Calvin & Hobbes

[DF2506]

I just discovered this comic strip recently. One of my favorite writer/artists, Erik Larsen, was talking about this one time and I decided to check it out a few days ago. I went to the Uccomics site and read a few of them. Just a hilarous comic!

I went to my local library yesterday and picked up a couple of the books too. One is a whole bunch of black & white strips and the other is the 'Lazy Sunday Morning' strips. I like both of them alot, though the 'Lazy Sunday' book has a lot of really cool stuff in it (finished the b&w book, but I haven't finished the lazy sunday one yet. I'm taking my time. though I prob will re-read the b&w again). I especially like all the Spaceman Spiff and Dino stuff in the Lazy sunday book. :)

I'm really liking this comic alot. I'll prob have to pick up a book of these comics sometime. Doubt it will be the complete book, since thats so high, but I'll try to find one of the books when I can.

Any other Calvin & Hobbes fans here? If so, what are your favorite strips of Calvin and Hobbes?

I gotta say, so far I like the Spaceman Spiff ones the most. Though I do like the ones were Hobbes attacks Calvin, plus there's some really funny ones with his parents!

Man..what a creative comic strip. Glad I started readng it!

DF2506
" Also likes Dilbert alot, but you know, Calvin & Hobbes is definitly better. They don't make 'em like this anymore! "

[Sir Tim Drake]

I see by your profile that you're old enough to have read this strip when it was still running. Were you not aware of it at that time?

Anyway... I love Calvin & Hobbes. The cardboard box storylines were my favorites when I was growing up.

[DF2506]

I see by your profile that you're old enough to have read this strip when it was still running. Were you not aware of it at that time?<

Definitly wasn't aware of it then. Of course, when I was younger, I really didn't read newspaper comic strips that much (I think I read some Peanuts once and awhile though). I pretty much just read the regular ol' comic books...

I do think I may have tried to read one of the Calvin & Hobbes books from the library before (possibly last year or so), but I'm not sure..

I know that I haven't been interested in it till now. I'm really enjoying it.

<Anyway... I love Calvin & Hobbes. The cardboard box storylines were my favorites when I was growing up.<

The cardboard box storyline is mentioned at the Ucomics site. Haven't read any of them yet though...

DF2506
" Really fun comic. Looking forward to reading more."

[GreenHornet]

In the military paper "Stars and Stripes" they still run C&H. Best thing about being over there in Kuwait

[glue]

I usually hate when people say "I like them all equally" in threads like this, but I can't help it. I'm not much for strips, but Calvin & Hobbes is by far my favorite strip and I honestly couldn't pick any of the strips over the others, other than maybe not liking Spaceman Spiff as much as the other stuff. And I know most people will disagree with that.

However, I do recall one panel where Hobbes is trying to impress Susie and he's got on sunglasses and "jams" and tells Calvin that "chicks dig guys in jams". That always struck me as the funniest moment in the series, for some reason.

[howyadoin]

You've got a ton of good reading ahead of you. I don't think I've ever read a bad C&H.

[roach04]

Brilliant strip - I bought my wife the complete Calvin & Hobbes for her birthday this year, because as much as I loved it, so loves it more!

[Marc Spector]

I usually hate when people say "I like them all equally" in threads like this, but I can't help it. I'm not much for strips, but Calvin & Hobbes is by far my favorite strip and I honestly couldn't pick any of the strips over the others, other than maybe not liking Spaceman Spiff as much as the other stuff. And I know most people will disagree with that.

However, I do recall one panel where Hobbes is trying to impress Susie and he's got on sunglasses and "jams" and tells Calvin that "chicks dig guys in jams". That always struck me as the funniest moment in the series, for some reason.

I like the strip where Calvin wants to be 'cool', so he leans against a tree, wearing sunglasses. Hobbes decides to be cool too, so he gets a sombrero! Arguement ensues about the 'coolness' of sombreros. :D

[glue]

hahaha

Sombreros are definately cool.

[DF2506]

other than maybe not liking Spaceman Spiff as much as the other stuff. And I know most people will disagree with that.>

Spaceman Spiff is definitly one of my favorites so far (if not my favorite). Its got that whole early 50s sci-fi vibe to it (with a bit of kirbyness too I think). I especially liked the big full page Spiff adventure at the beginning of 'Lazy Sunday.' Man that was cool! Could have easily been a regular comic imo.

Of course, I really enjoy the Calvin & Hobbes stuff too and the stuff with just Calvin. Even the strips that don't make me laugh, at least get a smile out of me when I'm reading them.

I got a free trial with ucomics, so I'm hoping to read some more of Calvin & Hobbes there! Also have to finish 'Lazy Sunday'.

I still want to get one of the books one of these days!

DF2506
" Comic Strips I like: Calvin & Hobbes, Dilbert, Farside, and Peanuts."

