WEEKLY WHINE

We're not here

What is a sabbatical? Is it an opportunity to clear the head? Is it a trip to lose focus on whatever has earned most of the focus? Is it a time to escape from responsibilities and go back to what is really important? Is it a short-term solution to overwork?

Or is it something else? Is it a cheap way to hide from everyone and not have to do anything? Is it a method of blowing lots of money without actually doing anything? Is it something that winds up giving a whole lot of people the shaft? Is it a time to disappear and leave people waiting until more shows up?

If you're taking the sabbatical, you're more likely to agree with the first set. If you're not, you're more likely to agree with the second set. Sabbaticals have long been a controversial situation. When people don't show up, something doesn't get done. Usually, the replacement tends to be far reduced in quality, if there is a replacement.

But they're undoubtedly useful. The time of meditation can provide profound insight into whatever it is has to be there, and it means that perhaps the subsequent result will be better than ever. It could be used to research the subject and other related items to acquire the most knowledge possible, ensuring that all resultant stuff will be of maximum use.

As an example, let's take world-renowned cartoonist Bill Watterson. You may recall him as the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, the one with the kid and the tiger and all the other stuff that they had that usually wasn't there at all. He took a sabbatical of about three months or so in the middle of his work. That will give us a base from which to compare his early work with his late work.

Early on, obviously, the artwork was simply not the same. As time progressed, the drawings evolved and modified until the characters of today became evident. The stuff became more vivid and more realistic during his career, and even his handwriting changed a little bit. Early situations were somewhat limited and tentative, so by the time he had a look at the surroundings, dimensions opened up and he introduced more complexities to Calvin's world, such as the transmogrifier and Rosalyn, the baby sitter. At this time, when he had a bit of experience, he began to create extended stories that took upwards of three weeks' worth of strips to complete. Later, the frequency of these stories began to dwindle in favor of those quick snips of unrelated stuff, like another one with Hobbes "greeting" Calvin at the door after school.

Of course, most of this can be attributed to time proceeding past all the things that have taken place. When we compare the art just before and just after his sabbatical, we see a negligible difference. So, we can't really say for sure that it was good or bad for his career, but it was three months of reruns, and it may have contributed to his early retirement a few years ago. Or maybe he just took the advice from Calvin in the last installment of Calvin and Hobbes: "Let's go exploring!"