A month or so ago, my kids discovered the stack of Calvin and Hobbes books we had tucked away on a book shelf. After much giggling and calls of “Hey! You gotta come see this one!” the books are now spread all over the house, and almost always have at least one child’s nose firmly planted within its pages. (The title quote is from one of the Sunday strips.)
One thing I think that speaks to the pure genius of Calvin and Hobbes is that you can appreciate the humor no matter who you are—I love them today as much as I did as a teen, my kids (5, 7, and 9) find them hilarious, to the point of quoting the dialogue in the strips just as other people quote movie lines. I love that!
I’ve been reading Bill Watterson’s essays and comments in The Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary Book. In it he talks about different aspects of the comic strip business, including licensing which he totally opposed because he felt the spirit of the comic could not be well represented in one panel on a mug, bag, or t-shirt, and it would devalue Calvin and Hobbes by over-saturating the market. I can’t help but admire the guy. He had principles that couldn’t be bought. (Still does.)
He really captured the spirit of childhood—the good and the bad, how hard and frustrating it is to be a kid at times, and how wild and wonderful a kid’s imagination is. And he did it all with a near-perfect sense of timing and humor.
I don’t think any other comic has ever come close to the genius and humor of Calvin and Hobbes. Do you? What was your all time favorite comic strip?
Happy Monday, everyone! Hope it’s filled with laughter.