Nearly 30 years after Bill Watterson’s final Calvin and Hobbes comic strip ran in thousands of newspapers, the elusive cartoonist is returning with a new book called The Mysteries, set to be published on October 10th via Andrews McMeel Publishing.
Created by Watterson in close collaboration with caricaturist John Kascht, the graphic novel was several years in the making and is described as a “fable for grown-ups.” The synopsis reads as follows: “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.”
According to The Guardian, the publisher has also called it “a compelling, provocative story that invites readers to examine their place in the universe and their responsibility to others and the planet we all share,” adding that it “dares to intimate the big questions about our place in the universe.” It sure a lot like the comic book that made Watterson famous.
Pre-orders for The Mysteries are ongoing. See the eerie cover below.
Head curator of comics at Ohio State University’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Library and Museum Jenny Robb told The Guardian that Watterson has been staying busy “creatively, painting and doing other types of art, since he ended the strip.” Robb, who is one of the few people who has interviewed Watterson, added that he “doesn’t like to be in the spotlight. He wants to let his artwork speak for itself… He would prefer that people read and experience the comic strip rather than engaging with it filtered through him talking about it.”
The Mysteries Cover:
