Calvin & Hobbes C or D

classic, of course. i like Calvin's dad.

there isn't much calvin and hobbes merchandise, either.

Watterson has always made it clear that Calvin and Hobbes would not be licensed and essentially took his syndicate to the mat to get that to be the case -- it almost went to court. There is no official C/H merchandise.

:' (

Bill Watterson had some interesting things to say about Peanuts in the C & H 10th anniversary book. I'll try to dig it out later.

as well,
i dont like it.

Fave C&H, when they're on the long car journey and Calvin wants to "visit the bathroom", says so and his mother tells him to think of other things. Calvin loudly announces that all he can think of is Niagara Falls and the Hoover Dam, his mother says that now *she* wants to go and the father mutters something abt going on vacation on his own next time!

Peanuts never seemed to be taking place anywhere in particular; Calvin obviously had the biggest backyard in the country.

Of course, that would have totally thrown off the dynamics of the strip.

But so yeah: C&H was more about internal escapism, and Peanuts was about social interaction. The thing is, Peanuts also did a good job with internal escapism (especially with Snoopy); C&H's social dynamics never got nearly as complex as Peanuts'.

"We actually had a dog called Snoopy. A real dog. Fans of the strip are not going to like this, but we got rid of him. He fought with other dogs, so we swapped him for a load of gravel."

Favourite strip? Either the one where Calvin burps outrageously at the dinner table and his whole face contorts astonishingly before he says summat like "Better out than in!" and summat else exquisitely unpolite before his mom says "Three strikes and you're out kiddo"; or else the one that's on my desktop wallpaper;

Calvin & Hobbes listening to the radio; Calvin breaks into lengthy spiel...

Calvin - "The problem with rock n roll is that the generation that created it is now the establishment. Rock pretends it's rebellious with it's video posturing, but who believes it? The stars are 45-year-old zillionaires or they endorse soft drinks! The 'revolution' is a capitalist industry! Give me a break! Fortunately, I've found some protest music for today's youth! This stuff really offends mom and dad!"

Hobbes - "Easy-listening muzak?"

Calvin - "I play it real quiet too."

The only times he seems to want to step outside that reality - the valentine for Suzy scenario - it adds a layer of awkwardness that doesn't really work (tho it's cute, obv), and Watterson says the same.

Totally, unequivocally classic.

http://www.ksu.edu/english/nelp/images/johnson.books/barnaby_and_mr_omalley.sm.jpeg

mark s - Can you find any pix of Calvin's snowmen when he goes all avante garde and surrealist? They're so cool...

When viewed in these terms, the inevitable vistory of C&H is made clear.

No, hang on, what d'you mean explain? It's Calvin & Hobbes! It's about the inner world, imaginary friends and so on (apart from the bits about the aliens). IT'S TWEE, ALLRIGHT?

Also-living in a disatant suburb doesn't necesairly make you interact more w/ ppl in sk00l; I did, too, and my social life wasn't much more active than Calvin's.

CLASSIC CLASSIC CLASSIC of course.

http://www.whirlybird.org.uk/fgs.jpg

(hobbes = in purple)

I think Schulz was a writer of astonishing greatness and Waterson learnt a lot from him, but C&H is funnier and better drawn. The only basis on which I'd nonetheless rate Peanuts above C&H is that there is around five times as much Peanuts. There hasn't been a humour artist as good as Waterson come along in newspaper strips since the form's great heyday in the first half of the 20th Century - Herriman, Segar, Sterrett, maybe a few others (McManus, Capp), though they're the only three I'd confidently rate above Waterson. It's even more extraordinary when you look at the much tighter limitations, the smaller space allowed (there is an excellent C&H about this).

And Hobbes is so adorable. I wish there was a cuddly toy.

As a matter of fact, some independant animator somewhere did do a brief short Calvin & Hobbes film. He sent the film off to Watterson for his approval, and Watterson replied with something along the lines of "I think this is a good film, but I'd rather you not release it or make anymore". So it hasn't been seen by anyone except a chosen few. I think some of the actors who voiced it have the film mentioned on their IMDb entries.

The idea of the possibly brilliant C&H film that no one can see has me ripping my hair out in frustration right now.

I adored Calvin and Hobbes as a kid and at some point determined it was too sentimental, which it is at times. But I think I'm ready to appreciate it again.

"It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy. I'll get a saw."

http://www.berkeleybreathed.com/opus_returns.html

I preferred his daily strips though.

this is one from of the funniest strips. i love those ones where watterson does (what he declares to be) lame marvel rip offs, they are so silly. also into the poantheon of greatness- the one where he starts seeling homemade lemonade for $5 a glass, and as Mark S noted, every single one that involved snowmen or sculpture in snow. esp the modern art ones. kinda obvious but they hurt my sides, sort of....

Your right, though, Outland kinda petered out.