[glue]

Yeah, it's definately good even if it's my least favorite of the strips. And just to be clear, even if the strip was entirely Spaceman Spiff it'd still be in my top 2 or 3.

[Musichead]

Love the series. Can read it over and over and over again. I want the complete collection but it was a bit expensive for my tastes. Keep your eyes open in local bookstores because i've seen the collections selling for pretty cheap (especially in Waldenbooks).

[glue]

I'd love that new fancy collection but like has been said it's a little rich for my blood and the books are way too bulky for me (I do tons of reading in the tub).

[Bicycle-Repairman]

Calvin and Hobbes was one of the best comic strips of all time, mixing excellent artwork with great humour. While I do miss the strip, I'm glad that Bill Watterson ended the series on a high note rather than continue it and have the quality decline. Watterson did something else unusual for comic strip creators: he refused to license Calvin and Hobbes merchandise.

[glue]

I agree that I'm glad he didn't let it fizzle on him/us. As for his refusal to license for merch, I'm not so keen. I'd really like to have a some C&H figures.

[The Lucky One]

C&H is definitely one of the 3 great comic strips of our generation (the other two being, obviously, The Far Side and Bloom County). There are some other really, really good ones -- Foxtrot, Dilbert, Liberty Meadows, plenty of others -- but to my mind, those three stand head and shoulders above the rest. When you can work thoughtful political and/or philosophical commentary into your strip on a regular basis and not make it preachy or have it take away from the humor (I'm looking at you, Boondocks), you've accomplished something truly special, and Bill Watterson was one of the few who managed to do that consistently, and consistently well. Definitely a loss for the comics page as a whole when he retired.

-D

[DF2506]

C&H is definitely one of the 3 great comic strips of our generation (the other two being, obviously, The Far Side and Bloom County).<

I like C&H alot, so I'd definitly agree there. I also agree about Far Side.

I haven't read Bloom County though. Hmm. Maybe I should check it out?

For me, the list goes Calvin & Hobbes, Dilbert, and Far Side.

< There are some other really, really good ones -- Foxtrot, Dilbert, Liberty Meadows, plenty of others -- but to my mind, those three stand head and shoulders above the rest.<

Like I said, I like Dilbert. Also like some of Liberty Meadows. I've read some good Foxtrot too.

Calvin & Hobbes is definitly taking the lead on comic strips right now though. Glad there are so many years worth of this to read! :)

Too bad there are not any new ones though...

DF2506
" But I guess like someone else said, better to end the strip then go on forever and have the quality go down."

[Simon Garth]

For me, the list is Calvin & Hobbes, Doonesbury, Dilbert.

But regardless, C&H is superb - hard to pick a favourite, but I particularly like the occasions where Calvin manages to duplicate himself in various ways - but they're all gems

[DF2506]

Doonesbury>

Thats another one I'm not sure if I've read or not. Maybe I'll check that one out too.

I've been reading some Calvin & Hobbes at the Ucomics site! Last night I read a series of strips where Calvin forgot to collect his bugs for class. hehe. Also read a series where they went to a wedding and when they came back their house had been broken into. A bit more serious there. Though Calvin being upset about not having the tv anymore was funny. I'd feel the same way...lol! :)

Anyway, still reading them. Seems like I've read alot of the early ones in the b&w book I got. I was looking at some at random (at Ucomics), but now I'm trying to see if I can find where I left off. lol. Great comic!

DF2506
" Can't wait to read the cardboard box one and the ones about duplicating himself sounds cool."

[The Lucky One]

I haven't read Bloom County though. Hmm. Maybe I should check it out?

Abso-flippin'-lutely. It hasn't aged quite as well as the other two -- Calvin & Hobbes and The Far Side are both timeless, while Bloom County reads best when you have at least a decent remembrance of the 80s -- but it's still one of the greats. It hits all the important societal and political hot buttons, but differs from other politically oriented strips (like Doonesbury, Mallard Fillmore, The Boondocks, etc.) by being... well, funny. On a regular basis, not just once a week or so. And Berke Breathed had a better understanding than any of those cartoonists that politics gets boring after a while, so if you do a week of strips about the upcoming election, you'd better follow it with a week of Opus sitting in his dandelion patch or Steve Dallas hitting on women. (Note: you mentioned liking Liberty Meadows- the character of Dean is Steve Dallas exactly, were Steve a pig instead of a human.)

Still holding my breath for the Complete Bloom County/Outland.

-D

[scratchie]

I think the main difference is that Bloom County wasn't actually political. When Breathed made a political reference, it was usually just as a "funny name" (e.g. "Caspar Weinberger") rather than having any political content. His idea of political satire was "Gee, aren't those politicians goofy?"

