I don't know if you were intentionally recalling Bill Watterson's comments on this, but as published in The Complete Calvin and Hobbes: The voluntary ending of successful comic strips is something new. More typically, a strip ceases production only when it's such an anachronistic, formulaic, and irrelevant shadow of itself that readers abandon it. Aiming for the widest possible audience, comics have traditionally relied on broad characters, stock situations, and fairly predictable gags and stories. Once established, these strips can run on autopilot for decades, often with nameless assistants doing much of the work. But the most interesting strips have always been those with a genuine sensibilityâ"a quirky, individual take on lifeâ"and this is something that cannot be duplicated or endlessly recycled.

Please read this blog post: http://blog.wolfire.com/2008/12/why-you-should-support-mac-os-x-and-linux/