Calvin & Hobbes creator Bill Watterson was awarded the grand prix de la ville d’Angoulême at this year’s Angoulême International Comics Festival in France. The festival is one of the largest in the world. The prize honors an individual who has influenced the evolution of comics.
The win also would make Bill president of next year’s festival. According to several reports, Bill didn’t attend this year’s festival and his normal out-of-spotlight lifestyle makes me doubt he’ll show up next year. But if I’m reading things correctly, the winner typically draws the festival poster for the following year – which would be cool to see.
Bill was among 25 cartoonists nominated for the prize, In the end, the finalists were Bill, Alan Moore and Katsuhiro Otomo.