CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — Bill Watterson, the beloved cartoonist and creator of the Calvin and Hobbes series, is coming out of his 28-year retirement to finish Kentaro Miura’s dark fantasy manga, Berserk.
Watterson happily explained the decision in a recent, rare meeting with the press.
“Not many people know this, but I’m a huge weeb. I’ve read Miura’s work cover to cover at least 15 times now,” Watterson said, sitting in the suburban home where he has lived quietly for decades. “When I got the chance to finish out this story and make a new name for myself as a mangaka, I just had to grab that 408-pound opportunity by the handle and take a swing!”
While fans of both Calvin and Hobbes and Berserk were excited to hear about Watterson’s return and the potential completion of the series, respectively, the announcement seems to have confused just about everyone.
“I grew up on this stuff, so I’m pretty excited,” said local comics fan Thomas Gneisz. “What? Oh, Calvin and Hobbes, not Berserk. Yeesh, man. I don’t know exactly how the cartoony art style is going to lend itself to the story, but I saw the previews and Calvin looks pretty good in the Berserker armor.”
Watterson has not explicitly stated what direction he’ll be taking to reach Berserk’s end point, but he assured fans of both series that Miura’s work is in good hands.
“I know this might seem out-of-the-blue for fans of either series, but I think that they actually have a lot in common,” Watterson insisted. “A strong-willed lad making his way through a confusing world while sometimes speaking with a ferocious beast living in his head? The parallels are pretty plain to me. I can’t wait to show you all what I’ve been up to.”
Watterson hasn’t set a release date for any new materials, but inside sources speculate that the Egg of the Perfect World may be retconned into a thrilling conclusion of the noodle incident arc.
