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Calvin and Hobbes
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
[
Box Set
| Book One | Book Two | Book Three ]
Calvin and Hobbes is unquestionably one of the most popular comic strips of all time. The imaginative world of a boy and his real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when Bill Watterson retired on January 1, 1996. The entire body of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons published in a truly noteworthy tribute to this singular cartoon in The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Composed of three hardcover, four-color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this New York Times best-selling edition includes all Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that ever appeared in syndication. This is the treasure that all Calvin and Hobbes fans seek.
Calvin and Hobbes is unquestionably one of the most popular comic strips of all time. The imaginative world of a boy and his real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when Bill Watterson retired on January 1, 1996. The entire body of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons published in a truly noteworthy tribute to this singular cartoon in The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Composed of three hardcover, four-color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this New York Times best-selling edition includes all Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that ever appeared in syndication. This is the treasure that all Calvin and Hobbes fans seek.
1456 pages, Hardcover
First published September 6, 2005
1048 people are currently reading
17488 people want to read
About the author
Bill Watterson
398 books4,792 followersBill Watterson (born William Boyd Watterson II) is an American cartoonist, and the author of the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes". His career as a syndicated cartoonist ran from 1985 to 1995; he stopped drawing "Calvin and Hobbes" at the end of 1995 with a short statement to newspaper editors and his fans that he felt he had achieved all he could in the comic strip medium. During the early years of his career he produced several drawings and additional contributions for "Target: The Political Cartoon Quarterly". Watterson is known for his views on licensing and comic syndication, as well as for his reclusive nature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,251 reviews
December 3, 2024
I bought this set for my boys a few Christmasses back - but really I bought it for me.
I've read the entire thing a few pages at a time over the course of a some months and I was sad to come to the last wonderfully bound hard cover.
Although I was sad to reach the end I also applaud Bill Watterson for knowing the power in ending something. He quit while he was ahead and left us something golden. It would lessen the work if he had carried on past the point the fire left him, repeating old themes too many times, and forcing us to watch as the life leached out of these beloved characters - perhaps even passing the torch on to contracted writers to continue milking the cash cow ad infinitum. But he didn't. Thanks Bill.
Calvin and Hobbs captures a type of magic. The humour dances between many levels, brilliant visual comedy, erudite observation, poignant insight, laugh out loud slap-stick, and just damn feel-good stuff that touches everyone who has really lived.
I fell into Calvin and Hobbes' world in my 30s and intend to keep dipping back in every time life gets me down.
Go try it.
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...
I've read the entire thing a few pages at a time over the course of a some months and I was sad to come to the last wonderfully bound hard cover.
Although I was sad to reach the end I also applaud Bill Watterson for knowing the power in ending something. He quit while he was ahead and left us something golden. It would lessen the work if he had carried on past the point the fire left him, repeating old themes too many times, and forcing us to watch as the life leached out of these beloved characters - perhaps even passing the torch on to contracted writers to continue milking the cash cow ad infinitum. But he didn't. Thanks Bill.
Calvin and Hobbs captures a type of magic. The humour dances between many levels, brilliant visual comedy, erudite observation, poignant insight, laugh out loud slap-stick, and just damn feel-good stuff that touches everyone who has really lived.
I fell into Calvin and Hobbes' world in my 30s and intend to keep dipping back in every time life gets me down.
Go try it.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
...
January 5, 2020
I'm a Calvin and Hobbes fan from way back so this set has been on my radar for quite a while. After a few years of having this on my wish list, my wife finally got it for me for Christmas. It was worth the wait.
As everyone knows, Calvin is a six year old boy whose best friend is his stuffed tiger Hobbes. This book collects every Calvin and Hobbes strip. The dailies are in black and white and the Sunday strips are in color, as nature and Bill Watterson intended. Dates accompany each strip noting when it was originally printed.
The presentation is great. The pages are heavy duty and slick, built to last. The colors are vibrant but not overdone, looking more like the Sunday strips would have originally looked if not printed on the cheapest newsprint imaginable. The Sunday strips are shuffled slightly so they don't interrupt the flow of longer arcs, like the propeller beanie or the many camping trips. The individual volumes lay flat for easy reading. The dimensions are slightly larger than the omnibuses for the 1990s. Honestly, six or eight volumes would probably make for easier reading but this set is pretty damn impressive.
As for the content, it's as magical as it ever was. On one level, it's a look back at the unbridled imagination and enthusiasm that goes with being six years old and having the world at your disposal. On another level, it's a realistic, sometimes cynical, look at the world through the eyes of a child.
I read a little more than half of this material before Bill Watterson went on the first of his two sabbaticals, which is a shame because the strip truly plateaued once he came back. The Sunday strips busted free of the usual shackles and Watterson had a lot more leeway to experiment. Watterson's art is simplistic at times, partly because of the Peanuts influence, but it's fun to watch the look of the strip evolve as he got more comfortable with it. The tweaks were so gradual that most people didn't notice but it's readily apparent when flipping through the first few strips and then the last few.
Watterson gets a lot of credit for going out on top and not milking the cash cow that was Calvin and Hobbes until the udders became infected and gangrenous. Calvin and Hobbes were never used to sell insurance, for instance, and Watterson never earned a dime on the sticker of Calvin peeing on various things that we see everywhere. The strip may have gotten a little more cynical toward the end, if anything, but was still the best thing in the funny pages.
It took a couple weeks for me to chew through this and it'll be a while before I pick it up again, what with an infant in the house and all. Still, I have to wonder what the strip would be like today, what with global warming, social media, and all the rest of the stuff that has transpired since Watterson called it quits in 1995.
The best comic strip of the modern era is still the best comic strip of the modern era. Five out of five stars.
As everyone knows, Calvin is a six year old boy whose best friend is his stuffed tiger Hobbes. This book collects every Calvin and Hobbes strip. The dailies are in black and white and the Sunday strips are in color, as nature and Bill Watterson intended. Dates accompany each strip noting when it was originally printed.
The presentation is great. The pages are heavy duty and slick, built to last. The colors are vibrant but not overdone, looking more like the Sunday strips would have originally looked if not printed on the cheapest newsprint imaginable. The Sunday strips are shuffled slightly so they don't interrupt the flow of longer arcs, like the propeller beanie or the many camping trips. The individual volumes lay flat for easy reading. The dimensions are slightly larger than the omnibuses for the 1990s. Honestly, six or eight volumes would probably make for easier reading but this set is pretty damn impressive.
As for the content, it's as magical as it ever was. On one level, it's a look back at the unbridled imagination and enthusiasm that goes with being six years old and having the world at your disposal. On another level, it's a realistic, sometimes cynical, look at the world through the eyes of a child.
I read a little more than half of this material before Bill Watterson went on the first of his two sabbaticals, which is a shame because the strip truly plateaued once he came back. The Sunday strips busted free of the usual shackles and Watterson had a lot more leeway to experiment. Watterson's art is simplistic at times, partly because of the Peanuts influence, but it's fun to watch the look of the strip evolve as he got more comfortable with it. The tweaks were so gradual that most people didn't notice but it's readily apparent when flipping through the first few strips and then the last few.
Watterson gets a lot of credit for going out on top and not milking the cash cow that was Calvin and Hobbes until the udders became infected and gangrenous. Calvin and Hobbes were never used to sell insurance, for instance, and Watterson never earned a dime on the sticker of Calvin peeing on various things that we see everywhere. The strip may have gotten a little more cynical toward the end, if anything, but was still the best thing in the funny pages.
It took a couple weeks for me to chew through this and it'll be a while before I pick it up again, what with an infant in the house and all. Still, I have to wonder what the strip would be like today, what with global warming, social media, and all the rest of the stuff that has transpired since Watterson called it quits in 1995.
The best comic strip of the modern era is still the best comic strip of the modern era. Five out of five stars.