In terms of humor, the first few years of Bloom County were pure gold, but I think it went downhill after that, and became the sort of strip where fans would laugh "because it was Opus" but not because of any actual humor.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Doonesbury>

Thats another one I'm not sure if I've read or not. Maybe I'll check that one out too.

Contrary to what The Lucky One says, Doonesbury is funny (in my opinion). It can also be very powerful and emotional. Probably Trudeau's best years were the late '70s to the early '90s, so if you see any of the old omnibus volumes (The Doonesbury Chronicles, The Recycled Doonesbury, etc.) for low prices, I'd recommend picking them up.

I've been reading some Calvin & Hobbes at the Ucomics site! Last night I read a series of strips where Calvin forgot to collect his bugs for class. hehe.

"Five bugs a minute? You're out of your mind." Heh.

DF2506
" Can't wait to read the cardboard box one and the ones about duplicating himself sounds cool."

There were a bunch of cardboard box stories-- the duplicator story was one of them. Actually there were two duplicator stories: the original one, and the one where Calvin added an ethicator to the duplicator. I won't spoil it by explaining what an ethicator does. :)

[Cei-U!]

C&H is not just one of the greatest comics of our generation. It's one of the greatest strips of all time, on a level of artistic achievement occupied by Krazy Kat, Pogo and damned few others.

Cei-U!
My favorite episodes are those dealing with Calvin's unique (ahem) snowmen!

[DF2506]

Well, I started finding C&H I hadn't read around late August/early September 1986 in the archive at Ucomics. The bit about Calvin trying to learn how to ride a bike was funny. " Did it kill you? " -Hobbes " Not yet. It decided to maim me first."---Calvin. heheh.

Like the Sundy color strips alot too. very unique and cool.

DF2506
" I will try to check out Bloom County and Doonsbury soon."

[Lubichev]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c368/Lubichev/Calvintattoo.jpg
I take Calvin with me everywhere I go.
He's doing his snow dance. It was a great panel from the Authoratative C&H. Got it when I was 18. That was too long ago to think about.

[scratchie]

C&H is not just one of the greatest comics of our generation. It's one of the greatest strips of all time, on a level of artistic achievement occupied by Krazy Kat, Pogo and damned few others.What he said!


My favorite episodes are those dealing with Calvin's unique (ahem) snowmen!http://www.agitators.com/sm/

[The Lucky One]

Contrary to what The Lucky One says, Doonesbury is funny (in my opinion). It can also be very powerful and emotional. Probably Trudeau's best years were the late '70s to the early '90s, so if you see any of the old omnibus volumes (The Doonesbury Chronicles, The Recycled Doonesbury, etc.) for low prices, I'd recommend picking them up.

I'll definitely concede that Doonesbury was funny. Hell, I'll amend that statement to say that even today, it has occasional moments of truly inspired hilarity, and that back in the day, there wasn't another comic strip (save maybe Peanuts) that could touch it. But you hit it on the head- if Trudeau had stopped the strip in 1990, I'd probably wholeheartedly agree with you about it being one of the greats of all time. I spent all of middle and high school borrowing collections of the 70s and 80s stuff from the public library, and loving it... but when I compared it to what was going on in the strip in present day (circa 93-98), it just didn't seem to have the same spark.

I'll be the first to say that Trudeau should keep Doonesbury running for as long as he wants... he's more than earned it, just as Chris Claremont has earned the right to continue writing X-Men for as long as he wants, and Joe Pa can coach Penn State football forever if that's what he desires. The difference, I guess, is that while I actually do want Claremont to continue writing X-Men, my reaction to Doonesbury leaving newspapers would be to bid it a very fond, admiring farewell, but to be quietly glad it wasn't running on forever, and to remember the good times of the 70s and 80s.

-D

[Agentum]

Calvin and Hobbes was/is really famous here and had their own book for a wile and is reprinted in a lot of newspapers.
I guess it's known and liked in a lot of countrys in Europe.

A lot of comics that is important in USA is not well known here, but this is.

I think there is some kind of big book with the complete Calvin and Hobbes.

[glue]

I think Boondocks is hillarious, but it's geared more towards a specific crowd. Where as C&H had more "universal" jokes/gags Boondocks is clearly going to appeal more to the hiphop crowd than the masses. It does alot of making fun of different stereotypes within hiphop circles and if you're not in that crowd you won't appreciate alot of the humor. And that's not to say that I think you have to enjoy rap at all to "get" Boondocks or that if you like rap you're automatically going to be a fan.

[Slam_Bradley]

C&H is not just one of the greatest comics of our generation. It's one of the greatest strips of all time, on a level of artistic achievement occupied by Krazy Kat, Pogo and damned few others.

Cei-U!
My favorite episodes are those dealing with Calvin's unique (ahem) snowmen!


I absolutely agree. The only thing I'd add in there would be on of Caniff's adventure strips, but I'm not sure if it would be Terry or Steve Canyon.

