It seems incredible to believe, but this Wednesday marked the thirtieth anniversary of the syndication of the first Calvin and Hobbes strip by Bill Watterson. Calvin and Hobbes is arguably one of the greatest comic strips of all time, and it was a major part of my childhood. I am extremely thankful to my dad for sharing his collection of Calvin and Hobbes books with me, because many aspects of my understanding of the world and my childhood interests were influenced by paging through those books.
Like Calvin, I am very interested in dinosaurs. Walking with Dinosaurs had just come out when my dad first showed me his Calvin and Hobbes books, and I was immediately attracted to the dinosaur fantasy sequences. It is interesting to compare Bill Watterson's early dinosaur strips to his later ones. At first, the dinosaurs appeared in a very cartoony style, but as the strip evolved, the dinosaurs were drawn with greater scientific accuracy.
Another of my interests was outer space, and the Spaceman Spiff fantasies blended with my own fascination with space exploration. Spaceman Spiff was one factor that helped inspire me to write my own superhero adventure books. My sister and I enjoyed reading Calvin and Hobbes together, and we started a club based on Calvin's Get Rid Of Slimy girlS club. We mostly just sat around in a fort making secret codes and planning grand adventures. It was a lot of fun, and helped us bond as siblings.
I think that everyone who appreciates comics should thumb through a collection of Calvin and Hobbes. There is so much about it that puts today's comic strips to shame. For one thing, the strip is simply amazing to look at. Back when Calvin and Hobbes appeared in newspapers, cartoonists were given an entire page to work with for Sunday strips. This allowed cartoonists to write detailed stories and draw lavish illustrations. It's too bad the current format has reduced available space to such a degree that cartoonists can only put in a couple talking heads within a handful of tiny panels.
Although it was written in the eighties and nineties, there are some political and societal references that have held up the test of time. Of course there are also some exceptions. One dated gag that appears frequently is Calvin's desire to rent a VCR to watch bad movies. But overall, the strip contained some insightful critiques of consumerism, public education, and instant gratification. As a kid, I paid more attention to the pictures and the simpler storylines, but now I look back and see how many of the problems with American culture Watterson pointed out in his strips are still the norm today.
Watterson was a unique individual within the comic strip industry. As opposed to giants like Garfield and Peanuts, Watterson steadfastly refused to merchandise Calvin and Hobbes. He viewed people like Charles Schultz and Jim Davis as sellouts who cheapened the integrity of the comic strip by plastering their characters on all sorts of consumer products. Watterson wrote a detailed account of his experience battling with newspaper syndicates to retain the merchandising rights to his characters in the Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book. Although I personally would love to see some official Calvin and Hobbes products and animation, I respect Watterson's desire to keep his work in the realm of comics. By not allowing Calvin and Hobbes to saturate popular culture, he has maintained the imaginative spirit the strip embodies. This way, everyone reading it takes away something different upon entering the strip's world.
Much like his creator, Calvin is quite unlike any other character in newspaper comics. A collaborative article on Progressive Boink eloquently describes what makes Calvin unique, and I will paraphrase and add my own observations to what it had to say. It is quickly established that Calvin is an intelligent boy, and far from a literal six year old. His vocabulary is very advanced, and I learned many new words from reading Calvin and Hobbes. He is also a mischievous boy, actively doing things he knows to be wrong, but does anyway because they make make him feel good.
More importantly, Calvin is very much alone in his world. He has no social life, he has a difficult relationship with his family, and everyone else he interacts with can't stand him. His one true friend exists only in his imagination. One author remarks that this is not the type of character you make the star of your show, but the strip became extremely popular regardless. I think the reason for this is that Calvin embodies individualism in a world where everyone is expected to conform to some standard. In the strip, Calvin gets pleasure from throwing snowballs at his neighbor, Susie; he fantasizes about blowing up his school with a fighter jet; and when things are too quiet, he throws a water balloon at his mom.
Stuff like this wouldn't fly in today's funny pages, but this is what being a kid is all about. Kids live for Saturday morning cartoons, exploring the wilderness, and finding adventure in ordinary situations. Not everyone is perfect, and Calvin and Hobbes, in the words of the article, "managed to truly express the idea-without being preachy, without being sappy, perhaps even without trying-that it was okay to be different."
I encourage you to read the article on Progressive Boink. It showcases 25 strips which the contributors of the website feel best represent the spirit of the strip. If you like what you see, I also recommend going to your local bookstore and picking up a Calvin and Hobbes collection for yourself. Calvin and Hobbes is unlike anything produced today. It's entertaining, insightful, and suitable for all ages. Happy birthday, Calvin and Hobbes!