June 29, 2015
Me and my sister, who is the coolest sister ever, got this for each other for Channukah one year. I mean, we didn't buy two; we split one copy to share, because we grew up on Calvin & Hobbes, and we even still communicate in Calvin & Hobbes sometimes, where one of us will describe the first panel of a strip, and the other will answer with a description of the last panel. The one about the smocks (where they're supposed to be sculpting and Hobbes gets obsessed with the smock and the last panel is him going "Smock smock smock smock smock," and an incredulous Calvin is all, "What on earth is wrong with you?!?") will still collapse us into giggles until we weep.
In case you are less obsessed than we are, here is the one I mean:
And in case you doubt my eternal devotion, I did this for my birthday this past year:
Anyway, my sis & I even built a special shelf in my apartment for this book to rest its glowing head upon. BUT, because I am almost unbearably lame, I have yet to take it off of its perch and read it. Why? Perhaps because I am so in awe of Bill Watterson that I am afraid to sully its glorious pages with my dirty fingertips. Perhaps because merely to behold it brings me more joy than reading almost anything probably could. Perhaps.
But eventually I will read it. And I will love it more than probably any other book in my library.
In case you are less obsessed than we are, here is the one I mean:
And in case you doubt my eternal devotion, I did this for my birthday this past year:
Anyway, my sis & I even built a special shelf in my apartment for this book to rest its glowing head upon. BUT, because I am almost unbearably lame, I have yet to take it off of its perch and read it. Why? Perhaps because I am so in awe of Bill Watterson that I am afraid to sully its glorious pages with my dirty fingertips. Perhaps because merely to behold it brings me more joy than reading almost anything probably could. Perhaps.
But eventually I will read it. And I will love it more than probably any other book in my library.
February 10, 2017
The philosopher John Calvin...
...and the philosopher Thomas Hobbes...
...with chillingly apt quotes for the day.
Aw, forget 'em! Look at this Calvin and his friend Hobbes: better philosophers and way more funny.
...and the philosopher Thomas Hobbes...
...with chillingly apt quotes for the day.
Aw, forget 'em! Look at this Calvin and his friend Hobbes: better philosophers and way more funny.
February 19, 2021
I'd like to teach the world to sing
In perfect harmony
I'd like to share "Calvin and Hobbes"
With ev-er-ee-bod-eeee
5 stars? 5 stars doesn't even begin to describe it. 10 stars, 20 stars, a million - there aren't enough stars in the sky to properly pay homage to this precious, perceptive, precocious piece of perfection.
In perfect harmony
I'd like to share "Calvin and Hobbes"
With ev-er-ee-bod-eeee
5 stars? 5 stars doesn't even begin to describe it. 10 stars, 20 stars, a million - there aren't enough stars in the sky to properly pay homage to this precious, perceptive, precocious piece of perfection.
August 18, 2016
Since:
Because:
Also:
But:
So:
In conclusion:
Because:
Also:
But:
So:
In conclusion:
July 29, 2016
Everyone loves Calvin and Hobbes. I do, too. It's not just funny, it's also very wise. Tongue-in-cheek philosophy and sociology. Usually the best part of the newspapers that choose to publish it, newspapers that in turn got better per definition than newspapers who don't.
But what about Donald and Hobbes?
Funny, and a little bit scary. Take a look for yourself. :-D
But what about Donald and Hobbes?
Funny, and a little bit scary. Take a look for yourself. :-D
February 3, 2016
I finished this some time ago, but I wanted to mark it here as one of the highlights of the year. I consider Calvin and Hobbes my dear friends and I hope they are still having fun someplace with a lot of snow. I don't have a kid of my own, but if I did, I would surely buy this for his shelves (I borrowed mine from the Library)
August 6, 2016
There was big news in the comics world this week when we learned that the reclusive Bill Watterson, author of the beloved Calvin and Hobbes cartoon who has been retired for almost 20 years, has been quietly collaborating on a new comic strip, Pearls Before Swine.
Calvin and Hobbes ended in 1995, and for those who were born after that, I think it's hard to convey how much loss was felt when Watterson stopped drawing. I mean, I felt genuine loss. I LOVED Calvin and Hobbes and I read it in the paper every day. (Kids, this was back when people actually read newspapers.) I stopped reading the comics page after Watterson retired -- nothing else compared to his brilliant and hilarious stories of a rambunctious boy and his imaginary pet tiger.
A few years ago I was thrilled that someone had cataloged all of the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons into a database so you could search for keywords. Oh, what fun I had looking up old favorites! I own the complete collection of C&H, and it is delightful to page through (I have so many fond memories of reading this comic that it's a trip back to my childhood), but if you are looking for a specific strip, it is hard to find in the books unless you know the date. But hooray for the internet search engine!
If you have never read Calvin & Hobbes, I highly recommend them to, well, everyone. Watterson's stories are clever and humorous and combine elements of philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, and the fun of being an energetic kid. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my game of CalvinBall.
Calvin and Hobbes ended in 1995, and for those who were born after that, I think it's hard to convey how much loss was felt when Watterson stopped drawing. I mean, I felt genuine loss. I LOVED Calvin and Hobbes and I read it in the paper every day. (Kids, this was back when people actually read newspapers.) I stopped reading the comics page after Watterson retired -- nothing else compared to his brilliant and hilarious stories of a rambunctious boy and his imaginary pet tiger.
A few years ago I was thrilled that someone had cataloged all of the Calvin and Hobbes cartoons into a database so you could search for keywords. Oh, what fun I had looking up old favorites! I own the complete collection of C&H, and it is delightful to page through (I have so many fond memories of reading this comic that it's a trip back to my childhood), but if you are looking for a specific strip, it is hard to find in the books unless you know the date. But hooray for the internet search engine!
If you have never read Calvin & Hobbes, I highly recommend them to, well, everyone. Watterson's stories are clever and humorous and combine elements of philosophy, history, sociology, psychology, and the fun of being an energetic kid. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish my game of CalvinBall.
August 5, 2017
One of those seminal touchstones from my childhood that I still connect with today. Anytime I read this it automatically makes me happy!!! This series had a lot of influence on me, in various ways (it took me many years to realize this btw). I love the art, wit, humor, devious wryness, cultural critique, imagination, humanism slyly mixed with cynicism, the whimsy. Watterson merges a beautifully skilled visual style with brilliant comedic timing and writing. Apogee of the comic strip here imo. An incredible 10 year run, and he could have kept it going for much much longer but didn't want to grind the thing to dust and become repetitive plus I think Watterson got super sick of dealing with the constraints of newspapers and the increasing shackles and marginalization of comics in that medium...
And on a side note I find it fascinating to contrast the careers of Watterson and Charles Schultz. Great talents, interesting to compare the creative decisions/evolutions in their work but also the business/financial/brand decisions. Not necessarily saying either is right or wrong but the juxtaposition showcases some of the dilemmas and choices that face creators (especially issues facing comic artists of that particular era but certain issues still hold true today).
And on a side note I find it fascinating to contrast the careers of Watterson and Charles Schultz. Great talents, interesting to compare the creative decisions/evolutions in their work but also the business/financial/brand decisions. Not necessarily saying either is right or wrong but the juxtaposition showcases some of the dilemmas and choices that face creators (especially issues facing comic artists of that particular era but certain issues still hold true today).
January 30, 2015
"It's a magical world, Hobbes, ol' buddy... let's go exploring!"