I feel very lucky that I was in college and reading the newspaper regularly when Calvin & Hobbes, Bloom County and The Far Side were all at their peak.

[scratchie]

The Far Side were all at their peak.The Far Side was good, but at least half his schtick was ripped off from B. Kliban (especially in the early days).

[DF2506]

I really like the Far Side. It had such a wacky sense of humor! :)

I still have a book of Far Side around here somewhere...

I own three Dilbert books too. One is a book with lots of Dilbert strips & funny annotations from Scott Adams (its my favorite of the two books). The other is just a Dilbert book full of strips, and the third one is a business book that Scott Adams wrote with Dilbert humor and some strips thrown in!

I definitly need to add a couple of C&H books to the collection!

DF2506
" I also have a small book of Peanuts strips."

[torippu]

I just discovered this comic strip recently. One of my favorite writer/artists, Erik Larsen, was talking about this one time and I decided to check it out a few days ago. I went to the Uccomics site and read a few of them. Just a hilarous comic!

I went to my local library yesterday and picked up a couple of the books too. One is a whole bunch of black & white strips and the other is the 'Lazy Sunday Morning' strips. I like both of them alot, though the 'Lazy Sunday' book has a lot of really cool stuff in it (finished the b&w book, but I haven't finished the lazy sunday one yet. I'm taking my time. though I prob will re-read the b&w again). I especially like all the Spaceman Spiff and Dino stuff in the Lazy sunday book. :)

I'm really liking this comic alot. I'll prob have to pick up a book of these comics sometime. Doubt it will be the complete book, since thats so high, but I'll try to find one of the books when I can.

Any other Calvin & Hobbes fans here? If so, what are your favorite strips of Calvin and Hobbes?

I gotta say, so far I like the Spaceman Spiff ones the most. Though I do like the ones were Hobbes attacks Calvin, plus there's some really funny ones with his parents!

Man..what a creative comic strip. Glad I started readng it!

DF2506
" Also likes Dilbert alot, but you know, Calvin & Hobbes is definitly better. They don't make 'em like this anymore! "
Looking at my avatar, I think that it's pretty obvious to say that I'm a fan of Calvin & Hobbes. Even though Bill Watterson ended the strip close to 10 years ago, I still don't think any of the comics that I am reading regularly today (Dilbert, Foxtrot & the Boondocks) come close to matching the pure enjoyment that I got from reading C&H every day. One of these days I'll get around to shelling out the big dollars for the Complete Calvin & Hobbes collection release last year.

On a related note, someone mentioned an Armed Forces newspaper still running the strip. For me, one of the great joys of traveling to Japan on business is the chance to re-read the C&H that still run in the English language version of the Daily Yomiuri.

[scratchie]

Even though Bill Watterson ended the strip close to 10 years ago, I still don't think any of the comics that I am reading regularly today (Dilbert, Foxtrot & the Boondocks) come close to matching the pure enjoyment that I got from reading C&H every day. I think Kurt hit the nail on the head when he compared Calvin & Hobbes to Krazy Kat and Pogo. It was really a once-in-a-generation treat, head and shoulders above just about everything else.

[Cei-U!]

While Dilbert is unquestionably funny (I've worked in that office or several just like it), I can never embrace it wholeheartedly because of the wretchedly amateurish art. This is my biggest gripe about contemporary newspaper strips and one more reason Calvin stood head and shoulders above its peers.

Cei-U!
I summon the aesthetic squalor!

[scratchie]

While Dilbert is unquestionably funny (I've worked in that office or several just like it), I can never embrace it wholeheartedly because of the wretchedly amateurish art. This is my biggest gripe about contemporary newspaper strips and one more reason Calvin stood head and shoulders above its peers.Dilbert has also been extremely formulaic over the last 10 or 15 years. The early strips had a lot of funny character interaction between Dogbert & Dilbert, etc. Then there came a point where it became exclusively a workplace strip and every other week featured a new one-trick character inspired by someone's job gripe.

The thing about the best of the best is that they can take the same gag (pulling the football away, Calvin's imagination, throwing a brick at Krazy's head, etc.) and do something new with it every time. It's not just "Oh, Wally's really lazy" or "Look, Cathy has no self-esteem" or whatever.

[DF2506]

torippu

Looking at my avatar, I think that it's pretty obvious to say that I'm a fan of Calvin & Hobbes.<

Nice avatar, btw. I'm glad to see that there are so many C&H fans around here!

>One of these days I'll get around to shelling out the big dollars for the Complete Calvin & Hobbes collection release last year. <

I'd like to get it too. Hopefully...it'll come down in price one of days....or something....lol.

Cei-U!

