“Being a kid in the ’80s I was raised on a steady diet of Disney, Star Wars, and comic books, so being able to work on so many amazing films and projects has really been a dream come true,” Brian told The Verge. Kesinger admitted admiring Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin & Hobbes deeply. “I was always amazed at how he could draw anything from cute stuffed tigers to ferocious dinosaurs piloting fighter jets. His inking style seemed so casual and loose and yet the drawings were so solid.”

“I’m not the first to mash-up Calvin & Hobbes with pop culture,” the artist who has worked on Wreck-It Ralph, Tangled, and Tarzan said. “[but] I think the difference here is that I went a little deeper with the idea. Once I really made the comparison that Kylo Ren was probably a difficult child much like Calvin, it really resonated with people. The metaphor was solidified when I made Darth Vader Kylo’s imaginary friend.”