Favorite C&H strips? I love the one drawn up in 50s film noir involving Calvin and Susie, when they're playing house, and Calvin's character, puffing a pipe, longs for a divorce and rejects their "baby" (a plush pg, if I remember). I also like the one where Calvin scuplts his parents an ashtray, and Hobbes points out that Calbvin's parents don't smoke, and Calvin shouts "OK, Michaelangelo, YOU sculpt something!!" But of course, it's all in the drawings. I can't do any of them justice.

Favorite snowman strip is when Calvin gathers a crowd of horrified onlooking snowmen gasping at the sight of a dismembered snowman lying at the foot of his father's parked car. Calvin's dad: "I think we better get that kid to a psychiatrist."

The hundred-and-first viewing will change that, I promise.

Family Circus is the most accurate representation of childhood evah.

i am also going to scratch off the letters so that instead of toyota it says either "YO" or "TOY" it's going to be AWESOME

Let's enter Nerve.com's bad erotica writing contest!

WOW

And for going on 10 years now, the only thing that has continually gotten me close to crying is the last strip. The emptyness of the last panel just opens a hole in my heart like nothing else.

If you say "dud" you have no soul.

And remember, at midnight opposite day is over, right?

"Yes."

Calvin and Hobbes fans, feast your eyes on this!!

Sadly, I have to buy this. This is not going to be optional, even though I also have the individual books. CURSES.

(oh no!)

I also need that book, wow. It's going to sell *a lot* as a Christmas present.

http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/features/thereturn/index.htm

Bloom County appealed to my sense of the bizarre, a weird-take on pop culture at its best and just B.Breathed losing his mind at its worst.

I always liked Peanuts but it wasn’t really for kids, was it? I imagine you have to be middle aged to really GET that strip.

I must disagree, especially since you can say that just as much about Calvin and Hobbes in terms of the convoluted jokes and references. Both strips work astoundingly well for different ages -- the 3 year old Peanuts fan that is now the 34 year old one sez this, so it must be true. ;-)

Oh, and every snowman/snow monster/snow shovelling/snow-related strip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA64g3pi97M

http://www.gocomics.com/lio/2008/01/20/

heh. he's had at least one other c&h related strip.

Calvin & Hobbes are classic.

http://i27.tinypic.com/1zx5tns.jpg

heh. he's had at least one other c&h related strip.

-- GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Sunday, January 20, 2008 3:05 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Link

Yeah, Heart of the City has notable similarities, too.

Perhaps the most baffling comment in this thread came early on...

About as many as had stuffed tigers who they believed to be real.

Imagination goes hand in hand with childhood.

Watterson speaks!

http://www.cleveland.com/living/index.ssf/2010/02/bill_watterson_creator_of_belo.html

that guy has his head screwed on imo

Urgent and key:

"An artwork can stay frozen in time, but I stumble through the years like everyone else. I think the deeper fans understand that, and are willing to give me some room to go on with my life."

http://michaelyingling.com/random/calvin_and_hobbes/

saw a hipstery dude on the tram this morning with the dancing calvin & hobbes tattooed around his arm. part of me found it charming, the other part wanted to kick him in the nuts until he blacked out

At least it wasn't a tatoo of Christian Calvin or Pissing Calvin

^^

"Needless to say, Frank's family was upset he didn't come home that night, but everybody understood that the human population had doubled in just two generations to almost six billion, so some thinning of the herds was necessary to prevent starvation."

"So this is the famed space explorer Spiff! I've waited a long time for this moment earthling scum! You have knowledge we need. Cooperate and we'll kill you rather painlessly.

"Let's dispense with the pleasantries you twisted space crustacean. What is it you want from me?"

"A summary of Lewis and Clark's expedition to the Pacific!"

"Ha! Wild Zontars couldn't drag that information out of me! Do your worst!"

"You didn't read the assignment did you Calvin?"

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/fingerprintfilms/dear-mr-watterson-a-calvin-and-hobbes-documentary

would watch emphatically

http://www.mediumdevice.com/images/calvin_and_hobbes_cubism.jpg

Beyond awesome.

googled the sequence i probably laughed the hardest at back in the day (i was a solitary 6yrold only child w a stuffed animal when i discovered c&h so yknow it was of some minor interest to me) and what do you know it has its own website. good.

oh I love the smock!!

This is one of my favorites

http://multifamilyinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/calvin-hobbes-world-black-white-color.jpg

http://schwicky.net/calvin/images/vaentines_day.jpg

Last panel is a favorite, Hobbes w/his big hot-dog-shaped smile and rubbing his palms. "Smooch city, here I come!" has been a personal mantra for years.

i think of that color/b&w one all the time

i love the hobbes/susie thing. look at your stuffed tiger! he's wearing a TIE! that's ADORABLE!

all right, you were right. girls flip for ties. you can stop winking at me.

Yeah I love how Hobbes moons over Susie

mr. bun seems comatose. did you notice?

how could anyone think dud?