<While Dilbert is unquestionably funny (I've worked in that office or several just like it), I can never embrace it wholeheartedly because of the wretchedly amateurish art. This is my biggest gripe about contemporary newspaper strips and one more reason Calvin stood head and shoulders above its peers.
<

Well....compared to C&H, ya, Dilbert's art isn't great. But personally, I like Dilbert's art. I have a whole bunch of the strips and its fun stuff. I wouldn't call it 'amateurish'. I'd call the stuff I do 'amateurish.' Its just awful. I can't draw at all...*sigh* Scott Adams, on the other hand, can draw. It may not be the best thing ever, but Dilbert, Dogbert, Catbert, etc all have a unique look to them. Sure, its no C&H, but its good stuff, imo.

Of course, I didn't grow up with comic strips like C&H (just recently got into it), so maybe my opinion would be different if I had...

I just know that, right now, I like Dilbert: both writing and art. Its a fun comic.

Of course, C&H is the best! :)

DF2506
" I'm at December 1986 now. Great stuff."

[Cei-U!]

Scott Adams, on the other hand, can draw. It may not be the best thing ever, but Dilbert, Dogbert, Catbert, etc all have a unique look to them. Sure, its no C&H, but its good stuff, imo.


We shall have to agree to disagree, my young friend. Being able to reproduce the same crude, inexpressive figures over and over again is "drawing" only in the sense that an elementary school's Christmas pageant is "theater."

Cei-U!
I summon the elitist swine... Oh wait, I'm already here! :D

[Mike Kuypers]

We shall have to agree to disagree, my young friend. Being able to reproduce the same crude, inexpressive figures over and over again is "drawing" only in the sense that an elementary school's Christmas pageant is "theater."

Cei-U!
I summon the elitist swine... Oh wait, I'm already here! :D

Reminding me of the famous Truman Capote quote, "That's not writing, that's typing." :)

[dr_cyclops]

I really enjoyed C&H during it's run. I think it was Cei-U who first introduced me to this strip. Still enjoy it today. As a model builder, I really like the one with Calvin is flying around in a high speed jet. When everything goes wrong, we find out it was his fantasy while he was building a model plane.
As much as Bill's strip has entertained me over the years, I must say; I don't agree with him 100%. His view on "Marketing and Merchandising Characters" and the people who buy the stuff really offended me. It's one thing to choose not to merchandise his characters, it's another to point fingers at those who buy and enjoy these products. IMO

[Marc Spector]

Dilbert has also been extremely formulaic over the last 10 or 15 years. The early strips had a lot of funny character interaction between Dogbert & Dilbert, etc. Then there came a point where it became exclusively a workplace strip and every other week featured a new one-trick character inspired by someone's job gripe.



I liked the episodes where he went on dates too. Funny stuff!

[Marc Spector]

<While Dilbert is unquestionably funny (I've worked in that office or several just like it), I can never embrace it wholeheartedly because of the wretchedly amateurish art. This is my biggest gripe about contemporary newspaper strips and one more reason Calvin stood head and shoulders above its peers.
<

Well....compared to C&H, ya, Dilbert's art isn't great. But personally, I like Dilbert's art. I have a whole bunch of the strips and its fun stuff. I wouldn't call it 'amateurish'. I'd call the stuff I do 'amateurish.' Its just awful. I can't draw at all...*sigh* Scott Adams, on the other hand, can draw. It may not be the best thing ever, but Dilbert, Dogbert, Catbert, etc all have a unique look to them. Sure, its no C&H, but its good stuff, imo.

Of course, I didn't grow up with comic strips like C&H (just recently got into it), so maybe my opinion would be different if I had...

I just know that, right now, I like Dilbert: both writing and art. Its a fun comic.



I always figured that the strip looks like it's drawn BY Dilbert, an engineer. So it's funnier that way, whereas other strips are just mediocre-ly drawn.

I like the drawing in Zits, Scott Borgman I think is his name. Interesting partnership too: the writer sketches the strip roughly, giving the general idea, then Borgman refines it with his good drawing ability.

Someone posted an old Jonah Hex, which was done the same way by cartoony writer Albano and illustrator Dezuniga.

[NormanB]

Does anybody want to play on my intramural Calvinball team?

[Sir Tim Drake]

I always figured that the strip looks like it's drawn BY Dilbert, an engineer. So it's funnier that way, whereas other strips are just mediocre-ly drawn.

I like the drawing in Zits, Scott Borgman I think is his name. Interesting partnership too: the writer sketches the strip roughly, giving the general idea, then Borgman refines it with his good drawing ability.

Someone posted an old Jonah Hex, which was done the same way by cartoony writer Albano and illustrator Dezuniga.

It's Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman. I see why you were confused. ;)

Archie Goodwin and Harvey Kurtzman both worked the same way. With their scripts, they would include thumbnail drawings to show the artist what the page should look like. I think this is one reason why they were both so successful at writing for comics-- they both had an artist's sense of composition and page design.