June 22, 2022
Recommended to: EVERYONE EVER
if there was a better part of my childhood than reading these these comics, i honestly can't think of it.
these stretched my brain as a kid. never pandered to his audience. i learned so many words and references from these. i specifically remember looking up transmogrify, kafka and phlegm in my mom's giant dictionary, and later on laughing when i learned about the philosophers calvin and hobbes.
reading these is probably a big part of how i ended up being the kind of person who would enjoy a site like this. i was talking to a friend the other night for several hours, and somehow it came up at some point that we shared all the major points of our personality, and we both attributed those aspects to having read these. they make you the kind of person who's not just willing to accept things without questioning them.
the way watterson taps into the different sides of his brain to make all these different characters is so obvious and endearing that it's no wonder he never leaves his house these days for fear of being mobbed by adoring fans.
i never realized it until much more recently, but these books also taught me that it's possible not to sell out. the story of watterson being approached for huge marketing deals and turning every one of them down is really inspiring. i know personally i'd buy any official calvin and hobbes merchandise i could get my hands on, even now, but the fact that none exists is truly great in its way.
please please please read calvin and hobbes. you can borrow my copy.
if there was a better part of my childhood than reading these these comics, i honestly can't think of it.
these stretched my brain as a kid. never pandered to his audience. i learned so many words and references from these. i specifically remember looking up transmogrify, kafka and phlegm in my mom's giant dictionary, and later on laughing when i learned about the philosophers calvin and hobbes.
reading these is probably a big part of how i ended up being the kind of person who would enjoy a site like this. i was talking to a friend the other night for several hours, and somehow it came up at some point that we shared all the major points of our personality, and we both attributed those aspects to having read these. they make you the kind of person who's not just willing to accept things without questioning them.
the way watterson taps into the different sides of his brain to make all these different characters is so obvious and endearing that it's no wonder he never leaves his house these days for fear of being mobbed by adoring fans.
i never realized it until much more recently, but these books also taught me that it's possible not to sell out. the story of watterson being approached for huge marketing deals and turning every one of them down is really inspiring. i know personally i'd buy any official calvin and hobbes merchandise i could get my hands on, even now, but the fact that none exists is truly great in its way.
please please please read calvin and hobbes. you can borrow my copy.
April 26, 2017
Često mi se desi da posle napornog dana, tužnog dana, zlog dana, dodjem kući i otvorim kolekciju Kalvina i Hobsa kao lek. To mi je najdraža materijalna stvar koju posedujem. Nekad ni ne shvatim da težim ka njima kao zimi toploti. I oni to upravo jesu, zbir slika i reči koje u sebi sadrže sve ono što nas čini ljudima i kroz svoja dva izrazito cela junaka priča priču običnosti naših života, jer mi mnogo volimo da komplikujemo nešto zapravo tako jednostavno. I zato su Kalvin i Hobs nešto posebno, i niko, ama baš niko, ni svi ti velikani književnosti, velikani umetnosti, im nije ravan. Jer sve se svodi na niz onih divnih letnjih popodneva gde je dovoljno jedno drvo i jedan prijatelj i jedno sunce, i sva ona lekovita tišina izmedju.
Nisam protiv toga da Kalvin i Hobs (ironije li) postanu zvanična religija.
5+
Nisam protiv toga da Kalvin i Hobs (ironije li) postanu zvanična religija.
5+
February 14, 2020
I remembered having read this comic in a German newspaper when I was little. THAT'S how famous Calvin and Hobbes was/is!
Then I noticed that I unconsciously still knew a lot of lines from back then so I started looking into collections and fell in love with the cute artwork and deep messages all over again so I had to buy the complete edition.
This box consists of 4 books: the first has all the comics from 1985-1986; the second those from 1987-1989; the third those from 1990-1992; and the fourth contains all the comics from 1992-1995.
Moreover, the first book has a long (but not boring) introduction by Bill Watterson himself in which he explains how Calvin and Hobbes came to be, what his creative drive was and also a little bit about his private life.
Now, I don't think I need to say a lot about the comics themselves, so I'll keep this short:
Calvin is a very imaginative young boy who has an imaginary friend: Hobbes, a stuffed tiger. And together they have the most awesome adventures.
The comics have a very wide range. What's so fascinating is that kids will just see the funny jokes and cute art while adults can also get deeper into the messages. Bill Watterson really is masterful in incorporating (for example) political criticism in just a handful of panels! One can see the development of the comic when reading the strips one after the other the way I did, but he was always artful and always had something to say.
Some of the themes include friedship
or young love (although ... come to think of it, it still works this way with many adults, too)
or well-known problems from the parents' perspectives
or, as mentioned before, deep political views such as this
To me, this isn't just a comic. It's a very important, very big part of culture and should be known by as many people around the world as possible! Not to mention that I learned to read with it. Thus, I plan to read these strips again and again and again.
Oh, by the way, my favourite quote is this:
Then I noticed that I unconsciously still knew a lot of lines from back then so I started looking into collections and fell in love with the cute artwork and deep messages all over again so I had to buy the complete edition.
This box consists of 4 books: the first has all the comics from 1985-1986; the second those from 1987-1989; the third those from 1990-1992; and the fourth contains all the comics from 1992-1995.
Moreover, the first book has a long (but not boring) introduction by Bill Watterson himself in which he explains how Calvin and Hobbes came to be, what his creative drive was and also a little bit about his private life.
Now, I don't think I need to say a lot about the comics themselves, so I'll keep this short:
Calvin is a very imaginative young boy who has an imaginary friend: Hobbes, a stuffed tiger. And together they have the most awesome adventures.
The comics have a very wide range. What's so fascinating is that kids will just see the funny jokes and cute art while adults can also get deeper into the messages. Bill Watterson really is masterful in incorporating (for example) political criticism in just a handful of panels! One can see the development of the comic when reading the strips one after the other the way I did, but he was always artful and always had something to say.
Some of the themes include friedship
or young love (although ... come to think of it, it still works this way with many adults, too)
or well-known problems from the parents' perspectives
or, as mentioned before, deep political views such as this
To me, this isn't just a comic. It's a very important, very big part of culture and should be known by as many people around the world as possible! Not to mention that I learned to read with it. Thus, I plan to read these strips again and again and again.
Oh, by the way, my favourite quote is this:
January 3, 2017
Now what can I say about this but apart from its amazing. The box set is massive (and heavy). Now I will admit I probably read this faster than normal as I have already had a number of the individual books already - however when the chance came along to own this book at a fraction of the cost (and making it cheaper than if I were to buy the rest of the book individually) how could I resist.
Now for anyone who has not read Calvin and Hobbes (where have you been!) you will at least recognise the characters if not what they do.
Basically you have a six year old boy Calvin, a precocious little boy who's imagination runs wild. Here you share in his world as he is enjoys life while trying to make sense of the world around him. All the time sharing his adventures and observations with his imaginary best friends Hobbes a huge equally precocious tiger.
Now this book represents the complete work by Bill Watterson of his Calvin and Hobbes comics from November 18, 1985 to December 31, 1995 and as sad as the fact is that there will be no more you have to admire the fact they have survived so long and stayed so fresh to this day (and no doubt beyond).
If ever you want something to life your heart and make you smile the comic adventures of Calvin and Hobbes must surely be considered.
Now for anyone who has not read Calvin and Hobbes (where have you been!) you will at least recognise the characters if not what they do.
Basically you have a six year old boy Calvin, a precocious little boy who's imagination runs wild. Here you share in his world as he is enjoys life while trying to make sense of the world around him. All the time sharing his adventures and observations with his imaginary best friends Hobbes a huge equally precocious tiger.
Now this book represents the complete work by Bill Watterson of his Calvin and Hobbes comics from November 18, 1985 to December 31, 1995 and as sad as the fact is that there will be no more you have to admire the fact they have survived so long and stayed so fresh to this day (and no doubt beyond).
If ever you want something to life your heart and make you smile the comic adventures of Calvin and Hobbes must surely be considered.
