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William Boyd "Bill" Watterson II (born July 5, 1958) is an American cartoonist and the author of the comic strip ''Calvin and Hobbes'', which was syndicated from 1985 to 1995. Watterson stopped drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes'' at the end of 1995 with a short statement to newspaper editors and his readers that he felt he had achieved all he could in the medium. Watterson is known for his negative views on licensing and comic syndication and his move back into private life after he was done drawing ''Calvin and Hobbes''. Watterson was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, whose suburban Midwestern United States setting was part of the inspiration for ''Calvin and Hobbes''. ==Early life== Bill Watterson was born in Washington, D.C., United States, where his father, James G. Watterson (born 1932), worked as a patent attorney. The family relocated to Chagrin Falls, Ohio, in 1965, when Watterson was six years old, because his mother, Kathryn, wanted to be closer to her family and felt the small town was a good place to raise her children, Bill and Thomas. Watterson, who drew his first cartoon at age eight, spent much time in childhood alone, drawing and cartooning. This continued through his school years, during which time he discovered comic strips like ''Pogo'', ''Krazy Kat'', and Charles Schulz' ''Peanuts'' which subsequently inspired and influenced his desire to become a professional cartoonist.〔Watterson, Bill (1995). ''The Calvin & Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book'', p. 17. Andrews McMeel, Kansas City, Missouri. ISBN 0-7407-7794-7.〕 On one occasion, when he was in fourth grade, he wrote a letter to Charles Schulz, who — to Watterson's surprise — responded, making a big impression on him at the time. His parents encouraged him in his artistic pursuits. Later they would recall him as a "conservative child" — imaginative, but "not in a fantasy way", and certainly nothing like the character of Calvin he would later create.〔Gene Williams (August 30, 1987), ("Calvin's Other Alter Ego" ), ''Cleveland Plain Dealer''.〕 Watterson found avenues for his cartooning talents throughout primary and secondary school, creating high school-themed super hero comics with his friends and contributing cartoons and art to the school newspaper and yearbook.〔Nevin Martell (2009), ''Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and His Revolutionary Comic Strip. Continuum.〕 From 1976 to 1980, Watterson attended Kenyon College and he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. Although he had already decided upon a career in cartooning, he felt his studies would help him move into editorial cartooning. While at college he continued to develop his art skills—during his sophomore year he painted Michelangelo's ''Creation of Adam'' on the ceiling of his dorm room.〔Bill Watterson (20 May 1990), ("Some Thoughts on the Real World by One Who Glimpsed It and Fled" ), ''Kenyon College Commencement Speech''〕 He also contributed cartoons to the college newspaper, some of which included the original "Spaceman Spiff" cartoons. Later, when Watterson was creating names for the characters in his comic strip, he decided upon Calvin (after the Protestant reformer John Calvin) and Hobbes (after the social philosopher Thomas Hobbes), allegedly as a "tip of the hat" to the political science department at Kenyon. In ''The Complete Calvin and Hobbes'', Watterson stated that Calvin is named for "a 16th-century theologian who believed in predestination", and Hobbes for "a 17th-century philosopher with a dim view of human nature". 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Bill Watterson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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