[howyadoin]

The Far Side was good, but at least half his schtick was ripped off from B. Kliban (especially in the early days).Always good to meet another Kliban fan.

[Cei-U!]

Always good to meet another Kliban fan.

When you're down here next month, take a close look at Bittys. She's a dead ringer for a Kliban cat.

Cei-U!
"Love to eat them mousies..."

[scratchie]

Always good to meet another Kliban fan.Old school, baby.

[Marc Spector]

It's Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman. I see why you were confused. ;)

Archie Goodwin and Harvey Kurtzman both worked the same way. With their scripts, they would include thumbnail drawings to show the artist what the page should look like. I think this is one reason why they were both so successful at writing for comics-- they both had an artist's sense of composition and page design.

Do any writers work like this now?

[InfoBroker]

Do any writers work like this now?

Depending on the project and the artist working with him, Alan Moore does page layouts and breakdowns. Some writers will also provide rudimentary costume or character sketches, or include "morgue" pictures or other visual source material for artists to use for inspiration or visual reference.

Many writers will tailor their stories to a particular artist's sensibilities, with the scripts including "pep-talk" or other verbage that is directed to the artist and has nothing to do with words that will see print. Some very good examples of this are Neil Gaiman's scripts.

There are many approaches that a writer will use to get across the visual directions of the story. It all depends on the creative team and their style/preference for creating.

-jb the ib-

[Michael P]

Thanks for pointing me to this thread, howy.

I loved Calvin & Hobbes. No strip has ever captured what it's like to be a kid so well.

And one reason I think Watterson's art stands out so much is his backgrounds and landscapes. Look, really look, at an average forest or desert scene (the latter usually show up when Calvin is playing Spaceman Spiff). Watterson really threw himself into that work; it's visually dense and stylized in a way most comic strips aren't. For that matter, I've seen some "real" art that didn't move me as much as a Watterson landscape can.

And also, there's the Tyrannosaurs in F-14s.

[DF2506]

And one reason I think Watterson's art stands out so much is his backgrounds and landscapes. Look, really look, at an average forest or desert scene (the latter usually show up when Calvin is playing Spaceman Spiff). Watterson really threw himself into that work; it's visually dense and stylized in a way most comic strips aren't. For that matter, I've seen some "real" art that didn't move me as much as a Watterson landscape can.

And also, there's the Tyrannosaurs in F-14s.<

I completly agree about Wattersons backgrounds and landscapes!

In 'Lazy Sundays', the opening strip is like reading a regular comic, instead of a comic strip. The backgrounds/landscapes are really detailed and its a very epic Spaceman Spiff adventure. Watterson is definitly a different type of comic strip artist. I think he could have easily done some comic books too! C&H, in fact, would have made a cool regular comic book I think. We definitly need more all-ages comic books out there!

As for the Tyrannosaurs in F-14s...haven't seen that yet!! Can't wait!!

DF2506
" I'm looking at Feb 1987 now. I've read a few here already, so I'll prob be to March 1987 soon. Man, this strip is so cool."

[Michael P]

In 'Lazy Sundays', the opening strip is like reading a regular comic, instead of a comic strip. The backgrounds/landscapes are really detailed and its a very epic Spaceman Spiff adventure. Watterson is definitly a different type of comic strip artist. I think he could have easily done some comic books too! C&H, in fact, would have made a cool regular comic book I think. We definitly need more all-ages comic books out there!
Oh, yes. He tossed one of those in as a bonus for that and each of the three Superlative collections (The Definitive Calvin and Hobbes, The Authroitative Calvin and Hobbes, and The Essential Calvin and Hobbes. Essentially bigger reprint books of the first few years with color Sundays). Kind of fun to see him work in that milieu.

[DF2506]

Oh, yes. He tossed one of those in as a bonus for that and each of the three Superlative collections (The Definitive Calvin and Hobbes, The Authroitative Calvin and Hobbes, and The Essential Calvin and Hobbes. Essentially bigger reprint books of the first few years with color Sundays). Kind of fun to see him work in that milieu.>

Definitly. You know, I really liked the b&w book I got from the library, but the 'Lazy Sundays' book was prob the best. C&H looked great in color (ok, so it looked great in b&w too. it just wowed me more in color).

C&H is such a fun strip. Although, sometimes it does turn serious like the robbery strips or the racoon dying strip that I'm on right now. Its still good that way, but I prefer the lighter/funnier ones (and thank goodness most of them are light and funny). :)

DF2506
" I definitly have to buy one of the books soon."

[howyadoin]

Old school, baby.Found a gallery of his stuff here (http://www.coldbacon.com/kliban2.html).

And this is definitely in the Far Side vein:

http://www.coldbacon.com/pics/kliban/bksimple.jpg

[Citizen V]

Any other Calvin & Hobbes fans here? If so, what are your favorite strips of Calvin and Hobbes?