February 17, 2017
Do we choose our imaginary friends or do they choose us? If Calvin chose Hobbes, how do we explain episodes like this one:
This comic pattern turns up throughout the story of C&H; Calvin reveals an overwhelmingly self-serving viewpoint and Hobbes rolls his eyes so hard he risks brain damage. If Calvin is as selfish as he seems, wouldn't he be tempted to dream up a friend who coddles his ego? Yet Hobbes is far from a yes-tiger, which suggests Calvin realizes how unrealistic his world-view is. He knows that a friend worth having will serve as both co-conspirator and skeptic. And the series often reaches hilarious heights when it plays on this dynamic:
Hobbes might check Calvin's delusions, but he's also the only character who takes them seriously or even understands what his friend is about. For a child that barely fits into the world around him, that's a big deal. Calvin's parents and peers generally don't get him:
The irony of the comic is that the reader can see the comic brilliance that informs Calvin while the inhabitants of his world only see weird and willful. Calvin refuses to tailor his antics to match his audience so he can't serve as a popular class clown and he refuses to compromise his creative vision so he acts a hellion despite his intelligence. It is perilously rare that Calvin's sense of humor clicks with another character (besides Hobbes of course), which is part of why the following comic rocks the funny bone so hard:
In a lot of ways, Hobbes shows us what Calvin might be like when he matures; with softened ambitions, an understanding of the need for responsibility and a greater empathy for other people. Hobbes is also a subtle humorist who doesn't require immediate reaction:
And there are other things that make Hobbes seem more adult. While Calvin looks at girls with disgust, Hobbes dreams of smooches. Hobbes is taller, more athletic and possesses a more practical strategic mind and he generally gets the better of Calvin when they compete; be it in water-balloon battles, checkers or football (Calvinball obviously doesn't have traditional winners and losers.)
Why dream up a friend so much more capable than oneself? Because passing these mature attributes off on someone else frees Calvin to revel in childhood and childishness. Calvin knows adulthood looms. He knows that once he grows up there's no going back. Having Hobbes as a best friend means he can celebrate egotism and immaturity while still developing his social and creative skills for when he inevitably has to let his childhood go. By imagining what Hobbes would do or say, Calvin builds a model for his future self without betraying his present values. Calvin is so dedicated to maintaining his immature persona that, in my favorite story-arc of the series, he passes the credit for his greatest academic achievement to Hobbes:
But while Hobbes gives Calvin a model of who he might be one day, he still has a psychological leap to make. Calvin fights responsibility with every fiber of his being, often at great cost in terms of the esteem and understanding of his parents. Near the end of the series Bill Watterson points to how Calvin might find common ground with adulthood; sometimes all it takes is to have an authority figure take you serious and give you a choice. And who knows, the authority figure might get something out of it too:
Edited 2-17-2017
This comic pattern turns up throughout the story of C&H; Calvin reveals an overwhelmingly self-serving viewpoint and Hobbes rolls his eyes so hard he risks brain damage. If Calvin is as selfish as he seems, wouldn't he be tempted to dream up a friend who coddles his ego? Yet Hobbes is far from a yes-tiger, which suggests Calvin realizes how unrealistic his world-view is. He knows that a friend worth having will serve as both co-conspirator and skeptic. And the series often reaches hilarious heights when it plays on this dynamic:
Hobbes might check Calvin's delusions, but he's also the only character who takes them seriously or even understands what his friend is about. For a child that barely fits into the world around him, that's a big deal. Calvin's parents and peers generally don't get him:
The irony of the comic is that the reader can see the comic brilliance that informs Calvin while the inhabitants of his world only see weird and willful. Calvin refuses to tailor his antics to match his audience so he can't serve as a popular class clown and he refuses to compromise his creative vision so he acts a hellion despite his intelligence. It is perilously rare that Calvin's sense of humor clicks with another character (besides Hobbes of course), which is part of why the following comic rocks the funny bone so hard:
In a lot of ways, Hobbes shows us what Calvin might be like when he matures; with softened ambitions, an understanding of the need for responsibility and a greater empathy for other people. Hobbes is also a subtle humorist who doesn't require immediate reaction:
And there are other things that make Hobbes seem more adult. While Calvin looks at girls with disgust, Hobbes dreams of smooches. Hobbes is taller, more athletic and possesses a more practical strategic mind and he generally gets the better of Calvin when they compete; be it in water-balloon battles, checkers or football (Calvinball obviously doesn't have traditional winners and losers.)
Why dream up a friend so much more capable than oneself? Because passing these mature attributes off on someone else frees Calvin to revel in childhood and childishness. Calvin knows adulthood looms. He knows that once he grows up there's no going back. Having Hobbes as a best friend means he can celebrate egotism and immaturity while still developing his social and creative skills for when he inevitably has to let his childhood go. By imagining what Hobbes would do or say, Calvin builds a model for his future self without betraying his present values. Calvin is so dedicated to maintaining his immature persona that, in my favorite story-arc of the series, he passes the credit for his greatest academic achievement to Hobbes:
But while Hobbes gives Calvin a model of who he might be one day, he still has a psychological leap to make. Calvin fights responsibility with every fiber of his being, often at great cost in terms of the esteem and understanding of his parents. Near the end of the series Bill Watterson points to how Calvin might find common ground with adulthood; sometimes all it takes is to have an authority figure take you serious and give you a choice. And who knows, the authority figure might get something out of it too:
Edited 2-17-2017
October 29, 2013
Need I really explain to you why I gave Calvin & Hobbes a five-star rating? If you grew up during the eighties and nineties or were sentient during that time period, or if you are sentient now and have access to the Internet or if you have ever had a friend who knows what good stuff is, then you know that Calvin & Hobbes is a wonderful, beautiful, hilarious, perfect thing.
I grew up on this. In the early nineties, I woke up every morning and stomped to the front door to retrieve the newspaper and spend some quality time with the comics section while eating my Lucky Charms or Count Chocula (the closest thing to Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs I could lay my hands upon). I delighted in the exploits of Calvin and his pet tiger, Hobbes, who was obviously a real and ferocious but lovable beast, but appeared as a stuffed animal to Calvin's parents, peers and superiors.
When I opened my front door after walking home from the bus stop, I always wished I would be greeted with a tiger attack.
When I got a snow day off from school, I strove for the creative and technical brilliance of Calvin's snow sculptures.
Like Calvin and Hobbes, all of my games and sports eventuallymorphed transmogrified into Calvinball.
Spaceman Spiff was my favorite astronaut hero.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttttttt......
What's interested me in my rereading of the complete collection of Calvin & Hobbes is that it's not written for kids. I mean, it is. It's completely appropriate for children. But there is so much depth and subtlety to the comic that I missed as a kid. Spaceman Spiff was my favorite as a young reader, but what I find appreciating even more as an adult is the culture criticism and commentary. There's a lot of focus on the media and the environment. It speaks for itself:
But my absolute favorite part of reading through the canon of Calvin & Hobbes is trying to figure this precocious kid out. The most obvious characterization for him would be that he is a sweet but mischievous kid with an imaginary best friend. But there's a darker element to Calvin and his tiger. At times, the strip makes you wonder: is there something wrong with Calvin? Should he be receiving some intense therapy?
There is one particular story arc that felt very unsettling to me. Calvin begins receiving letters from an unknown writer; they come marked with a skull and crossbones and they must be decoded.
And what happens, of course, is that the letters are actually coming from Calvin's own house! Which means that Hobbes wrote and sent them! Which, if you recall, is impossible, because Hobbes is an imaginary tiger! And Calvin honestly does not remember writing and sending these messages to himself, which means that he probably has a serious case of Dissociative Identity Disorder (a.k.a. multiple personalities).
So the question becomes: what sort of tragedy has Calvin suffered that has fractured his personality thusly? It's a troubling question, for me, at least.
One final word of praise for Mr. Watterson. He knew when to quit. After ten years of writing about a funny kid and his imaginary tiger, he was able to realize that he was running out of steam. As much as I hate to admit it, the last year of Calvin & Hobbes displayed a downward spiral in creativity and cleverness. Like so many others find themselves unable to do, Watterson retired his strip before it soured. And another congrats to him for not licensing his images to be plastered all over lunchboxes and t-shirts and bastardized in endless movie adaptations. (Yes, this means that if you have a sticker on your Chevy of Calvin pissing on a Ford logo, you are in breach of copyright; also, don't be stupid.)
