Redartz: Hello, pop culture fans! For this episode of "Off the Bookshelf", we pull a collection of a truly landmark comic strip, originating from the tail end of our beloved Bronze Age. Debuting in 1985, "Calvin and Hobbes" detailed the adventures and imaginations of Calvin, a young, mischievous (Very mischievous) boy and his tiger friend Hobbes. The strip was the creation of the hugely talented Bill Watterson, who made the comic a joy both visually and intellectually. It was both a cogent recollection of childhood, and an evocative commentary on adulthood. A pretty good trick for a newspaper strip.
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| Calvin as superhero Stupendous Man |
Calvin's life is filled with all the triumphs and troubles every kid goes through, and Watterson remembers every detail. Calvin has a powerful weapon against the challenges of a 20th. century child's world: a vivid imagination. He faces off against teachers, bullies, neighbor kids, parents, and babysitters with a great range of approaches. Calvin may be a spaceman, a dinosaur, an insect. He makes a time machine, a cloning machine. His snowman-building is an art in itself, always executed with Calvin's unique approaches.
Calvin's greatest ally in all this is his stuffed tiger Hobbes. Hobbes is the voice of common sense and reason to Calvin's chaotic nature. The best of friends, they complement each other and together try to figure out, and to simply enjoy, the mysteries of this world we live in. Of course, they also engage in wild fights and suicidal schemes. Calvin often ends up on the short end of argument with Hobbes, his youthful human nature being a weakness. Hobbes, on the other hand, is rather proud of his non-human status, and seldom fails to rub that fact in. There were some folks who debated whether Hobbes was 'real'. He was real to Calvin, and he was certainly real to me. Question answered.
The strip itself covered an astounding spectrum of issues. The logic (and illogic) of sports. School, youthful crushes, science fiction. The pleasures and miseries of camping. There is no way I can adequately describe all that Watterson touched on in this strip. But he did so with great wit and humor. And, at times, with poignancy (as when Calvin faces the death of a baby animal he found). And at other times, with a rather sharp edge of satire (as Calvin and Hobbes ponder the inanities of the 'adult' world).
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| Calvin the T-Rex |
And at times, the artwork truly shines with subtlety and sensitivity: I discovered this strip in our local newspaper right after college, and was an instant addict. I followed Calvin and Hobbes through ten years of thought-provoking enjoyment. When Watterson retired the strip in December 1995, I (along with millions of others) was devastated. The strip touched me like no other ever had, with the possible exception of "Peanuts". Calvin and Hobbes entertained me, educated me, inspired me. I dreaded the thought of losing all that.
But the pain of losing that daily dose of boy and tiger was lessened: Andrews and McMeel was wise enough to publish collected editions of the daily strips, starting in 1987. Nicely produced, on good stock, the books make Watterson's art even finer. A particular favorite of mine is "Calvin and Hobbes' Lazy Sunday Book". All Sunday strips, with bountiful coloring. You really get the feel of Spaceman Spiff as he zooms across some ravaged planetscape. Plus, Watterson starts off the volume with some great illustrations of Calvin in action. A great package; the only downside is that I can't pick it up and just peruse a strip or two. I always get caught up and have to read it through.
Several of these books grace my bookshelf (several, but not yet enough). Those wonderful collected volumes keep Calvin and Hobbes nearby, always and forever. Thank heavens for that...