Technically Calvin and Hobbes was the first American comic strip i read,because i enjoyed it so much.I have nearly all of the Calvin and Hobbes collections.

My favorite strip would have to be one of the first i read.It was the strip when Calvin,Hobbes and his parents left for a friend`s wedding.Calvin left Hobbes accidently,and had to wait until they got back to their home to see him again.

When they got back,they found that their house was broken into.Calvin was worried when his mother found Hobbes and gave him to him.There was shock,and a segment of Calvin`s parents talking about the break in.

This remains one of my favorite strips ever. :D

[DF2506]

" This looks like a job for..."---Calvin with cape

*Calvin trips over his cape*

Hobbes--" For? "

" ....someone else! "

hehe. Just read that one in June 1987 at the archives at ucomics.

The Spaceman Spiff strips are definitly my favorites, but I did like the one where Calvin turned into a tiger, the living X-ray one (gross. lol), the living dead one ('when in rome...'--Hobbes, starts pretending to be a zombie too)..and...well..lots of others. hehe. :)

I still haven't checked out those other comics yet. lol. I really need too...

I'm busy reading C&H at the moment though. lol.

DF2506
" Still haven't run into those time traveling ones yet. Really want to read those."

[Evan Lanctot]

One of the classic comic strips, of a par with Peanuts, Bloom County, Prince Valiant, Krazy Kat, etc.

Such detail and imagination. Such funny dialogue. The Beatles of comic strips.

[DF2506]

Such detail and imagination. Such funny dialogue. The Beatles of comic strips.<

I totally agree. C&H is definitly the Beatles of comic strips. Hmm. I wonder who the Rolling Stones of comic strips are? HMMM. lol.

I finally did read the time traveling box strips. Those were cool. Really like the box strips. Hope there's more. I'd say Spaceman Spiff and the box strips are my favorites.

Btw, I found two more C&H books at my local library! One of the books--Something is Drooling Under the Bed--I had read most of already online! lol. The other, Yukon Ho!, I had read some of online. Though I really like looking at C&H in the print medium alot (it looks good online, but, imo, it looks even better on paper), so I'm going to re-read those strips again soon.

Maybe after I finish those books I'll get some Foxtrot from the library. I saw a few books of it there!

DF2506
" I know I keep saying it, but I really need to buy a C&H book. Not sure when I'll be able to though."

[The Lucky One]

Watterson is definitly a different type of comic strip artist. I think he could have easily done some comic books too!

I'm certain he could have. Unfortunately, he hates superhero comics, so there's virtually no chance of that. But still, there's obviously plenty of room in comics for non-superhero stories. Frank Cho managed to transfer Liberty Meadows from a newspaper strip to an ongoing comic (for a while, anyway), so it certainly can be done. Too bad Watterson seems pretty content with his retirement.

-D

[LoneWolf21]

Interestingly, a few of my comics reading friends view Frazz as a spiritual homage/sucessor to C&H

[bandits1]

Stupendous Man is the best. Dressed as a caped and masked super-hero, he swoops in to save the day, but ends up messing things up just as bad. Then Calvin and Hobbes wind up talking about Stupendous Man's many "moral victories" but having no actual ones. A close second is Tracer Bullet, the 1930's-40's private detective. He uses words like "dame" and "broad". Hilarious.

[Sir Tim Drake]

Welcome to CBR, bandits.

[DF2506]

Update:

I just recently bought the Calvin & Hobbes Tenth Aniversary book!! Its great! I like the big introduction by Watterson at the beginning of the book (and his comments at the end of the book) and how he does annotations throught out the book. Lots of cool strips in the book too, including the T-Rex in F-14s strip (hilarous), KaZAM (hehe), the duplicator strips, and more. Really big book. Like how the book is sideways too.

So, I got the book, I've read all of it already and I plan to get another book as soon as I can. Any suggestions?

DF2506
" Man without a computer."

[BizarroBeachHead]

Interestingly, a few of my comics reading friends view Frazz as a spiritual homage/sucessor to C&H
Sucessor, hmmmm. Homage, definately. Frazz looks exactly how I would expect a grown up Calvin to look. Not only that, but it utilizes a lot of the same humor. It's got to be a spiritual homage.

Say what you want about Watterson's idea's on merchandising, the long and the short of it is: He never sold out. Watterson is a shining example to live by for anyone doing anything remotely artistic. He never let merchandising sour the experience, he stood up to the newspapers and refused to compromise his artistic style so they could shrink down and cut up the strips to fit, and most importantly he went out on top and quit when he was ready. I'm not joking when I say Watterson truly inspires me on a day to day basis. Calvin and Hobbs was something really special.