Calvin will always be my favorite megalomaniacal and possibly schizophrenia-plagued child.
I grew up on this. In the early nineties, I woke up every morning and stomped to the front door to retrieve the newspaper and spend some quality time with the comics section while eating my Lucky Charms or Count Chocula (the closest thing to Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs I could lay my hands upon). I delighted in the exploits of Calvin and his pet tiger, Hobbes, who was obviously a real and ferocious but lovable beast, but appeared as a stuffed animal to Calvin's parents, peers and superiors.
When I opened my front door after walking home from the bus stop, I always wished I would be greeted with a tiger attack.
When I got a snow day off from school, I strove for the creative and technical brilliance of Calvin's snow sculptures.
Like Calvin and Hobbes, all of my games and sports eventually
Spaceman Spiff was my favorite astronaut hero.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuuuuttttttttttttttt......
What's interested me in my rereading of the complete collection of Calvin & Hobbes is that it's not written for kids. I mean, it is. It's completely appropriate for children. But there is so much depth and subtlety to the comic that I missed as a kid. Spaceman Spiff was my favorite as a young reader, but what I find appreciating even more as an adult is the culture criticism and commentary. There's a lot of focus on the media and the environment. It speaks for itself:
But my absolute favorite part of reading through the canon of Calvin & Hobbes is trying to figure this precocious kid out. The most obvious characterization for him would be that he is a sweet but mischievous kid with an imaginary best friend. But there's a darker element to Calvin and his tiger. At times, the strip makes you wonder: is there something wrong with Calvin? Should he be receiving some intense therapy?
There is one particular story arc that felt very unsettling to me. Calvin begins receiving letters from an unknown writer; they come marked with a skull and crossbones and they must be decoded.
And what happens, of course, is that the letters are actually coming from Calvin's own house! Which means that Hobbes wrote and sent them! Which, if you recall, is impossible, because Hobbes is an imaginary tiger! And Calvin honestly does not remember writing and sending these messages to himself, which means that he probably has a serious case of Dissociative Identity Disorder (a.k.a. multiple personalities).
So the question becomes: what sort of tragedy has Calvin suffered that has fractured his personality thusly? It's a troubling question, for me, at least.
One final word of praise for Mr. Watterson. He knew when to quit. After ten years of writing about a funny kid and his imaginary tiger, he was able to realize that he was running out of steam. As much as I hate to admit it, the last year of Calvin & Hobbes displayed a downward spiral in creativity and cleverness. Like so many others find themselves unable to do, Watterson retired his strip before it soured. And another congrats to him for not licensing his images to be plastered all over lunchboxes and t-shirts and bastardized in endless movie adaptations. (Yes, this means that if you have a sticker on your Chevy of Calvin pissing on a Ford logo, you are in breach of copyright; also, don't be stupid.)
Calvin will always be my favorite megalomaniacal and possibly schizophrenia-plagued child.
February 12, 2020
Infinity stars
This is the book of my life - nothing can approach the influence it has had on me
Read it at 10, read it at 100 - Watterson's insight into human beings, childhood, adulthood, friendship, families, and growing up, is unparalleled. I hold no piece of art in higher regard, it is perfect and unimprovable
It would be among the dozen things put into the timecapsule of humanity
This is the book of my life - nothing can approach the influence it has had on me
Read it at 10, read it at 100 - Watterson's insight into human beings, childhood, adulthood, friendship, families, and growing up, is unparalleled. I hold no piece of art in higher regard, it is perfect and unimprovable
It would be among the dozen things put into the timecapsule of humanity
September 16, 2010
It's a magical world; there's treasure everywhere, the days are just packed and scientific progress goes boink. But something under the bed is drooling. Weirdos from another planet? Homicidal psycho jungle cat? Revenge of the baby-sat? Or an attack of the deranged mutant killer monster snow goons?
Nope. Calvin & Hobbes. Yukon ho!
Nope. Calvin & Hobbes. Yukon ho!
July 23, 2019
I've had this collection for thirteen years now, and I tend to open it up and read through a few just about every year. Before that, there was another ten years or so when I would grab smaller, solitary albums from the library to read on, never caring if I'd read said album before or not. It never gets old. It never gets anything less than perfect. There are comics I laugh at every time I read them, and then others that I laugh at because I didn't really get them the previous time around. Then others make me tear up a little, especially the very final one. And no matter what state my life currently is in, what I'm thinking about at the moment, I can usually find a comic that reflects those times and makes me think about things differently.
It graced the world with its presence only just long enough to say everything it had to say. It left behind a legacy of warm feelings and good memories, unblemished by being forced to drag on for decades as another Garfield or whatever, and will carry on to delight new generations till the end of human ages.
It graced the world with its presence only just long enough to say everything it had to say. It left behind a legacy of warm feelings and good memories, unblemished by being forced to drag on for decades as another Garfield or whatever, and will carry on to delight new generations till the end of human ages.
June 22, 2020
Calvin and Hobbes... I discovered them years ago, read all the series, laughed histerically, was moved, thought I was never ever going to have kids if they turned out like Calvin, sympathised with his parents, howled with laughter some more, admired his imagination and will never look at snowmen the same way again. Then passed the bug on to my kids 😋
February 13, 2021
EDIT:Though I've always loved them too much now I understand a lot of the jokes that 10 and 12 y/o me couldn't but laughed at nonetheless.
Those two are legends, always bringing a smile to my face. My whole family loves them.
Those two are legends, always bringing a smile to my face. My whole family loves them.
December 25, 2010
Calvin and Hobbes had a huge cultural influence on the Pacific Northwest anarchist scene (the comic strip is believed to take place in the Pacific Northwest) and the political undertones of the comic strip are fairly obvious but also severely overlooked, but such is the case with all revolutionary art.
With his talent, Watterson could have became an underground messiah churning out inaccessible cult-classic graphic novels, instead he chose to struggle against a highly corrupt and controlling newspaper comic publisher's syndicate in order to see his vision realized of a newspaper comic serial that harked back to the glory days before the mass-produced minimalism Garfield and the preachiness of Doonesbury.
What is so amazing about Watterson's work is how real it is. The comic succeeds as such a profound meditation on life because it is so humble and unpretentious, cut from the fabric of daily existence. Watterson's cynicism is grounded in a love of childlike awe of the natural world and the unfettered human spirit. Unlike most adult authors, Watterson writes about childhood with honesty and realism rather than saccharine romanticism. Yes, Calvin has idyllic fun exploring the world outside him but he is also intimately oppressed and exploited by capitalist institutions on no uncertain terms, it's in spite of and because of this suffering that he cherishes reality and it's this love of freedom and natural beauty that is at the heart of Calvin's cynicism.
Calvin's father is much like Kaczynski or John Zerzan, a misanthropic radical trapped in a soul-crushing white collar existence. The professional career demands of Calvin's father hypocritically force his mother to be the face and the muscle-power behind Calvin's disciplining. Calvin's Dad sees his son turning away from revolutionary ideals and towards the materialism and cynicism of modern capitalism, but what can Calvin's Dad do? Like most children Calvin spends more time with the television set than with his father.
On the flip-side, Hobbes, (Calvin's imaginary friend) is Calvin's inner self, the self Calvin's father wishes Calvin would be. Hobbes follows the path of the tao and looks upon humanity with a bemused skepticism. Calvin bonds most with Hobbes by walking through the wilderness and contemplating life in a very peripatetic fashion. In true to William Blake, Hobbes is a "tiger of wrath", and when developers begin destroying the woods he and Calvin cherish, he advices Calvin to tamper with construction equipment.
