Kevin Peterson.

thephlipside:

“The only piece of original Calvin and Hobbes artwork to be publicly auctioned will be sold on Feb. 23, with a presale low estimate of $50,000. The art was a gift from artist Bill Watterson to comics historian Rick Marschall—whose name is inscribed on it—and has been in his private collection for the last twenty years.

Watterson’s original Calvin and Hobbes art is among the very rarest collectibles of a living comics artist. The notoriously reclusive Watterson—he’s only given one published interview since 1989—deposited his entire archive at The Ohio State University’s Museum of Cartoon Art.  Reportedly a few individual strips have changed hands on the private market. Heritage Auctions sold a Watterson Calvin and Hobbes sketch a few years ago, but nothing comparable to this piece has ever been offered for public sale.

Watterson also never licensed his creations, so there are no Calvin and Hobbes t-shirts or stuffed toys. He never sold any of his artwork, and rarely gave it away. Only a very small handful of originals have ever come onto the market, none from published artwork, and none in such pristine condition.”