If, like me, you were raised on Bill Watterson's iconic Calvin and Hobbes comic strip, you likely found a set of images bouncing around the Internet lately to be beautiful and strangely poignant.

Created by artist Michael Den Beste, they superimposed Calvin and his stuffed tiger into gorgeous, real-life settings. Den Beste first posted a collection of the mashups to Imgur three months ago. They've since been viewed well over 1.5 million times via the original post and reposts on Reddit and elsewhere. Over the past couple weeks, Den Beste's work began getting widespread coverage online and rave reviews from outlets including National Public Radio's "Fresh Air."

This cached banner image from Den Beste's "Real Calvin and Hobbes" Tumblr site gives an idea of what the pieces looked like, but doesn't really do them much justice:

The party ended Monday afternoon, however, when Andrews McMeel, Calvin and Hobbes' publisher, hit Den Best with a notice of copyright violation and he was forced to remove the images from the web. (We can't post the condemned images here, but a tiny bit of Googling should turn up lots of results.)

In a Tumblr post titled "Sad News," Den Beste pasted what he says is the Andrews McMeel letter.

"We’re protective of the copyright for a variety of reasons, most importantly it is the express and unwavering wish of the creator that any use of Calvin and Hobbes was limited to work he’d created and in very specific formats," the letter reads.

"Because that is the case, we would politely request that you take down the works you’ve created that contain any Calvin and Hobbes images," it continues. "You look to be an outstanding artist and we wish you the best in your future endeavors."

Den Beste told Mashable in an email that a donation option on his Tumblr had so far raised a total of $85. He also says he only made the donation option after numerous requests from fans "asking me if there was some way to send me a little money for my creations."

He says his reaction to the notice was a mix of surprise and sadness.

"I felt (apparently wrongly) that because the Calvin and Hobbes imagery was so far removed from the original work by Bill Watterson, that I wouldn't be facing copyright issues," he writes.

As for what's next? Den Beste was at work on a second set of mashups but now says he'll "proceed with extreme caution." He hopes to find some way to continue with the project, perhaps by finding an illustrator to collaborate with or somehow working out a licensing agreement.

"It kills me that Bill Watterson and his publishers keep Calvin and Hobbes so restricted," Den Beste writes, "when the fan base is so enormous, and is so ready to receive new and enjoyable material, like the pieces I created."

We've contacted Andrews McMeel for further comment but have so far not heard back.

Who do you side with here — Den Beste or the publisher? Let us know in the comments.

Cache images courtesy of Tumblr, Real Calvin and Hobbes