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This is a technical question - and you may not be able to answer it. I have been trying to find out the actual size of a 'Calvin
and Hobbes' strip... In other words, in what size they were created by Bill Watterson.
This is a great question! None of my usual sources have this information,
and it's virtually impossible to find Watterson originals for sale. However,
in Lee Nordling's book "Your Career in the Comics," I found this quotation
from FoxTrot creator Bill Amend: "The size I use now actually is the same
as Calvin and Hobbes.... I buy [bristol board] in eleven-by-fourteen pads,
then cut them in half.... My strips are three and three-quarter inches
high and twelve inches wide." No mention is made of the size of his Sunday
originals, though Watterson's contract stipulated that Calvin and Hobbes
be printed no smaller that a half-tabloid, or 9" by 13", so his originals
had to be at least that size, and proportional.
Thank you for answering my question regarding the actual size of Watterson's strip. The weirdest thing happened: You
mentioned you found the information in Lee Nordling's book - and only yesterday I received that very same book from
Amazon. So I had it right beside me when I read your e-mail. I am currently trying to put a strip of my own together and
for the past 20 yrs I have been a struggling writer-director filmmaker, so this is all very new to me. I am working in a 4.5
by 13.5 format - and your information has made me feel a lot more comfortable. I thought I was working too tight. Having
worked in film I am just not accustomed to people being polite and helpful. Thanks again.
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© 2003 Robert A. Buethe
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