This one's all time - mainly for the last panel. The Mom cracks me up

http://i671.photobucket.com/albums/vv74/jlohnik/Calvin%20and%20Hobbes%20Strips/ch901207.gif

i LOVE that one cuz i love the ref to the voice we can't hear.

and Calvin looks hilar with his hair combed like that

http://cdn1.sbnation.com/imported_assets/1025872/CH870328_JPG.jpg

Calvin tiger is adorable

would cuddle

http://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1990/07/24

i think you'll find THIS chart quite revealing.

Household six year olds were polled on their favorite bedtimes

hahaha omg, i talk about the color/B&W all the time but I had completely forgotten "Not necessarily. A lot of great artists were insane."

really disappointed that I didn't think to use 'attack of the stupid fruity crazy swag goons' when that was the rolling goon title

Dear Mr. Watterson documentary hitting festivals next month.

a sweet tribute:

http://zenpencils.com/comic/128-bill-watterson-a-cartoonists-advice/

oh wow I love that!

Yeah, that's pretty amazing.

i love how he even captures the way watterson draws trees.

the series of strips with the sick bird that ended with this was just..

http://i29.tinypic.com/2vcj7uu.jpg

wasn't it a raccoon?

there's one Sunday strip where he finds a dead bird. but that's different.

oh yeah!

thanks for finding that jd. when i was a kid i pored over the 10th anniversary collection and any other scraps of actual watterson-prose i could find and it was clear to me how strongly he felt about merchandising/marketing/consumerism and how angry he got just writing about it but i didn't understand why at all so as i've gotten older, and learned why, and realized what a kind of radical ascetic he was (is), he's kind of unlocked as a personal hero. plus the strip, obv.

the jeep in the spiff-landscape is a neatly compressed desecration.

i mean, i understood that he wanted to retain control of his characters, but i didn't understand what it was like to grow up here.

sacrilege :/ sorry

sacrilege how

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmRI3Ew4BvA

http://michaelyingling.com/random/calvin_and_hobbes/

― Un peu d'Eire, ça fait toujours Dublin (Michael White), Friday, August 13, 2010 6:46 PM (3 years ago) Bookmark

this is fucking amazing btw

When Watterson quit Calvin & Hobbes, wasn't he supposed to move on to other comic/cartoon projects that he could produce without the pressure of drawing a daily strip? Whatever happened to those? I have all the respect for him for stopping C&H before it got stale, but it's kinda sad that he hasnät released anything ever since, for 18 years.

And I'm not saying he has some obligation to his readers/fans, if he doesn't want to or doesn't have the inspiration to produce any new material for the public, that's his prerogative. But it's still kinda sad, because it felt he could've still done more with the comic medium.

He's carried on producing C&H strips, he just locks them up in a big safe next to all his Glass family manuscripts

When Watterson quit Calvin & Hobbes, wasn't he supposed to move on to other comic/cartoon projects that he could produce without the pressure of drawing a daily strip? Whatever happened to those? I have all the respect for him for stopping C&H before it got stale, but it's kinda sad that he hasnät released anything ever since, for 18 years.

I thought he just wanted to paint watercolours

He works under a pseudonym -- he does XKCD now

late work:

http://questionablecontent.net/comics/300.png

it's already getting attributed to watterson directly http://imgur.com/gallery/V6KoHbF

it's a lovely homage

yeah a fb friend already shared it basically saying HAY LOOK AT THIS BILL WATTERSON COMIC and I was like, 'Wait...but it's not...ugh nevermind'

Good job but it's way too self-aggrandizing to come from him.

I want to, but I can't let that *thing* Listening Hour posted go by without comment, so ... UUURGH

Mogwai

MERCURY REV

DESERTER'S SONGS

MOGWAI

HAPPY SONGS FOR HAPPY PEOPLE

It's kind of creepy the way the girl in the homage strip is just Calvin with a wig

Anyone who thinks Watterson drew that doesn't deserve to read Calvin & Hobbes ever again. Anyone who thinks he lettered it doesn't deserve eyes.

<3

sacrilege how

― set the controls for the heart of the sun (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, August 27, 2013 8:11 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

in the heat of the moment, it was a gut reaction to this sad fool appropriating watterson's words for self-aggrandiziing bs on top of annoying watterson-esque illustrations.

the rest of his blog looks terrible as well, but i haven't kept up with comics in almost 20 years so i can't talk.

“I worked too long to get this job, and worked too hard once I got it, to let other people run away with my creation once it became successful. If I could not control what my own work was about and stood for, then cartooning meant very little to me.”

It's funny that the guy quotes this, then does exactly that. The comments are full of people wanting to buy this print. This tribute is well done, and it's cool that people want to do a kickstarter documentary about him or whatever, but it is sort of sad that his authenticity has ultimately become a commodity.

otm. it's kind of just a twee version of a Calvin-peeing-on bumper sticker.

hahaha

that was not a lovely homage wtf

oh jesus lighten up

i really like it. thought it was a depiction of watterson at first (he got into his career in a similar way), but then again BW doesn't have kids.

