I think a large part of the respect for Watterson comes from the fact that he never "sold out". He made his comic and when he felt it was done, he stopped. He didn't do a Saturday morning cartoon, and lunchboxes, and t-shirts, etc. What merchandising there is for C&H is, afaik, unlicensed.
Watterson is an artist, and he did it for the art, not just to make money. It lends a lot more credibility in some people's eyes.
It also shows that the strident anti-commercialism stance he takes in many of the comics isn’t just talk. He actually believes and lives it.
Yup, I still feel bad that the one thing I asked my parents for when they visited the US when I was a kid was for a Calvin and Hobbes t-shirt. I knew nothing about Bill Waterson's stance on licensing at the time and my poor parents spent hours in NYC looking for a t-shirt till they finally found a bootlegged t-shirt.
I can't wait to share my entire set with my kids but I'm waiting for them to mature a bit more before getting them into it since a lot of the humor is lost in very young kids.
Watterson is an artist, and he did it for the art, not just to make money. It lends a lot more credibility in some people's eyes.
It also shows that the strident anti-commercialism stance he takes in many of the comics isn’t just talk. He actually believes and lives it.