"Q: What led you to resist merchandising Calvin and Hobbes?<p>A: For starters, I clearly miscalculated how popular it would be to show Calvin urinating on a Ford logo. . . . Actually, I wasn't against all merchandising when I started the strip, but each product I considered seemed to violate the spirit of the strip, contradict its message, and take me away from the work I loved. If my syndicate had let it go at that, the decision would have taken maybe 30 seconds of my life."<p>From another interview posted elsewhere in the comments. <a href="http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/calvinandhobbes/interview.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.andrewsmcmeel.com/calvinandhobbes/interview.html</a>