[Simon Garth]

I think Boondocks is hillarious, but it's geared more towards a specific crowd. Where as C&H had more "universal" jokes/gags Boondocks is clearly going to appeal more to the hiphop crowd than the masses. It does alot of making fun of different stereotypes within hiphop circles and if you're not in that crowd you won't appreciate alot of the humor. And that's not to say that I think you have to enjoy rap at all to "get" Boondocks or that if you like rap you're automatically going to be a fan.

Well, I've given it a try, and it's just passed me by - it doesn't seem to be either funny, or getting across any particular message ("Grandad's a dimwit", maybe, but that doesn't seem terribly profound) - maybe the last 40-50 strips have been a low point?

[Simon Garth]

Can't believe I forgot this one: If... by Steve Bell. Not sure how well it would translate for an American audience, as quite a lot of it depended on the minutiae of British politics in the 70s-80s.

However, "back in the day", it was unparalleled for sheer polical anger, outrage and vicious satire, originally coming out of the Falklands war (as the strips "hero", disillusioned Able Seaman Reg Kipling, crew on one of Her Majesty's flotilla of Battle Punts, meets and befriends "PP penguin" and proceeds on from there) and then continues through a series of satirical adventures through the dark days of Thatcher's Britain, and beyond).

Where Doonesbury's satire is subtler, Bell just attacks his targets with unrestricted venom and ridicule (originally the right-wing Tories of the 70s-80s, and then the slightly-left-of-centre/veering towards the right Labour party, as he got rapidly disillusioned with them).

Margaret Thatcher is a cast iron bodybuilder, studded with rivets; John Major a grey-washed dullard with y-fronts over his suit trousers, George Bush is presented as a barely evolved chimpanzee, Tony Blair a grinning big-eared buffoon.

Not sure how well he would play in the 'States - a lot of his editorial cartoons would come across as anti-American (though he's just as savage about the Brit government. Well, pretty much all governments, to be honest).

Here's a sample of his editorial cartoons - this gives a flavour of his approach and style, but don't really capture the spirit of the If... series

George Bush's state visit to India

http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/steve_bell/2006/02/28/steve.jpg

Aha - found one (not a particularly good one, unfortunately), from Bell's wikipedia entry. A bit of background - during the strip, as well as the original penguin, the cast acquired numerous other penguins and a John the Monkey, who became regulars, and occasionally other animals (eg this panda). In this strip, the whole mob have been evicted, and are looking for other accomodation:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e2/If_strip.gif/800px-If_strip.gif

Here are some of the characters: http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/stevebell/index.html

There are also some recent (and not very good) examples of the strip on that page as well. To be honest, IMHO it had lost its way by the late 80s. From that point on, most of the original characters rarely appeared, and the strip just featured various inter/national political figures.

[Augusto]

An old thread, but just to say that Calvin & Hobbes are the best. Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous man, The transmogrifier box, running away from a Tyranosaurus rex (his mom)...http://www.smileyhut.com/happy/happy crying.gif (http://www.smileyhut.com)

[TROUBLEZ]

Calvin and Hobbes was my favorite comic strip growing up. My first exposure to the strip was the collection, "Revenge of the Baby Sat." From then on I got all the little collections and started reading the funnies.

My favorite theme was monsters-under-the-bed.

After remembering this strip, the current funny pages seem very, very vannilla.

[Simon Garth]

Calvin and Hobbes was one of the best comic strips of all time, mixing excellent artwork with great humour. While I do miss the strip, I'm glad that Bill Watterson ended the series on a high note rather than continue it and have the quality decline. Watterson did something else unusual for comic strip creators: he refused to license Calvin and Hobbes merchandise.


For all the good it did - T-shirts featuring Calvin are all over the Greek islands

[Kan-Man]

As stated before by many, Calvin & Hobbes is brilliant. I love all the examples previously mentioned and I'll also add his ongoing battles with the babysitter, any mention of muchas smooches, and the panel after panel of facial expressions when he's eating.

[Blackhawkk]

Pearls Before Swine is the funniest strip out there now.

Rat is my role model.

http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/

And I wish that this stri was running instead of Garfield. I hate Garfield.

[TROUBLEZ]

that garfield minus garfield is kind of funny.

[Augusto]

I hate Garfield.

Why? Lasagna?:biggrin:

http://www.yelims.com/IPB/Invision-Board-France-234.gif

[Parch]

For some reason I've never considered the newspaper funnies as "comic books". For years I purchased Calvin and Hobbes, Herman, Garfield, B.C., Wizard of Id, Bloom County, and Far Side books, but I never considered them the same as comic books. I always thought my first comic book was an X-men title bought several years later.

Perhaps it's because the newspaper comics were comedy instead of the more traditional superhero drama. Or maybe now that the traditional "book" forms of tpb and graphic novels are standard in the industry, anything animated is now considered a comic book.

I guess I've been a comic book fan all along.