It's nicely done, but the way it seems to be saying "this is a choice you can make!" is kinda condescending, as most people don't have the financial security and/or a spouse willing to support them that's required to make a choice like this.

otm. it's kind of just a twee version of a Calvin-peeing-on bumper sticker.
--some dude

Haha yessss

It's nicely done, but the way it seems to be saying "this is a choice you can make!" is kinda condescending, as most people don't have the financial security and/or a spouse willing to support them that's required to make a choice like this.

― Tuomas, Thursday, August 29, 2013 6:50 AM (2 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

OTM x1000.

I bet no one's gonna draw a Watterson-esque cartoon where he calls his fellow cartoonists out for not actually drawing their own shit.

very few comic strip artists have worked without some form of assistance, be it writing, pencilling, lettering, inking - schulz and watterson are rare exceptions - and would like to see watterson, or anyone, produce one of the classic daily adventure strips w/out hired help

watterson was a fan of walt kelly, who always used assistants -- i think his ire toward jim davis et al was mainly due to the quality of their ('their') work.

Yeah, and he took sabbaticals as well, I'm sure he understood the need for assistants for people who worked straight through for decades. It still boggles my mind how much extraneous work Kelly did while drawing Pogo.

daily comic strips seem like an insane work grind, i don't begrudge anyone for having help in keeping up that work rate

he used to get a lot of flak from other cartoonists for the sabbaticals, and for the late-career demands to cede him more and more of the comics page and remove the panel restrictions everybody else worked under, which is kind of understandable buuuuuuuut late calvin+hobbes is all-time american art and the rest of the comics page is a pointless wasteland apparently intended for people older than the currently possible human lifespan so

I interpreted Watterson's anti-assistant angle as, "This is what you want to do, so why aren't you doing it?"

But yeah, he did some serious spleen-venting towards Jim Davis. He also took a few shots at Mort Walker ("Maybe some people can meet their standards of quality and still be on the golf course by 9:00am"), but Walker countered that he still penciled and inked every strip.

Watterson was like the Miles Davis of cartooning; he'd talk shit about everyone, but his work was so unfuckwithable that even his targets loved him.

is he the last great newspaper strip artist? can't think of anyone who came after with his stature, and the medium's obviously dead now

Dik Browne

It must be kind of disappointing for the guy - he made this towering case for the comics page being a place where great things could happen, 100% justified the big format strips, everything...and no one's come along to actually make it worth it. There've been some good strips to debut in the last two decades, but certainly nothing that's a feast for the eyes or anything. It honestly makes me cringe to see today's lazily-doodled Prince Valiants being printed at Watterson sizes, although presumably they're being drawn so badly (and scripted so thinly) on the assumption that most papers are going to run them as postage stamps.

*remembers* oh right newspapers

here's watterson on richard thompson's 'cul de sac' (best newspaper strip since C&H imo):

http://ignatz.brinkster.net/cforeword4.html

yeah cul de sac was excellent.

think chris ware semi-qualifies as a post-watterson newspaper strip artist who has enlarged the idea of what a comic strip can be, or can do.

I guess. having only read his stuff in compiled form I've never really thought of him that way

acme is in the never-ending ilx comic strip poll, so chris ware must be a newspaper strip artist

QED

i'm glad u mentioned the never-ending ilx comic strip poll. if you haven't voted in it yet, please do so!

golf, amirite? ilx's comic strip voting thread is now open

think chris ware semi-qualifies as a post-watterson newspaper strip artist who has enlarged the idea of what a comic strip can be, or can do.

add Blegvad and Gurewitch to Thompson too

oh yeah. please keep bumping the comix poll thread, i need to remember to get a ballot together.

It must be kind of disappointing for the guy - he made this towering case for the comics page being a place where great things could happen, 100% justified the big format strips, everything...and no one's come along to actually make it worth it.

i think C&H was probably the only strip that could've gotten away with demanding so much space -- everyone loved it, it appealed to grandmas and kids and teens and basically anyone who ever read a newspaper, everyone would've thrown a fit if any editor had cancelled it. it's the one post-schulz strip that approached peanuts-like universality. that watterson managed to achieve this without having ANY merchandising and doing almost no interviews and basically doing everything you're not supposed to do as a cartoonist just ups his achievement in my eyes, but it'll prob never happen again.

Whoa, new interview with Watterson!

http://mentalfloss.com/article/53216/mental-floss-exclusive-our-interview-bill-watterson

Wow, thanks for posting that. Kind of amazing that he's done two interviews in the last four years. For him, that's like having a nightly talk show.

Short, sweet, and a few good tidbits. Nice link.

According to your collection introductions, you took up painting after the strip ended. Why don’t you exhibit the work?

