Product Description: Calvin, the six-year-old dirty tricksmeister and master of indignation and his warm, cuddly philosopher sidekick and Hobbes, a tiger whose idea of adventure is to lie on his back by the fire and have his stomach rubbed. This unlikely due captured the hearts, the minds, and, most of all, the funny bones of America. The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes contains a full-color section, as well as the cartoons appearing in The Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes "Boink." All Sunday cartoons are presented full-page and full-color.
The American Boyhood Calvin in Hobbes in some ways reminds me of Mark Twain's writing in comic form. Calvin is a rebellious rapscallion of a little boy who lives a life filled with picaresque adventures and imaginary exploits. His imagination and personality are boundless, yet he is a total failure in school, he has no human friends, and he is bullied. Despite his poor grades, he exhibits an astounding vocabulary and often muses on the deeper aspects of life. Calvin struggles in the real world but that doesn't bother him because he knows what truly matters in life: friendship (he has a very close one with Hobbes), adventure, and imagination. And he's irresistibly charismatic despite his flaws.
The other main characters are strong supporters. Hobbes is essential to Calvin's well-being, and most of Calvin's exploits take place with Hobbes at his side. They scuffle, but they love each other. Every day when Calvin comes home from school, Hobbes is waiting to pounce on him in joyous greeting. Calvin is annoyed to be tackled every day, but deep down he cherishes it; without that daily pounce, what would Calvin's life be? Calvin's parents take background roles in the strip, since the protagonists are the boy, his stuffed tiger, and the world he lives in, but they are calming presences, always stepping in when Calvin gets in too much trouble. Sometimes they're a little strict, but they're good role models. Susie, the neighborhood girl, always tries to be friendly with him but Calvin, in an age-old young boy's strive to assert his masculinity, insists that she is gross and constantly picks on her in a light-hearted manner. Many strips, however, just involve Calvin and Hobbes, getting into trouble, discussing ideas, exploring, relaxing...
One would be a complete curmudgeon whose heart is not warmed by this touching, happy, and filled-with-life exploration of the mind and adventures of a young boy. As long as Calvin is dreaming up Spaceman Spiff adventures while stuck in a desk at school, as long as he and his tiger are taking walks in the forest or wild wagon rides down and off of cliffs while philosophizing about life, as long as Calvin is pelting Susie with snowballs on a cozy winter day, and as long as Calvin and Hobbes are running and jumping in the backyard in a rollicking game of Calvinball, there is peace in this world.
Necessity. So it is pretty much a fact that Bill Watterson is a comic genius! This collection holds with it the comics with which I grew up and remember from my childhood. Watterson is excellent with a pen, and his wit and intelligence shines through via his solid characters and humor. He balances boyish silliness with concepts bordering both on philosophical and just plain cynical. And somehow it all goes straight to the heart.
C&H FTW If you love C&H, you'll like this book. For me, Calvin is like pepperoni pizza... when it's good, it's really good, and when it's bad, it's still good.
an epic, great modern day comic strip parable ......... I could relate to Calvin and Hobbes, from the moment I first started following the adventures of the devilish, eternal six year old (Calvin) and his scruffy, stuffed pal tiger (Hobbes). Though, many of the plots appear simplistic (example: Calvin makes a mess and his mother yells at him!), there is so much more to the little strips than meets the eye. For starters, Calvin and Hobbes ponders the meaning of life, the voicelessness of children in society, and self image (among other themes).
Though, this comic strip is something that definitely appeals to little children, because it presents a little boy that we all can relate to (or maybe spent time avoiding on the playground if he teased us), and his stuffed animal. Anyone who owned a stuffed animal and knows what an important bond that is for a child, knows the feeling when that toy crosses over from the identity of "inanimate object" to "lifelike being." The creature that we relate to truly embodies the qualities who want in a best friend and companion, and we aren't doing the talking for that creature, because it truly does have a mind of its own! (in the eyes of a child) Wonderful, very funny and beautifully drawn. I've had mine for almost fifteen years and I just went back to look at it today. It feels like no time has passed between now, and the time I first looked at it. Buy this today and make it a part of your collection.
Long This Calvin and Hobbes book is the best i've read by far. Its 250 pages long and each page contains 3 strips. The strips in this book are especially funny and i am sure you'll enjoy them. I highly reccomend this book.
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