We can't help but smile at Calvin's youthful cynicism, materialism, and selfishness because we were like that too as a child. Other children's authors such as Milne portray childhood as some pure ideal state uncontaminated by modern society, but Calvin is the young Winston Smith who threw a temper tantrum to get his mother and infant sister's share of the chocolate rations. Calvin is certainly the working class and his cruel teacher Ms. Wormwood, abusive playground bully Moe, and baby-sitter Rosalyn are symbols of our abject and intimate powerlessness. And like all children, Calvin uses his imagination as a therapeutic force in dealing with the trauma of intimate exploitation. (My all-time favorite strip portrays Calvin's daily routine of compulsive 'education' as a series if vividly illustrated vignettes, from running on a giant gerbil wheel to sitting on an assembly line with his cranium unscrewed as viscous green fluids are pumped into his brain) Calvin also reminds me of Tiqqun's take on school shooters in Theory of the Bloom, (at one point Calvin fantasizes about blowing up his school) let's hope in adulthood Calvin found a more creative way to maximize his destructive potential.
The best thing about this comic is that Watterson drug his feet at the idea of merchandising because he thought it would cheapen his artistic expression. And he was right, the comic's legacy is all the better with the conspicuous absence of Calvin and Hobbes printed pajamas lining Goodwill shelves across the country. This has also created a very interesting subculture of underground and unauthorized bootleg Calvin and Hobbes memorabilia, much of it quite crude and low-brow but some of it rather creative.
With his talent, Watterson could have became an underground messiah churning out inaccessible cult-classic graphic novels, instead he chose to struggle against a highly corrupt and controlling newspaper comic publisher's syndicate in order to see his vision realized of a newspaper comic serial that harked back to the glory days before the mass-produced minimalism Garfield and the preachiness of Doonesbury.
What is so amazing about Watterson's work is how real it is. The comic succeeds as such a profound meditation on life because it is so humble and unpretentious, cut from the fabric of daily existence. Watterson's cynicism is grounded in a love of childlike awe of the natural world and the unfettered human spirit. Unlike most adult authors, Watterson writes about childhood with honesty and realism rather than saccharine romanticism. Yes, Calvin has idyllic fun exploring the world outside him but he is also intimately oppressed and exploited by capitalist institutions on no uncertain terms, it's in spite of and because of this suffering that he cherishes reality and it's this love of freedom and natural beauty that is at the heart of Calvin's cynicism.
Calvin's father is much like Kaczynski or John Zerzan, a misanthropic radical trapped in a soul-crushing white collar existence. The professional career demands of Calvin's father hypocritically force his mother to be the face and the muscle-power behind Calvin's disciplining. Calvin's Dad sees his son turning away from revolutionary ideals and towards the materialism and cynicism of modern capitalism, but what can Calvin's Dad do? Like most children Calvin spends more time with the television set than with his father.
On the flip-side, Hobbes, (Calvin's imaginary friend) is Calvin's inner self, the self Calvin's father wishes Calvin would be. Hobbes follows the path of the tao and looks upon humanity with a bemused skepticism. Calvin bonds most with Hobbes by walking through the wilderness and contemplating life in a very peripatetic fashion. In true to William Blake, Hobbes is a "tiger of wrath", and when developers begin destroying the woods he and Calvin cherish, he advices Calvin to tamper with construction equipment.
We can't help but smile at Calvin's youthful cynicism, materialism, and selfishness because we were like that too as a child. Other children's authors such as Milne portray childhood as some pure ideal state uncontaminated by modern society, but Calvin is the young Winston Smith who threw a temper tantrum to get his mother and infant sister's share of the chocolate rations. Calvin is certainly the working class and his cruel teacher Ms. Wormwood, abusive playground bully Moe, and baby-sitter Rosalyn are symbols of our abject and intimate powerlessness. And like all children, Calvin uses his imagination as a therapeutic force in dealing with the trauma of intimate exploitation. (My all-time favorite strip portrays Calvin's daily routine of compulsive 'education' as a series if vividly illustrated vignettes, from running on a giant gerbil wheel to sitting on an assembly line with his cranium unscrewed as viscous green fluids are pumped into his brain) Calvin also reminds me of Tiqqun's take on school shooters in Theory of the Bloom, (at one point Calvin fantasizes about blowing up his school) let's hope in adulthood Calvin found a more creative way to maximize his destructive potential.
The best thing about this comic is that Watterson drug his feet at the idea of merchandising because he thought it would cheapen his artistic expression. And he was right, the comic's legacy is all the better with the conspicuous absence of Calvin and Hobbes printed pajamas lining Goodwill shelves across the country. This has also created a very interesting subculture of underground and unauthorized bootleg Calvin and Hobbes memorabilia, much of it quite crude and low-brow but some of it rather creative.
May 21, 2021
After nearly ten years of daily comics, Bill Watterson hung up his pencil in 1995 and capped off his critically acclaimed strip, Calvin & Hobbes. Ten years later, Watterson worked with Andrews McNeel Publishing to put out a complete box set (three volumes in hardback / four in paperback). The result is a gorgeous collection worthy of one of the best, most consistent strips around.
Calvin & Hobbes began when I was just two years old and ended just before I turned twelve, so given that I wasn’t grabbing the newspaper every day as a kid, I completely missed out on Watterson’s legendary run. With Watterson’s hard stance against licensing any of his work, there was no other way for Calvin’s world to enter my own outside of the source material. No cartoon show, no movies, no merchandise – nothing. After hearing for years that I should seek out and do a deep dive into Calvin & Hobbes, I took advantage of a sale and picked up the set earlier this year.
This is about as perfect a series as I can imagine. Watterson strikes the perfect tone between childhood wonder and adult perspective. The relationship between Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, is the template for a perfect friendship; they have each other’s back, fight and make up and genuinely bring out the best in one another. I know that’s a little strange when you’re talking about a boy and his imagination, but Calvin and Hobbes’ partnership is one I could continue to read for years had Watterson not stopped in the mid-90s.
The publisher did a wonderful job with the presentation having the daily strips retain their traditional black and white coloring as they’re laid over a slightly yellowed background. It allows his work to pop off the page. The full-page Sunday strips are bright and colorful and brilliantly restored. This is especially excellent in the autumn comics where the reds, yellows and browns help to bring my favorite season to life. I almost wish Watterson had at least allowed some licensing if only so I could get a big print to hang on the wall of my living room.
While the box set will set you back over a cool one hundred dollars, it’s well worth the money. This isn’t something released to cash in on nostalgia; it's a lovingly crafted tribute to one of the best comic strips you could possibly read.
Calvin & Hobbes began when I was just two years old and ended just before I turned twelve, so given that I wasn’t grabbing the newspaper every day as a kid, I completely missed out on Watterson’s legendary run. With Watterson’s hard stance against licensing any of his work, there was no other way for Calvin’s world to enter my own outside of the source material. No cartoon show, no movies, no merchandise – nothing. After hearing for years that I should seek out and do a deep dive into Calvin & Hobbes, I took advantage of a sale and picked up the set earlier this year.
This is about as perfect a series as I can imagine. Watterson strikes the perfect tone between childhood wonder and adult perspective. The relationship between Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, is the template for a perfect friendship; they have each other’s back, fight and make up and genuinely bring out the best in one another. I know that’s a little strange when you’re talking about a boy and his imagination, but Calvin and Hobbes’ partnership is one I could continue to read for years had Watterson not stopped in the mid-90s.
The publisher did a wonderful job with the presentation having the daily strips retain their traditional black and white coloring as they’re laid over a slightly yellowed background. It allows his work to pop off the page. The full-page Sunday strips are bright and colorful and brilliantly restored. This is especially excellent in the autumn comics where the reds, yellows and browns help to bring my favorite season to life. I almost wish Watterson had at least allowed some licensing if only so I could get a big print to hang on the wall of my living room.
While the box set will set you back over a cool one hundred dollars, it’s well worth the money. This isn’t something released to cash in on nostalgia; it's a lovingly crafted tribute to one of the best comic strips you could possibly read.
October 13, 2008
You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll transmogrify. Never will you look at a snowman the same way again. Calvin is the child I would be destined to bear if I had a child. Which is why I have no children. Watterson is a god.