My first problem is that I don’t paint ambitiously. It’s all catch and release—just tiny fish that aren’t really worth the trouble to clean and cook. But yes, my second problem is that Calvin and Hobbes created a level of attention and expectation that I don't know how to process.

love that he just privately paints now cuz that was calvin's dad's idea of peace

Just finished watching the 'Dear Mr. Watterson' film. As expected, it's basically people (other cartoonists, people from his syndicate, locals from Chagrin Falls and various fans) talking about the strip and its impact and Watterson's place in history and so on and so forth, but I liked it.

reviews are p negative, and it's not bcz the critics don't like the strip.

Can't wait til this guy dies so we can get an awesome cgi feature out of this. Frankie muniz as the voice of calvin.

it's almost like not everything needs a fucking kickstarter documentary

I could be mistaken, but in one of the interviews it sounded like Universal Press Syndicate has retained the liberty at any time to begin merchandising Calvin & Hobbes and has deferred to Watterson's wishes on the matter.

That's true, and Watterson himself talked about it in his most recent interview, as well as in The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book. As a struggling cartoonist, he signed away his rights to his creations to the syndicate (not an uncommon practice by new cartoonists, apparently). He said something along the lines of, "At the time, I was more worried about the consequences if it didn't become popular than if it did."

And yeah, Universal could have easily told him to get lost, hired someone else to draw it, and filled the world's toy stores with crappy C&H trinkets. By deferring to Watterson on this, they either thought he might change his mind later, or figured they had something incredibly special on their hands and better not fuck with it.

Oh wait, I misunderstood...so Universal can sell C&H merch now, in 2013? I think Watterson won that battle/signed a new contract in the early 90s.

I love that he's some Reddit martyr for NOT SELLING OUT THE COMIC WHAT GIVES US THE FEELS, and the internet respond by using his ideas to make garbage like this: http://zenpencils.com/comic/128-bill-watterson-a-cartoonists-advice/

i stole that opinion from another message board but you get the point

eh, one artist pays fond tribute to another - hard to work up even mild irritation

Lol @ the idea that a megacorp like Universal respects an artist's wishes more than $$$

I thought that was bonkers too, but one of the UPS people being interviewed made it sound like that's exactly what they were doing. I think if they were to roll out merch against Watterson's wishes, though, the backlash would be massive from both inside and outside the community.

Before Hobbes, by Len Wein, J Michael Stracynzki and Jae Lee.

gahhhhh

Watterson did the poster art for new documentary on newspaper comics.

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2014/02/26/arts/26artsbeat-watterson/26artsbeat-watterson-blog480.jpg

Dear Mr. Watterson is up on Netflix streaming now.

http://dailycartoonist.com/index.php/2014/06/05/is-bill-watterson-ghost-drawing-pearls-before-swine-this-week/

I agree with one of the commenters...Watterson sneaks back and Pearls Before Swine is the strip he sneaks back to?! Ugh.

Of course, it might not be him at all.

why would he do this

pearls before pearls before swine tbh

this is like Salinger coming back to write an episode of Family Guy

lol

sadly it's him
http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/

Tragically, a man did something for fun

Itheyre bad strips imo

this is like Salinger coming back to write an episode of Family Guy

Would have watched

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/06/06/exclusive-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-returns-to-the-comics-page-to-offer-a-few-pearls-gems/?hpid=z1

A few more details

Tragically, a man did something for fun

otm, plus bonus round of fun as people share their Important Opinions about how they'd have done it better

yeah, plus the art is about a 1000 times sharper, funnier and more ambitious than what you usually get from pearls, so i don't see what anyone has to complain about.

this is awesome

Those were pretty funny & great.

Watterson's Angoulême 2015 Festival Poster:

http://www.paulgravett.com/site/pg_blog_post/bill_wattersons_angouleme_2015_festival_poster

Seems to be a bit more active lately...

lol @ the rock/window switcheroo

also the cop's big nose reminded me of moe the bully

Excerpts from new Watterson interview:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/09/bill-watterson-talks-this-is-why-you-must-read-the-new-exploring-calvin-and-hobbes-book/

Sorry, actual excerpts here:
http://library.osu.edu/blogs/cartoons/2015/03/10/new-bill-watterson-retrospective-book-exploring-calvin-and-hobbes-shines-new-light-on-wattersons-thought-process-inspirations/

and here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2015/03/10/read-heres-an-excerpt-from-bill-wattersons-rare-new-calvin-and-hobbes-interview/

i love c-&-h

i read some strips years ago, and it did nothing for me.

then along came mk1, and mk2, and 5 years ago i read an omnibus book that bh had picked up in a charity shop, and i would read a chunk every evening. on many an occasion i would end up crying with laughter.

so much so, that bh me banned from reading it while she was watching tv.

I've been reading a few pages a night out of my many collections as a bedtime story for my 6 year old, and he absolutely loves them. I was in my 20s/30s when the strips were new, so it's been very interesting to see what tickles a kid's funnybone (much), what I have to explain, and what I have to Bowdlerize.

