The original Calvin & Hobbes auctioned off by Brian Bassett’s ex-wife has been sold for a handsome $65,725 (link requires login). Late last year, the Red and Rover and Adam@Home sold an original hand-colored watercolor Sunday strip of Bill Wattereson’s famous comic strip for $203,150.
For perspective on this auction, back in 2008, a daily Peanuts went up for auction and sold for $52,110. Some of Sparky’s Sunday strips have gone for as much as $113,525.
24 Dailies per month X 12 months X 10(ish) years = $187M+ ! (Not even considering how much the color Sunday?s are worth.)
Great as Bill Watterson is, these originals bring such high prices because so few have come up for sale. I think that if 100 daily strips came on the market the price would level at something like $5,000. still astronomical.
I’m sure “best wishes” would no longer be the case when Watterson finds out. I don’t know him personally but having read about his love for the art form and clashes with his syndicate over merchandising, I would imagine Watterson would be irate that a piece of his artistic soul given as a gift would end up being a cash cow for someone who would not share his passion for the craft.