April 9, 2021
Still the best in the game
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2024
Romanian review: Cu un rating incredibil de 4,82 stele, "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes” este cea mai bine notată carte de pe acest site. Acest fapt a fost suficient pentru a-mi stârni curiozitatea și m-a făcut să vreau să citesc colecția – și wow, ce experiență a fost! Fun fact: chiar am căutat o recenzie de o stea, eram curios să văd de ce nu i-ar plăcea cuiva aceste benzi desenate, și nu am găsit niciuna.
Bill Watterson surprinde cu o măiestrie incredibilă magia copilăriei, abordând în același timp teme profunde precum filosofia, politica, consumerismul și problemele de mediu. Astfel, a creat două dintre cele mai memorabile personaje: Calvin, un băiețel de șase ani, și Hobbes, tigrul de pluș și companionul său loial.
Deși am iubit această colecție în ansamblu, nu am putut să-i dau cinci stele. În momentele sale cele mai bune, benzile desenate sunt absolut geniale – amuzante, profunde și pline de observații sociale inteligente. Totuși, trebuie menționat că "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" cuprinde peste 3.000 de benzi desenate. Firește, unele glume devin repetitive sau prea folosite, iar câteva benzi sunt doar mediocre. Dar atunci când sunt reușite, nu sunt doar bune – sunt extraordinare.
Lectura acestei cărți a fost ca o vacanță lungă de vară: ești complet absorbit, te bucuri de fiecare moment, simțind că nu se va termina niciodată – până când se termină. Iar când se termină, te întrebi cum a trecut totul atât de repede și rămâi cu un sentiment dulce-amărui de nostalgie. Ultima bandă desenată a fost deosebit de emoționantă și m-a făcut să mă simt de parcă le spuneam la revedere unor prieteni vechi.
English review: "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes," with an incredible 4.82-star rating, holds the title of the highest-rated book on this website. That alone piqued my curiosity and made me want to dive into this collection—and wow, was I in for a treat! Fun fact: I actually searched for a one-star review, just out of curiosity to see why anyone would dislike these comics, and I couldn’t find one.
Bill Watterson brilliantly captures the magic of childhood while also delving into deep themes like philosophy, politics, consumerism, and environmental issues. In doing so, he created two unforgettable characters: Calvin, an imaginative six-year-old, and Hobbes, his stuffed tiger and loyal companion.
While I loved the collection overall, I couldn’t quite give it five stars. At its best, the comic strips are absolutely brilliant—hilarious, insightful, and thought-provoking, often blending pure entertainment with sharp social critique. However, it’s worth noting that "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" contains over 3,000 strips. Naturally, some jokes become repetitive or overused, and a few comics feel just average. But when they shine, they’re not just great—they’re extraordinary.
Reading this book felt a lot like experiencing a long summer vacation: you’re completely absorbed, savoring every moment, feeling like it’ll never end—until it does. When it’s over, you’re left wondering how it all went by so quickly, with a bittersweet sense of nostalgia. The final comic was especially touching, like saying goodbye to old friends.
January 7, 2022
This is a collection I will never part from until I’m too feeble to hold the heavy thing!
True brilliance at its best. Almost every thought of the philosophy of life is touched upon in these cartoons. The sole purpose: to remind one to laugh at oneself and the absurdities of life.
True brilliance at its best. Almost every thought of the philosophy of life is touched upon in these cartoons. The sole purpose: to remind one to laugh at oneself and the absurdities of life.
July 13, 2025
Original review, ca. 4/14/20:
This was the on and off bedtime book for... wow, almost three years... and almost to the day. Interesting. Anyway, I loved this strip when it was in the newspapers, and it stands up to the test of time. So why not all five stars if I loved it so much? Because it got a little repetitious towards the end. It ran for about 10 years, and Watterson seemed like he might've been in a slump around years seven to nine. This was between two nine month sabbaticals. But he got his groove on again to take it to the finish line. As much as I enjoyed the strip, I'm glad he ended it when he did. It takes a lot of maturity to know when it's time to finish something and then take the steps to end it. This was certainly a cash cow for him by that time, but he was more interested in the art than the money, and that makes him cool as a fan.
Another reason for holding back the fifth star is that I liked the earlier strips better than the later ones. There is philosophy and humor throughout the entire run, but the first several years had a bigger focus on the humor. The later ones, especially those between the two breaks, are more preachy. I go to the funnies for funnies, not to be told how I'm supposed to live. The comics, for me, are an escape; I don't want to have to think about heavy stuff when I'm reading them. This is one of the reason's I gave up on Frazz a few years ago even though it's very similar to Calvin and Hobbes. I don't know; Watterson just did it better. He never crossed a line into total obnoxiousness. Don't get me wrong; I liked most of the philosophical ones just fine, but if that was all there was to the strip, I would've given up on it like I did with Frazz.
I had a few of the earlier books when I was growing up, and read them several times. They were all given away for some reason when I was thinning out books, but luckily I was able to get this complete collection. It was nice revisiting those early strips, almost all of which I remembered, and nice seeing others as if for the first time because I hadn't seen them since they were first printed in the newspaper. Some recurring themes I loved were Calvin's snowmen, his time torturing Roslyn the baby sister, Calvinball, and his interactions with his classmate and neighbor, Susie. In fact, one of my favorite strips involves them playing together:
It was also cool to find a couple of strips that were clearly written with me in mind. This is how my play went as a child. Building castles (and drip castles) as the tide was rolling in and watching them get demolished was the best.
I was obviously the inspiration for Calvin's dad, never mind the fact that I had just turned seven years old when he started writing the strip. Everyone says I'm an old soul; I think they might be right.
Here's one that kind of predicts the future. Well, let's just say this kind of thing is getting a test run as of this writing (4/14/20. We're in the middle of a mass hysteria pandemic over a souped-up cold virus.)
This one also relates to me. I actually remember reading it when it first came out because it made such an impact. I didn't give answers exactly like this on my tests, but I believe they were discussed among the teachers. I remember an essay for a history test in seventh grade. We were covering the middle of the 20th century, and I think the question related to the presidents. I started out with "Hello, I'm Eisentrudy" (an amalgam of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy for those of you unfamiliar with our POTUSes), and it went downhill from there, getting most of the credit for my well deserved D, though I expect the grade would've been better had I been answering a creative writing question in my English class. Alas.
The strip could get a little violent at times, but those were hilarious as well. This one actually showcases Watterson's genius. It's humorous and thought provoking all at once. Those were great. I don't mind comics that make me think if there's humor mixed up in it. Granted, I didn't think about it for very long, but I did think, so that's something.
This last one was just a run of the mill kind of thing for me until the penultimate panel. Amusing, but nothing great. Then... Well, see for yourself.
I can't explain why I love this one so much, but I lost it when the blob started singing "Feelings," and that's what prompted Calvin to put it out of its misery (as well as his own). That song always makes me think of Carol Burnett singing it as Eunice Higgins, but there isn't a decent clip of that on YouTube. Once again, alas.
If you're a Calvin and Hobbes fan, then reading this is well worth it. If you're not, then pass it by, or try one of the smaller collections.
Update, 10/22/22:
I forgot to add pictures of the Hobbes I made for my nephew for Christmas a couple of years ago. Here he is.
I even made the scarf even though it has a mad curl to it I never could completely straighten.
During the Chinavirus pandemic, we had to improvise with education since the public screwl system wasn't going to do very much about it. (Admittedly their hands were tied pretty tight by our Guvnuh, Dr. Wreck-It-Raff Nawtham, but whatever.) So, I implemented a few things, one of them being 20+ minutes of reading every day, sometimes out loud together, sometimes alone. The kid doesn't like reading in general, but he'd always grab this whenever I announced it was reading time. I think he went through it three or four times. He would even come ask me to explain some of the strips sometimes, so I know he wasn't just pretending to look at the thing for 20 minutes before he could go on to other activities, and he would even sometimes grab it when it wasn't reading time. (I suspect he would give this collection five stars.)
