Post your favorite Calvin and Hobbes strips!

The storyline of "Baby Racoon" gets me in the feels

cal_hobb-raccoon4.jpg
 
I like the ones that pretty much still ring true today, even though it was written 25 years ago.

 
Last edited:
Calvin and Hobbes are amazing! Far Side is the only comic that can hold a candle to it, but not quite. Part of the reason it's still as fresh now as it was back in the day is that Watterson is a man of integrity: no shitty tv-cartoons, not bad live-action movies, no plush dolls (though I'd have bought tons for my kids), no official mug, no t-shirts - nothing! (apart from the pirated stuff). It's almost unbelievable in an age that is all about the dollar.

Instead, the comics are all there is and they are a gold mine. I read them to my daughter as bed time stories currently and they speak directly to her life and concerns - and are hilarious too. God bless Bill Watterson!
 
I have the last printed strip from my local paper framed and hanging in my den.

<mma1>
 
Vergilius said:
Calvin and Hobbes are amazing! Far Side is the only comic that can hold a candle to it, but not quite. Part of the reason it's still as fresh now as it was back in the day is that Watterson is a man of integrity: no shitty tv-cartoons, not bad live-action movies, no plush dolls (though I'd have bought tons for my kids), no official mug, no t-shirts - nothing! (apart from the pirated stuff). It's almost unbelievable in an age that is all about the dollar.

Instead, the comics are all there is and they are a gold mine. I read them to my daughter as bed time stories currently and they speak directly to her life and concerns - and are hilarious too. God bless Bill Watterson!
Click to expand...

I agree with everything you typed.

I really liked C&H as a kid. However, once I became a dad, I found even more appreciation for the humor in it.

I just saw a documentary called "Dear Mr. Watterson" and they dive into the fact that Bill has been so reluctant to license the character because he said once he did that, he would lose his privacy and control of his creation.

Here is a five minute scene from the doc where Stephan Pastis (the author of Pearls Before Swine) discusses this.

 
The one-week run when Watterson ghost wrote for Pearls Before Swine in 2014:

pbox.php


pbox.php



imrs.php


pbox.php
 
Not A Theist said:
Meh. It's no "The Far Side."
Click to expand...

It’s not. It’s better.

Only older kids and adults can appreciate The Far Side. C&H appeals to all ages, and the art is way cuter.

The large coloured panels in C&H depicting Calvin’s imagination as a T-Rex or Spaceman Spiff shows how good of an artist Watterson is.
 
Screenshot_20190131-170645_Chrome.jpg

For some reason I remember being 9 years old and my brother showing me this in the news paper and me dying. Just straight dying. A laugh that you never forget. I should try and find the publish date and see if it's a false memory. It would have to be published 1988 - 1991.

Edit: published June 1986. I was 5. I felt I was older. Can 5 year olds read? Maybe that's why it sticks out. Who knows.
 
Anything with the creative snowmen.
 

Attachments

  • 86D1E478-0EF6-4B35-A875-7C408646F0FC.jpeg
    86D1E478-0EF6-4B35-A875-7C408646F0FC.jpeg
    41.3 KB · Views: 13
superking said:
I have the last printed strip from my local paper framed and hanging in my den.

<mma1>
Click to expand...

I also have the last strip from my local paper framed, my wife thought I was weird for framing a newspaper comic strip. That last strip was the end of an era.
 
ROKKO said:
View attachment 515521

For some reason I remember being 9 years old and my brother showing me this in the news paper and me dying. Just straight dying. A laugh that you never forget. I should try and find the publish date and see if it's a false memory. It would have to be published 1988 - 1991.

Edit: published June 1986. I was 5. I felt I was older. Can 5 year olds read? Maybe that's why it sticks out. Who knows.
Click to expand...


Could have been a rerun during one of Watterson's hiatuses. He had one in 1991 which lasted until 1992 and most papers ran reruns during that time. On the other hand, you don't really have to be able to read to get that particular cartoon.
 
I first saw this as a kid but it's been oddly influential to me in that it crystalized my opinions on free speech which have remained unchanged to this day.

calvin-on-first-amendment.jpg
 
horc00 said:
It’s not. It’s better.

Only older kids and adults can appreciate The Far Side. C&H appeals to all ages, and the art is way cuter.

The large coloured panels in C&H depicting Calvin’s imagination as a T-Rex or Spaceman Spiff shows how good of an artist Watterson is.
Click to expand...
Eh, to each their own.

My issue with Calvin and Hobbes is that oftentimes it just isn't that funny. It has that feel good after-school special thing going for it, where you're saying "oh, that dastardly Calvin - he's throwing snowballs again!" but it was a very, very rare day when it actually had me laughing. The Far Side, by comparison, had me almost spitting out my tea every several strips. Now granted Calvin and Hobbes got me wistful and thoughtful a lot more and, again, much like an after school special had me saying "Yeah, I guess life really is like that" - but that's not really why I read cartoons and, frankly, there is only so much a limited format like that can do in this regard.

Also, I see a fair bit of going on and about Watterson's integrity and how he didn't sell out and blah blah... Honestly, who gives a shit? Are we reading cartoon strips or giving out humanitarian awards? You know how much I know about Gary Larson? Two things - one, he was a goofy fuck, and two, he apparently quit because the comic writing process almost gave him a heart attack. That's it. I don't really care beyond that and I don't factor some cult of personal BS into judging his comics. I can't help but get the feeling that many of the people in this thread judge "the best music" by how much the artist gives in charity, giving what I'm seeing about why you like your comic strips.

Again, to each their own, but I've always likened the two comic strips to Cheers and Seinfeld. One is about nothing - except for the laughs - and one pushes a message on you at every turn and brings the laughs. The only place where the comparison falls flat is that whereas I find Cheers and Seinfeld pretty comparable for comedy, Calvin and Hobbes isn't a fraction as outright funny as the Far Side. Opinions are like assholes though, right? Enjoy your comic thread ;)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Forum statistics

Threads
1,237,884
Messages
55,523,312
Members
174,810
Latest member
BackagainBert

Share this page

Back
Top