Bill Watterson, the creator of popular comic strip Calvin and Hobbes , is known as a bit of a recluse. Basically, he hasn't drawn a comic since he quit in 1995.

Though Watterson declined the meeting, Pastis wrote in his blog that he was encouraged by a friend authoring a book with the artist to send him an email. After this comic ran, Patsis felt emboldened and reached out.

So it was with little hope (and a lot of trepidation) that Pearls Before Swine creator Stephan Pastis set out to meet Watterson last April.

I will do whatever you want, including setting my hair on fire."

Pastis was shocked when the man he called "the Bigfoot of cartooning" actually emailed him back. And more than that, he had an idea for a comic.

It turned out that Watterson had an idea for guest drawing the strip himself. Pastis writes:

One of the only known photos of Bill Watterson (left) and Stephan Pastis.

The 46-year-old cartoonist proposed an idea in return: He would pretend Pearls was being drawn by a "precocious second grader who thought my art was crap." He said he named her Libby, shortened to Lib, which is almost "Bill" backwards.

As the two fleshed out their ideas over email, Pastis discovered that Watterson was not a fan of technology, and the two had to work through difficulties as they sent panels back and forth using a scanner and Photoshop.

He also said he had and an incessant fear that "Bill would disappear back into the ether" and the "whole thing would seem like a wisp of my imagination."

But the comic strips ultimately made it to print last week.