price more than doubled Heritage Auctions’ presale estimate of $50,000. The name of the buyer was not disclosed.
The familiar drawing features Calvin and his beloved toy tiger pal Hobbes sleeping under a tree. The art was a gift from artist Bill Watterson to comics historian Rick Marschall, who has owned the piece for the last 20 years.
This is the only piece of original art from the comic series that ran from 1985-1995 ever offered for public sale. Watterson never licensed Calvin & Hobbes for t-shirts or toys.
The same auction also brought in $104,562 for Amazing Spider-Man Annual No. 3 by John Romita, $50,787.50 for Batman: Dark Knight Returns No. 1, $44,812.50 for a Steve Ditka page for Amazing Spider-Man No. 22 and $26,290 for a two-page spread from Watchmen No. 4.
Rick Marschall sold a GIFT from Bill Waterson???? That’s insulting… I would have kept that until the day I decided to pass it on to my kids, grandchildren, or others I felt would enjoy it, but to sell it like that seems a bit insensitive to something that was given as a gift, especially a Calvin and Hobbes drawing directly from Bill Waterson himself
Also wanted to add, there’s a reason why Bill never licensed Calvin and Hobbes for T-shirts or toys, so things like that wouldn’t happen where all of it becomes an out of control franchise that overprices things that should be cherished genuinely. Putting a price tag on something priceless devalues the innocence that Calvin and Hobbes collection portrays, it’s sad to hear the gift piece was sold off like that.