Then in September or so he awkwardly hinted and hemmed and hawed that if I was going to get him anything for Christmas, and if I wanted to, I could make a small stuffed tiger for him, only five or six inches tall would be fine, and if I decided to do that and also decided to make it a scarf, it didn't have to be red, it could be any color at all from the yarn I already had on hand. I made some kind of noncommittal comment like "we'll see," the subject was never brought up again, and I think he thought I forgot all about it.
10-year-olds are pretty easy to read since I used to be one myself (contrary to the popular belief that I have never been a child), and I knew he really wanted a Hobbes stuffed animal. This took longer than usual to make because the kid and his sisters were living with me at the time, but through various stealthy maneuvers I managed to keep it hidden away as I worked on it over the next couple of months before shipping it to my mother's house until Christmas.
I think the best gift I got that year was seeing the look on his face when he opened it.
This was the on and off bedtime book for... wow, almost three years... and almost to the day. Interesting. Anyway, I loved this strip when it was in the newspapers, and it stands up to the test of time. So why not all five stars if I loved it so much? Because it got a little repetitious towards the end. It ran for about 10 years, and Watterson seemed like he might've been in a slump around years seven to nine. This was between two nine month sabbaticals. But he got his groove on again to take it to the finish line. As much as I enjoyed the strip, I'm glad he ended it when he did. It takes a lot of maturity to know when it's time to finish something and then take the steps to end it. This was certainly a cash cow for him by that time, but he was more interested in the art than the money, and that makes him cool as a fan.
Another reason for holding back the fifth star is that I liked the earlier strips better than the later ones. There is philosophy and humor throughout the entire run, but the first several years had a bigger focus on the humor. The later ones, especially those between the two breaks, are more preachy. I go to the funnies for funnies, not to be told how I'm supposed to live. The comics, for me, are an escape; I don't want to have to think about heavy stuff when I'm reading them. This is one of the reason's I gave up on Frazz a few years ago even though it's very similar to Calvin and Hobbes. I don't know; Watterson just did it better. He never crossed a line into total obnoxiousness. Don't get me wrong; I liked most of the philosophical ones just fine, but if that was all there was to the strip, I would've given up on it like I did with Frazz.
I had a few of the earlier books when I was growing up, and read them several times. They were all given away for some reason when I was thinning out books, but luckily I was able to get this complete collection. It was nice revisiting those early strips, almost all of which I remembered, and nice seeing others as if for the first time because I hadn't seen them since they were first printed in the newspaper. Some recurring themes I loved were Calvin's snowmen, his time torturing Roslyn the baby sister, Calvinball, and his interactions with his classmate and neighbor, Susie. In fact, one of my favorite strips involves them playing together:
It was also cool to find a couple of strips that were clearly written with me in mind. This is how my play went as a child. Building castles (and drip castles) as the tide was rolling in and watching them get demolished was the best.
I was obviously the inspiration for Calvin's dad, never mind the fact that I had just turned seven years old when he started writing the strip. Everyone says I'm an old soul; I think they might be right.
Here's one that kind of predicts the future. Well, let's just say this kind of thing is getting a test run as of this writing (4/14/20. We're in the middle of a mass hysteria pandemic over a souped-up cold virus.)
This one also relates to me. I actually remember reading it when it first came out because it made such an impact. I didn't give answers exactly like this on my tests, but I believe they were discussed among the teachers. I remember an essay for a history test in seventh grade. We were covering the middle of the 20th century, and I think the question related to the presidents. I started out with "Hello, I'm Eisentrudy" (an amalgam of Truman, Eisenhower, and Kennedy for those of you unfamiliar with our POTUSes), and it went downhill from there, getting most of the credit for my well deserved D, though I expect the grade would've been better had I been answering a creative writing question in my English class. Alas.
The strip could get a little violent at times, but those were hilarious as well. This one actually showcases Watterson's genius. It's humorous and thought provoking all at once. Those were great. I don't mind comics that make me think if there's humor mixed up in it. Granted, I didn't think about it for very long, but I did think, so that's something.
This last one was just a run of the mill kind of thing for me until the penultimate panel. Amusing, but nothing great. Then... Well, see for yourself.
I can't explain why I love this one so much, but I lost it when the blob started singing "Feelings," and that's what prompted Calvin to put it out of its misery (as well as his own). That song always makes me think of Carol Burnett singing it as Eunice Higgins, but there isn't a decent clip of that on YouTube. Once again, alas.
If you're a Calvin and Hobbes fan, then reading this is well worth it. If you're not, then pass it by, or try one of the smaller collections.
Update, 10/22/22:
I forgot to add pictures of the Hobbes I made for my nephew for Christmas a couple of years ago. Here he is.
I even made the scarf even though it has a mad curl to it I never could completely straighten.
During the Chinavirus pandemic, we had to improvise with education since the public screwl system wasn't going to do very much about it. (Admittedly their hands were tied pretty tight by our Guvnuh, Dr. Wreck-It-Raff Nawtham, but whatever.) So, I implemented a few things, one of them being 20+ minutes of reading every day, sometimes out loud together, sometimes alone. The kid doesn't like reading in general, but he'd always grab this whenever I announced it was reading time. I think he went through it three or four times. He would even come ask me to explain some of the strips sometimes, so I know he wasn't just pretending to look at the thing for 20 minutes before he could go on to other activities, and he would even sometimes grab it when it wasn't reading time. (I suspect he would give this collection five stars.)
Then in September or so he awkwardly hinted and hemmed and hawed that if I was going to get him anything for Christmas, and if I wanted to, I could make a small stuffed tiger for him, only five or six inches tall would be fine, and if I decided to do that and also decided to make it a scarf, it didn't have to be red, it could be any color at all from the yarn I already had on hand. I made some kind of noncommittal comment like "we'll see," the subject was never brought up again, and I think he thought I forgot all about it.
10-year-olds are pretty easy to read since I used to be one myself (contrary to the popular belief that I have never been a child), and I knew he really wanted a Hobbes stuffed animal. This took longer than usual to make because the kid and his sisters were living with me at the time, but through various stealthy maneuvers I managed to keep it hidden away as I worked on it over the next couple of months before shipping it to my mother's house until Christmas.
I think the best gift I got that year was seeing the look on his face when he opened it.
December 27, 2020
My "project" book for the year 2020.
I like to pick a big (even a huge) book to read over the course of an entire year, little by little, and this time around it was this massive three-volume set comprising the entirety of the Calvin and Hobbes daily strips and Sunday spreads. I read most of these individual strips as they came out, a magical time in my life as the time frame covers the birth and young childhoods of both of my children. I read these volumes from cover to cover, for about 15-30 minutes every Sunday morning. Each strip is dated and it was fun to anticipate major events in my life (like the birth of my children) and see what happened in Calvin's universe on that day.
This strip remains one of my favorites despite the character of Calvin being hi-jacked by decal manufacturers and displayed on the back windows of large pick-up trucks. His outlook on life and his incredibly active imagination is at once humorous and insightful, providing much needed wisdom in the guise of a little kid and his stuffed tiger.
Recommended to all.
I like to pick a big (even a huge) book to read over the course of an entire year, little by little, and this time around it was this massive three-volume set comprising the entirety of the Calvin and Hobbes daily strips and Sunday spreads. I read most of these individual strips as they came out, a magical time in my life as the time frame covers the birth and young childhoods of both of my children. I read these volumes from cover to cover, for about 15-30 minutes every Sunday morning. Each strip is dated and it was fun to anticipate major events in my life (like the birth of my children) and see what happened in Calvin's universe on that day.
This strip remains one of my favorites despite the character of Calvin being hi-jacked by decal manufacturers and displayed on the back windows of large pick-up trucks. His outlook on life and his incredibly active imagination is at once humorous and insightful, providing much needed wisdom in the guise of a little kid and his stuffed tiger.
Recommended to all.
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