Monday, December 16, 2013

Horror Camp's Xmas Countdown

-Contributed by Luke Merrill

Alright I've dilly-dallied long enough. I should've started off the countdown with the obvious inspiration for all modern contemporary grotesque snowmen with the master himself, Bill Watterson. Watterson infiltrated a generation of impressionable little children day after day with his 4 panel tribute to childhood creativity and deviance, Calvin and Hobbes. Never had I been so determined to read the newspaper as a child only to read that one corner of the comics section where Calvin and Hobbes resided.



For myself winter was the most exciting time to read the comic. Every season would feature an insane sledding expedition, epic snowball fights, and of course grotesque snowmen. Watterson personally shattered my preconceptions of what snowmen should be like, and without him I would never have been prone to venture out to make snowmen today. How it came to be that decapitated, mutilated and freakish snow creatures could be featured in a mainstream periodical in the early 90's boggles my mind, but it worked and the world is better off for it.

Watterson so impacted the medium of art and comics that many artists still tribute Watterson with creative homages to their favorite Calvin and Hobbes scenes. I've included a few below.

Bill Amend's Foxtrot 

Marvel's Wolverine gets a slice of the action (that tagline is used way too often)

DC/Vertigo's Death from the Sandman series


No comments:

Post a Comment