Marvin

Before Calvin, there was Marvin. Calvin who? Marvin who? 

Before my favourite Calvin and Hobbes became the iconic comic strip we all know, Bill Watterson worked on a prototype featuring a character named Marvin who also had a stuffed tiger named Hobbes. This early prototype laid the groundwork for what would eventually become Calvin and Hobbes. For want of a better name, I shall call this strip Marvin and Hobbes.

Waterson had created Marvin and Hobbes as part of his initial attempts to break into the comic strip industry. Marvin, like Calvin, was a mischievous young boy with a vivid imagination. His companion, Hobbes, was a stuffed tiger who came to life through Marvin's imagination.

Watterson refined Marvin into the more dynamic and expressive Calvin and eventually gave him the iconic spiky hair and more distinct personality traits. On the other hand, Hobbes remained relatively unchanged and continued as the philosophical and playful tiger we know today.

Marvin and Hobbes was submitted to various syndicates but faced rejection. Nevertheless, the concept showed enough promise that encouraged Watterson to continue developing and refining it. Through this process, he transitioned from Marvin to Calvin, and ultimately created the famous duo.

While Marvin and Hobbes died out, it was an important part of Watterson’s artistic journey. Some sketches and drafts from the Marvin and Hobbes era have been shared by Watterson in interviews and retrospectives, providing fans like me with a glimpse into the early stages of his creative process.