People are passing this bullshit around fb today: http://www.tickld.com/x/this-guy-just-changed-the-way-we-seecalvin-and-hobbes

It's pissing me off, but I don't want to pick fights with people about Calvin & Hobbes, because Calvin & Hobbes is above it. But this schlocky sentimental fanfic bullshit is maddening.

http://i.imgur.com/tLU2FFd.jpg

http://uploads.neatorama.com/images/posts/191/71/71191/1397608679-0.jpg

did ... did hobbes maul calvin

http://i.imgur.com/9lZZFBK.jpg

lol at the idea that calvin will grow up to marry susie, i mean wtf is that

pplains omg thank you

Good on Watterston for never selling out, all manner of weak fan fiction and manipulative nostalgic/sentimental bs will never detract from the pure anarchic beauty of Calvin and Hobbes.

i hate this soooooooo much

the one where it was implied that Calvin was on Ritalin was a lot worse. this one is just stupid

pplains omg thank you

Yeah I agree

I'm actually quite angry about that. Fan fiction is the worst

worse than fan fiction is anything that is mawkishly sentimental about aging or the future death of yourself, your parents, or a beloved fictional character. like why would I make a kid read the giving tree. damn that shit was a bummer as an elementary school kid. Thanks mom.

That is so perverse and gross that I wish I'd written it.

Once a text is out there, I don't really understand getting 'angry' about the sappy ways that people make use of it for their own pleasure - these fan things don't displace or erase the original, surely?

Looks like it originated from a Reddit writing prompt. The author probably wasn't intending some little half-hour writing exercise to be widely shared. I blame the people writing headlines like "This Guy Just Changed The Way We See Calvin And Hobbes. Seriously."

https://www.reddit.com/r/WritingPrompts/comments/25gtsw/eu_in_the_final_minutes_of_his_life_calvin_has/

You won't believe how this particular hastily-written piece of clickbait garbage will change your life forever. Seriously.

that is one of the worst things i've ever given up reading halfway through

have y'all ever read fanfiction before

in what world would i want to do that?

I actively try not to.

i just got out a calvin & hobbes book for my almost 6yo daughter to read, so I've been revisiting. kind of amazing how much better watterson was than pretty much anyone else who did a daily strip.

At the time? Probably. All time? No way.

agree, I'm no comic buff but never found any other strip that came close to doing what Calvin & Hobbes does for me - I pull out the books when I need sentimental/existential soothing (when hung over fx)

xp - i dunno, he's gotta be near the top, right?

but yeah, i am probably biased -- he was the best daily strip by far back when i actually read daily strips.

Well, I'm sure Watterson would place in most ppl's top ten newspaper strip creators, but to suggest that he's 'much better' than Charles Schulz, or Crockett Johnson, or countless other creators who might also place in that top ten, seems p hyperbolic imho.

^^^

the part where he stops susie with a passionate kiss on the lips is awesome

pplains wins

this bullshit was hateshared by vg on fb & I was mostly annoyed because I was sure I had hidden tickld from my feed (I mean, I know I have, I keep track of these things)

so I go to hide the post & get this:

Hide all from Texting someone to say that you are outside their house instead of knocking
Are you sure you want to hide posts from Texting someone to say that you are outside their house instead of knocking?

this shit always finds a way in :-(

Schulz is great but I put Watterson up there at the top right next to him.

Good on Watterston for never selling out, all manner of weak fan fiction and manipulative nostalgic/sentimental bs will never detract from the pure anarchic beauty of Calvin and Hobbes.

― AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Tuesday, June 9, 2015 10:26 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

calvin and hobbes was pretty damn sentimental

i mean, a /lot/ more sentimental than peanuts in its glory years

If someone or other would post the rest of the comic strip poll results we'd know the answer to this question

It was, but not clumsily so? I mean, this particular piece of deathbed fanfic is more a bad riff on the ending of Toy Story 3 than Calvin & Hobbes.

I meant people trying to make money or get known off being sentimental and nostalgic towards the strip itself. C&H had its sentimental moments but they were tempered w absurdity and surrealism. This fan fiction stuff usually is just 100% mawkish.

It was, but not clumsily so? I mean, this particular piece of deathbed fanfic is more a bad riff on the ending of Toy Story 3 than Calvin & Hobbes.

― Johnny Fever, Wednesday, June 10, 2015 11:46 AM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh, i didn't even read that (why would I?) -- just saying that people's attempts to (re)cast C&H as if it weren't sentimental are misguided.

peanuts could get sentimental but at it's best it was kind of matter-of-fact

(why would I?)

In order to participate in the conversation that's actually taking place?

But to be fair, I haven't read it either.

why would you need to read something just to have a conversation about it

sounds time-consuming

In summary: "Hobbes, you old scamp. You...you really took me places, buddy. I'll never forget you. But now it's time for me to put away childish things and make tender love to my wife."

xp especially when you can ask others who have to tell you what to think. and then disagree with them.

Calvin bequeaths Hobbes to his grandchild for a new lifetime of precious adventures. That's where I got the Toy Story 3 thing from.

i didn't express an opinion on the fanfic! my life is too previous -- all our lives are too precious -- to read sentimental fanfic IMO.

