Calvin and Hobbes

Phill Jupitus celebrates Calvin and Hobbes, the comic strip about a little boy and his stuffed tiger - named after eminent philosphers John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes.

Over the course of ten years, the strip became an international phenomenon, being syndicated in 2,500 newspapers worldwide.

It tells the tale of a young boy whose stuffed tiger is as real to him as the people around him. It tackles philosophical issues about free will and the meaning of life, via the perspective of a child with an extraordinary imagination.

Its creator, the reclusive Bill Watterson, could have become a multi-millionaire through merchandising deals and film offers, but turned them all down without hesitation.

Phill sets out to discover more about the characters and the man behind them.

In Watterson's absence, Jupitus heads to Oxford to speak with artists, merchandisers, booksellers and philosophers to find out what makes the strip so popular, years after Watterson drew the final frame.

Producer: Geoffrey Bird

First broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in September 2009.