juikster
10-25-2005, 11:23 PM
We miss Calvin and pal Hobbes
Comic strips in new collection are as wonderful as ever
Talk About Town
The release earlier this month of Bill Watterson’s “The Complete Calvin and Hobbes” — a 1,456-page book showcasing every strip ever published about the little boy and his stuffed tiger — had Talk feeling a little nostalgic.
We immediately dug out a couple of our old collections of “Calvin and Hobbes” and began reading them all over again.
The strips never get old. And you find yourself smiling and nodding your head in approval every single time over Calvin’s antics and Hobbes’ reactions.
They’re like reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show” in many ways. No matter how many times you’ve seen them, the humor — as well as the message — remains fresh and original.
Now, we haven’t gone out and bought “The Complete Calvin and Hobbes” just yet. The three-volume collection costs a whopping 150 bucks. (Hey, maybe somebody will make it one of our Christmas presents. Hint, hint.) But we have no doubt it’s worth every penny.
Watterson’s strip ran from 1985 to 1995. By the time its creator pulled the plug, it was featured in more than 2,400 newspapers. By any standard, it was considered one of the best strips ever.
For avid readers like Talk, it was the best. Better than “Shoe.” Better than “Dilbert.” Better than “Blondie.” Better than “Kudzu.” Better than “Doonesbury.” And, yes, better than “Peanuts.”
Who couldn’t love Calvin, the impish bigmouth who wanted to be treated as if he were much older than 6? And who couldn’t relate to Hobbes, his far-more-reasonable stuffed best friend who came to life when nobody else was around?
Sure, both of them could be silly and out of control, as when they fought over the made-up rules of Calvinball in the back yard or goaded each other in the back seat of the car. But they also could be philosophical, as when they debated the true meaning of happiness or ventured what heaven must be like.
You always knew there was something more profound about the strip than a little fellow and his fuzzy buddy. After all, Calvin was named for John Calvin, a prominent theologian during the Protestant Reformation, and Hobbes was named for Thomas Hobbes, a noted English political philosopher.
That was Watterson’s genius. He could poke fun at the big issues and the little issues, deftly going back and forth between them on a daily basis.
It’s still hard to believe that he quit drawing the strip after only 10 years. (By comparison, “Blondie” is 75 and “Peanuts,” 55.) But Watterson didn’t want to run out of ideas and start repeating himself. Even more amazingly, he turned down all marketing and merchandising proposals for his popular characters. Let’s face it, nobody — well, almost nobody — leaves money like that on the table.
He went out on top and left everyone wanting more. The Ohio native, now 47, retired to a reclusive lifestyle in which he could enjoy a new world of painting.
More power to him. The loss was ours.
These days we still look for the small pleasures of the comics page. “Zits” occupies a new spot in our morning reading habits. In a way, the lead character, Jeremy, is like a teenage version of Calvin as he discovers new ways to confound his parents, who are as lovingly exasperated as Calvin’s never-named folks.
We also enjoy “Overboard,” the strip about that zany band of inept pirates. In a different way, Louie, the dog in the strip, reminds us a little of Hobbes. He’s way smarter than all of the humans around him.
Calvin and Hobbes may be gone, but they’re definitely not forgotten. Talk’s sons, who are both teenagers, discovered our “Calvin and Hobbes” books a few years ago, and they love the dynamic duo as much as we did.
So we’ll definitely have to get this new collection. No doubt it’ll make our world more complete.
Comic strips in new collection are as wonderful as ever
Talk About Town
The release earlier this month of Bill Watterson’s “The Complete Calvin and Hobbes” — a 1,456-page book showcasing every strip ever published about the little boy and his stuffed tiger — had Talk feeling a little nostalgic.
We immediately dug out a couple of our old collections of “Calvin and Hobbes” and began reading them all over again.
The strips never get old. And you find yourself smiling and nodding your head in approval every single time over Calvin’s antics and Hobbes’ reactions.
They’re like reruns of “The Andy Griffith Show” in many ways. No matter how many times you’ve seen them, the humor — as well as the message — remains fresh and original.
Now, we haven’t gone out and bought “The Complete Calvin and Hobbes” just yet. The three-volume collection costs a whopping 150 bucks. (Hey, maybe somebody will make it one of our Christmas presents. Hint, hint.) But we have no doubt it’s worth every penny.
Watterson’s strip ran from 1985 to 1995. By the time its creator pulled the plug, it was featured in more than 2,400 newspapers. By any standard, it was considered one of the best strips ever.
For avid readers like Talk, it was the best. Better than “Shoe.” Better than “Dilbert.” Better than “Blondie.” Better than “Kudzu.” Better than “Doonesbury.” And, yes, better than “Peanuts.”
Who couldn’t love Calvin, the impish bigmouth who wanted to be treated as if he were much older than 6? And who couldn’t relate to Hobbes, his far-more-reasonable stuffed best friend who came to life when nobody else was around?
Sure, both of them could be silly and out of control, as when they fought over the made-up rules of Calvinball in the back yard or goaded each other in the back seat of the car. But they also could be philosophical, as when they debated the true meaning of happiness or ventured what heaven must be like.
You always knew there was something more profound about the strip than a little fellow and his fuzzy buddy. After all, Calvin was named for John Calvin, a prominent theologian during the Protestant Reformation, and Hobbes was named for Thomas Hobbes, a noted English political philosopher.
That was Watterson’s genius. He could poke fun at the big issues and the little issues, deftly going back and forth between them on a daily basis.
It’s still hard to believe that he quit drawing the strip after only 10 years. (By comparison, “Blondie” is 75 and “Peanuts,” 55.) But Watterson didn’t want to run out of ideas and start repeating himself. Even more amazingly, he turned down all marketing and merchandising proposals for his popular characters. Let’s face it, nobody — well, almost nobody — leaves money like that on the table.
He went out on top and left everyone wanting more. The Ohio native, now 47, retired to a reclusive lifestyle in which he could enjoy a new world of painting.
More power to him. The loss was ours.
These days we still look for the small pleasures of the comics page. “Zits” occupies a new spot in our morning reading habits. In a way, the lead character, Jeremy, is like a teenage version of Calvin as he discovers new ways to confound his parents, who are as lovingly exasperated as Calvin’s never-named folks.
We also enjoy “Overboard,” the strip about that zany band of inept pirates. In a different way, Louie, the dog in the strip, reminds us a little of Hobbes. He’s way smarter than all of the humans around him.
Calvin and Hobbes may be gone, but they’re definitely not forgotten. Talk’s sons, who are both teenagers, discovered our “Calvin and Hobbes” books a few years ago, and they love the dynamic duo as much as we did.
So we’ll definitely have to get this new collection. No doubt it’ll make our world more complete.