I was mostly serious, albeit for other reasons. It may have been possible to continue with Calvin and Hobbes for a couple of years, but Mr. Watterson was right: too many strips outlive their insperation, so bow out when you know that you are at a peak rather than when you think you are at a peak.

The other issue is how to market a strip that is produced on an irregular schedule. He didn't have the tools back then. Even the Internet has some deficiencies. (How do you keep people visiting your website when they don't know something new is going to be there?)

Some people have found ways. I like the route Ph.D. Comics took: comics on discussions that the author had while on tour and comics about contemporary science. Yet part of the joy of Calvin and Hobbes is the disconnect with reality, his attachment to the imagination. A lot of comics also grow up with the artist. Ph.D. is a clear example, but even xkcd shows that evolution. Yet part of the pleasure of Calvin and Hobbes, at least to an adult, is that Calvin never grew up. I'm not so certain that I'm prepared for this Calvin: http://gerrycanavan.blogspot.ca/2009/03/grown-up-calvin-and-hobbes.html