The following emails take place in an alternate universe where the below picture does not yet exist:

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 12:09 AM
subject		Business Idea

Yo,

Got another idea for you. I know we haven’t really acted on any of these in the past, but I’m 100% serious about this one.  Remember Calvin, of Calvin & Hobbes, the comic?  We should get a bunch of stickers printed up of him pretending to pee on the Chevy logo, and then sell them to people who drive Fords.  Explain to me how that wouldn’t be a great idea?

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 12:48 AM
subject		re: Business Idea

Yeah, I guess you’re right, it would be foolish to alienate half our potential buyers right off the bat.  Forget I brought it up.

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 12:51 AM
subject		re: Business Idea

Forget I said forget I brought it up!  I’ve got a better idea: for the Chevy people, we print up stickers of Calvin peeing on the Ford logo!  So if you hate Ford, you’d buy that one, if you hate Chevy, you buy the Chevy peeing one!  You wouldn’t even have to drive a Ford or  Chevy, though that’d probably still be the main demographic.

Problem solving!

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 1:12 PM
subject		RE: re: Business Idea

That could be a valid concern.  No, Calvin isn’t really known for Peeing on things.  I flipped through my brothers Complete Collection (that is a heavy fucking book!) and he doesn’t really ever “pee” on anything per say.  He does a lot of sledding, sits in a cardboard box…He’s always got the tiger of course…He goes out on his wagon, dresses up like a spaceman, plays a game called Calvinball, pretends he’s a private eye.  Never really pees on stuff.  At all.  I don’t really think it’s a problem though, it seems like something he might do, you know? (despite the collected decade worth of evidence to the contrary.)

-b

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Fri, Apr 23, 2010 at 7:47 PM
subject		RE: RE: re: Business Idea

No, I still think it’s best if it is Calvin peeing on the car company logos.  I don’t see your average Ford driver just slapping a sticker of some random kid peeing on the Chevy logo on the back of his truck.  (Nor vice versa for Chevy drivers.)  I’m gonna work on a prototype, I’ll get it to you by the end of the weekend.

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 4:43 PM
subject		re: RE: RE: re: Business Idea

Here’s the first draft I came up with.  Whadaya think?

(obviously we’ll put the Ford/Chevy logos in after the fact, just wanted to get the main part started.  Also, are you starting to get ads at the top of your gmail for sticker printing?  We should look into some of those.)

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 5:10 PM
subject		re: RE: RE: re: Business Idea

Screw you.  It certainly does look like Calvin.  You draw a better one.

b

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 6:03 PM
subject		re: re: RE: RE: re: Business Idea

What the hell do you mean “Who pees like that?”  It’s a cartoon!  The arching pee will draw your eye to the Ford (or Chevy) logo, and the six “pee drops” give you a sense of motion!  It’s basic art technique, man.

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 7:18 PM
subject		re: re: re: RE: RE: re: Business Idea

Yeah, well it’s close enough!!  Show that to 10 Ford drivers and say “Who is this kid peeing on the Chevy logo” and I guarantee you,  8 of them will say Calvin.  And besides, it doesn’t matter what mine looks like, we’re gonna get the guy who used to draw him to do it, this was just the basic outline for it.

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 7:18 PM
subject		re: re: re: RE: RE: re: Business Idea

Well when in gods name were you gonna tell me he’s a notorious recluse who’s never licensed his characters for anything before?!  I’d say it’s a pretty big stumbling block!

Whatever, I’m gonna write to the Watterson guy and see what he says.  I’m gonna offer to cut him in for a 15% share.

B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Sun, Apr 25, 2010 at 7:58 PM
subject		RE: re: re: re: RE: RE: re: Business Idea

Fine, 25%  but that’s coming out of your half!  I’m cc’ing you on the email

B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Mon, May 3, 2010 at 9:10 AM
subject		Fwd: Cease & Desist

Well, I still say we go ahead with it, we just won’t tell him.  Also, this legal junk gives me a good idea: instead of the Ford (or Chevy) logo, we just put the word “lawyers”, so it’s like he’s peeing on lawyers.  That way, you can still put up the sticker, even if you don’t drive a Ford (or Chevy) or hate Ford (or Chevy) because everyone hates lawyers like this prick.

-B

from	Ben Wurtz <benjaminwurtz@gmail.com>
to		Chris Charles <christopher.a.charles@gmail.com>,
date		Mon, May 3, 2010 at 10:33 AM
subject		re: Fwd: Cease & Desist

Yes! The Yankees logo!  I still think we should keep it mainly focused on the Ford/Chevy peeing-on, but it is a good idea to expand into peeing on other logos or words, just because there are so many things that people would like to express that they would approve of Calvin peeing on.

I’m going to place our initial order, 40 Ford, 40 Chevy, 10 Lawyer and 10 Yankees (we get free shipping if we order 100.)

Are you still down to try to sell these in the parking lot of the Armory next Saturday after the car show?  I think that’d probably be the best spot, that’s where I bought my Truck Nutz last year.  Let me know.

I have the feeling these are gonna be huge.

-B