I didn't read it either.

http://i.imgur.com/tLU2FFd.jpg

I mean, look, I know all about "View Image" and everything but c'mon.

yeah there's no way

it's a pretty quick read, and i learned 17 crazy things about calvin's future that will completely change the way i view Calvin & Hobbes

(#14 is the craziest!)

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ab/0f/d0/ab0fd0fe03675686b7df1b3d6fa3d8f8.jpg

fuck this nerd shit, I'm all for fan whatever but not for calvin and hobbes

Not for any creators who've been crystal clear about their dislike of others using their IP.

Forgot how funny this was. Re-reading Weirdos from another planet

no
they are not.
praise is when you lick the cock and adulation is when you deep throat.
as well,
i dont like it.

― anthony easton (anthony), Monday, April 14, 2003 2:33 AM (fifteen years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

it is beyond classic

also beyond classic is the creator being one of the few to not sell out. he saved us from the inevitable funko pop where Calvin and Hobbes are both the exact same size and share the same dead eyed stare.

otm

Everything on the internet from pre-2012 should be scrubbed xp

also beyond classic is the creator being one of the few to not sell out. he saved us from the inevitable funko pop where Calvin and Hobbes are both the exact same size and share the same dead eyed stare.

my box set is still at my old apartment- this thread is a great reminder to go pick it up

Somehow forgot Hobbes is an imaginary friend for Calvin.
Anyways reading through weirdos and collected indispensable book next. Some of the funniest comics bar none, Calvin is too smart for his own good but also a real cool dude. Reading weirdos first as I’m worried the comp book will have repeats and I don’t want a greatest hits type experience with this stuff.

"indispensable" compiled "revenge of the baby-sat" and "scientific progress goes boink," so you're all clear.

Awesome!! Thank you

We should poll the non-compilation books. I think I had them all at one time. They were the ideal Christmas present.

that'd be tricky! so much of the strip's greatness is individual classic strips that to my memory could basically be in any book, or the brilliant beautiful sundays in the final years. but with a cheat sheet of major storylines in each one i could maybe make a judgment call. snow goons vs transmogrifier vs duplicator for the crazy elaborate ones, but dead bird vs binoculars vs class presentation on bats for the everyday observational ones.

Would love that

the storylines sounds a v good idea

there's so many others... transmogrifier gun, vacation road trip, rosalyn arcs, trip to mars, stuff with susie and moe at school. it was a strip of really diverse strengths, between the pogo-inspired rambling storylines, the nemo-inspired sunday bonanzas, and the one-day zingers of incredible cartooning or hilarious ever-notice-this writing. wouldn't know where to start if you had to put just one thing in front of somebody to explain why it was a special comic.... but, with no memory of what's in them, I'm guessing Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat or The Days Are Just Packed --- after the introduction of the oversized sunday pages, but (I think??) before the focus on those sort of curtailed the dailies back to gag-a-day or one-week bits (tho those remained brilliant, and brilliantly-drawn).

The last Rosalyn arc is sweet, where they finally make peace after she turns out to be surprisingly skillful at Calvinball.

Calvin is terrible to Susie. In weirdos from another planer he says her hair is hiding her lobotomy scars. I know he’s six years old, but the comic captures how abusive males treat females pretty accurately - that sort of damage lingers on.

Classic moment: Calvin hugging Hobbes as a Xmas gift

https://assets.amuniversal.com/9fe19e1018ad012f2fc600163e41dd5b

the faces in this one are so amazing

Hadn't seen that in years. So good.

https://i.imgur.com/Gf79M3v.png

damn

hot gen x take tbh.

C+H has really aged remarkably well. every time i've picked up one of my old books over the last few years i just marvel at how funny it is and how vividly and beautifully drawn it is.

lately i've found myself wondering how old calvin's parents are supposed to be. early 30s? obviously not a question that ever occurred to me as a kid, but it struck me the other day that i might be older than them now!

it struck me the other day that i might be older than them now!

Uncle Max breaks my heart

https://i.redd.it/evlad03a9hw21.jpg

I just cracked open a C&H book for the first time in over a decade and I’m already falling out laughing at this:

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d0/49/a6/d049a6c8ea52f09ac85983d879ca5d14.gif

I think as a kid I did actually categorize Miss Wormwood and Rosalyn as "villains," when really they're the absolute heroes of this universe.

Moe is irredeemable.

"Sometimes I think ALL my friends have been imaginary."

"Like, you know, the guy with the orange cat who eats lasagna..."

^ https://www.reddit.com/r/calvinandhobbes/comments/749bfi/uncle_max_lyman_theory/

surly morning calvin looks like john terry

I just cracked open a C&H book for the first time in over a decade and I’m already falling out laughing at this

Xxp
Lol. I love obscure knowledge/insight about funnies. I think Lyman got dropped because people were asking if Jon and Lyman were lovers

did u know about this year's big garfield revelation?
https://youtu.be/ZSPidZP_3X8?t=534

i remember seeing that older drawing of Garfield in a Garfield book once, i don't think this is that big a revelation

!!!!

