I don't get into it in the article (aside from one throwaway line), but it's interesting to compare Calvin and Hobbes with its contemporary Garfield, which, already not in the same class artistically, totally went the merchandising-sell-out route. Even the idea of a Garfield CGI movie puts me off my lunch.
Of the time (1980s-1990s), I think only Gary Larson's The Far Side comes close to Calvin and Hobbes, and Larson also had the good sense to quit while he was ahead.