even more than movies and rock-and-roll, comic strips were the primary art form of the 20th century, making charles schulz the most influential artist in history (on the public, not on art). watterson was the greatest of the greats. i wonder if he published any later work under a traveling-wilburys-style pseudonym to avoid it being overshadowed by calvin & hobbes, the way outland was engulfed by breathed's history, or the way nobody knows what songs the rolling stones wrote last year
He did some guest strips on Pearls Before Swine a few years back, but I think he’s been largely enjoying just making the art he wants to make which isn’t comic strips.
I’ve often said that Charles Schulz was the Beatles of comic strips. The cartoonists who came after fell into categories: those who said they were influenced by him and those who lied about it. But given your evaluation, perhaps it’s more relevant to say that the Beatles were the Charles Schulz of rock music.