Calvin and Hobbes creator Bill Watterson has a book coming out in the fall. https://t.co/JytiWwnV8B

— Jeet Heer (@HeerJeet) February 14, 2023

holy shit

O_O

OH DARN

Ok!

this was not the reason I feared the thread got bumped, thank God.

This is great. What a legend

lol yeah him dying seemed way more likely than him releasing something

Hmm:

For the book's illustrations, Watterson and caricaturist John Kascht worked together for several years in unusually close collaboration. Both artists abandoned their past ways of working, inventing images together that neither could anticipate—a mysterious process in its own right.

Wow, this is cool!

I finally got the collected C+H for xmas after hinting about it for like a decade. I kinda wanted the hardcovers buuuut the softcover box set somehow weighs like 413 lbs so I'm ultimately glad that I received a version I will hopefully be able to physically wield in my dotage

man, this looks and sounds very odd!

TBH the cover image looks a lot like an AI with a medieval prompt, just saying, but I am super intrigued by the concept.

We need more oddness out there, and sort of a bummer that the first thing that might come to mind is “AI prompt” when talking about that art but I understand that this is where we’re at these days.

I acknowledge the bombardment of AI lately influences me, but that image in particular really brought me there immediately (not just due to "weirdness" factor, either, I consume plenty of objectively weird current outsider comics).

Can someone make for me a picture of that scared dude pissing on a Tesla logo, thnx.

this book sounds p bad

Oh so you're the guy

literally nothing about it sounds good and the cover is not helping!

I'm definitely curious about the book, but I'm also reminded of what he said in The Calvin & Hobbes 10th Anniversary Book: "Graphic novels are incredibly stupid."

What about it sounds bad? I mean from the description it could also be good.

Separately I have a really really distinct memory as a kid of the very first Calvin and Hobbes strip in the newspaper. I would read the comic section every morning religiously, and even as a 10-year-old or maybe even especially as a 10-year-old I recognized immediately that this was a cut above everything else. That and peanuts were my top two for life from then on.

bloom county and far side to complete the late 80s set imo

I’ve got the same collection of C&H books I started acquiring with babysitting money as a child and BW is one of those guys where despite my love for C&H I’m just not interested in the new material. I thought about why and I think it’s partly the fear that he turns out to be personally dodgy in a way that ruins his work for me (cf Morrissey) and also, it just doesn’t seem intrinsically that interesting compared to the stuff I know him for.

Pulled a few boxes of books out of the basement last week and realized I had the first 3 big C&H anthologies down there. When I unpack the boxes again I'm gonna dive into those for sure.

loved those treasuries back in the day, even though i also had most of the 'regular' books.... having the color Sundays and the bonus stories was great. iirc, Watterson sort of rolls his eyes at those publications in the must-own Tenth Anniversary book, pointing out that he named them The Essential, The Indispensable, and The Authoritative "since the books were obviously none of these things."

i'm periodically tempted by the idea of owning The Complete paperback set. somehow though it feels like something would be lost not having things grouped under "Yukon Ho!" and "Scientific Progress Goes Boink."

Separately I have a really really distinct memory as a kid of the very first Calvin and Hobbes strip in the newspaper. I would read the comic section every morning religiously, and even as a 10-year-old or maybe even especially as a 10-year-old I recognized immediately that this was a cut above everything else. That and peanuts were my top two for life from then on.

― omar little, Wednesday, February 22, 2023 12:10 PM (fifty-seven minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

I remember that, too! I was immediately struck by the design of the characters -- Calvin's Pac-Man mouth, mainly -- and how clever it was right out of the gate. I mean, the first week or so of C&H was exponentially more funny and creative than the previous 10-15 years of Beetle Bailey or Garfield or whatever combined. It felt like risks were being taken, and apart from Bloom County and The Far Side (as Tracer Hand pointed out), few other (if any) late '80s strips had that spirit.

The only strips that come even close to C&H are Peanuts and Pogo.

the artwork and lettering on pogo probably better than those two; C&H owes a big debt to walt kelly for those heavily inked stumps and trees and crags he was so fond of

pogo really so amazing. not sure any other comic has a book of sheet music?

There are few things in this world I enjoy as much as the small moments in Calvin and Hobbes when Calvin’s parents do something that make it clear that Calvin got his entire personality from them (even the parts that drive them crazy) https://t.co/CPzcXPN69T pic.twitter.com/GBEACE1eOO

— Billie Takespeare (@maynardgang) December 16, 2023

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GBeIDqtXwAAf_3u?format=jpg&name=medium

In case strip doesn’t show in preview

Calvin’s parents the undeniable heroes of C&H. The strips with Calvin’s dad having a nightmare of a family holiday just ruin me

https://i.postimg.cc/X7GbyvQb/IMG-4358.jpg

Same

It’s amazing how invested the strip gets you