Tiger sprawling in the sun!
Fast asleep, his day is done.
Lying here, 'twas warmth he sought.
The sun has made his tummy hot.
One sad fact he overlooked:
His brain is now completely cooked!


I cracked open my boxed set the other day to enjoy some Calvin and Hobbes with my Girlfriend. She had never read it growing up, or been exposed to it.  I called her this morning and her mother answered her phone, remarking that I had been a 'sweetheart' to share something so simple, but so personal to me with her.

Calvin and Hobbes has always been really special to me.
I remember growing up and eating my cereal at the kitchen table, comics page in hand.  Calvin and Hobbes was always saved for last, and every Sunday page was cherished.

I can't pick just ONE thing that I liked about this strip, or what made it so amazing.

From his many inventions, the always mentioned but never explained noodle 'incident',Space Man Spiff's adventures on the planet Zokk, to his Snowmen creations, and all in between- I loved it all.

There's always been something magical about that boy and his tiger to me.


Anyone else feel the same way?

Yes, I was sad when the series ended.

yes, I picked this up when it came out.

Best comic EVER

I was hoping this thread would be a discussion of these guys:

Quoted: yes, I picked this up when it came out. www.ebooknetworking.com/books/074/074/big0740748475.jpg

I too have that, it was worth every penny I paid for it.

Quoted: I was hoping this thread would be a discussion of these guys: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg/488px-John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Thomas_Hobbes_%28portrait%29.jpg

Wrong forum.

Yep, that was the best. There is a Christmas poem like that one only much longer. It's awesome and fun to read to the kids at Christmas. My daughter gets out one of the huge Calvin and Hobbes books and has me read it to her sometimes. I have to explain a lot of it to her but she loves it.

The best ever. Watterson was a genius.

Quoted: Yep, that was the best. There is a Christmas poem like that one only much longer. It's awesome and fun to read to the kids at Christmas. My daughter gets out one of the huge Calvin and Hobbes books and has me read it to her sometimes. I have to explain a lot of it to her but she loves it.

This one?

Quoted: I was hoping this thread would be a discussion of these guys: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg/488px-John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Thomas_Hobbes_%28portrait%29.jpg

I'll do you one better.

Quoted: Quoted: I was hoping this thread would be a discussion of these guys: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg/488px-John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Thomas_Hobbes_%28portrait%29.jpg I'll do you one better. img406.imageshack.us/img406/6647/2d7a80780470e79cqs7.jpg

The Calvin/snowman cartoons Watterson did are PRICELESS!!!

Best ever!!!!

One of my boys found my old books and started reading them, I hear him laughing out loud all the time.

Did the author do any lithographs or anything?

I would love to get a nice framed one for the office.

great comic.

Like delicate lace, so the threads intertwine,
O gossamer web of wonderous design!
Such beauty and grace wild nature produces . . .
Eww, look at that spider suck out that bug's juices!




How many boards would the mongols hoard
If the Mongol hordes got bored?




What if my bones were in a museum,
And aliens paid good money to see 'em?
And what if they put me together all wrong,
Sticking bones onto bones where they didn't belong?
Imagine phalangies, pelvis and spine,
Welded to mandibles that once had been mine.
With each misassemblage, the error compounded,
The aliens would step back in terror, astounded!
The textbooks would show me in grim illustration,
The most hideous thing ever seen in creation!
The aliens would debate how Man lived all those years,
With teeth-covered arms growing out of his ears!
Oh, I hope I'm never in such a manner displayed,
No matter how much to see me the aliens paid.




Another night deprived of slumber.
Hours passing without number.  I lay
Dripping sweat and now quite certain
That tonight the final curtain
Drops upon my short life's precious play.

From the darkness, by the closet,
Comes a noise, much like a faucet.
Makes:  A madd'ning drip drip dripping sound.
It seems some ill-perportioned beast,
Anticipating me deceased,
Is dripping poison puddles on the ground.

A can of Mace, a .45
Is all I'd need to stay alive,
But no weapon lies within my sight.
Oh my gosh!  A shadow's creeping!
Ominous and black, it's seeping,
Slowly 'cross a moonlit square of light.

Suddenly a floorboard creak
Announces the bloodsucking freak
Is here to steal my future years away!
A surfurous smell now fills the room,
Heralding my imm'nent doom.
A fang gleams in the dark and murkey grey!

Oh, blood-red eyes and tenticles!
Throbbing, pulsing ventricles!
Mucous-oozing pores and frightning claws!
Worse, in terms of outright scariness,
Are the suckers multifarious,
That grab and force you into its mighty jaws.

This disgusting abberation
Of nature needs no motivation
To devour helpless children in their beds.
Relishing dispairing moans,
It chews up kids and sucks their bones,
And dissolves inside its mouth their li'l heads.

I know this 'cause I read it not
Two hours ago, and then I got
The heebie-jeebies and those awful shakes.
My parents swore upon their honor
That I was safe, and not a goner.
I guess tomorrow they'll see their sad mistake.

In the morning they'll come in,
And say, "What was that awful din
We heard last night?  You kept us both from sleep!"
Only then will they surmise
The gruesomness of my demise,
And see that my remains are in a heap.

Dad will look at Mom and say,
"Too bad he had to go this way."
And Mom will look at Dad and nod assent.
Then she'll say, "Still, it's fitting
That as he was this world quitting,
He should leave another mess before he went."

They may not mind at first, I know.
They will miss me later, though,
And perhaps admit that they were wrong.
As memories of me grow dim,
They'll say, "We were too strict with him.
We should have listened to him all along."

As speedily my end approaches,
I bid a final "buenos noches"
To my best friend here in all the world.
Gently snoring, whiskers seeming
To sniff at smells (he must be dreaming),
He lies snuggled in the blankets, curled.

HEY! WAKE UP, YOU STUPID CRETIN!
YOU GONNA SLEEP WHILE I GET EATEN?!
Suddenly the monster knows I'm not alone!
There's an animal in bed with me!
An awful beast he did not see!
The monster never would've come if he had known!

The monster, in his consternation,
Demonstrates defenestration,
And runs and runs and runs and runs away.
Rid of the pest,
I now can rest,
Thanks to my best friend, who saved the day.



All that from memory.  

I own every comic.

My favorite of all time.

I really enjoyed his work, and probably had all of his books.

Lost them in the Divorce of 2000.

I had no idea there was a boxed set out - looks like that's going on my Christmas wish list.

EDIT:

Didn't know the boxed set was hard cover.

Nice for some, not for me.

Guess I'll just re-buy the soft covers.

Quoted: I was hoping this thread would be a discussion of these guys: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg/488px-John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Thomas_Hobbes_%28portrait%29.jpg

My sister is naming her first child John Calvin.

Quoted: Did the author do any lithographs or anything? I would love to get a nice framed one for the office.

No, Watterson Didn't do -any- merchandising or licensing other than his books.

Quoted: Quoted: Did the author do any lithographs or anything? I would love to get a nice framed one for the office. No, Watterson Didn't do -any- merchandising or licensing other than his books.

Yep.  You have to admire a guy who values artistic integrity more than loads and loads of cash.  There aren't very many people like that around.

Quoted: Quoted: Yep, that was the best. There is a Christmas poem like that one only much longer. It's awesome and fun to read to the kids at Christmas. My daughter gets out one of the huge Calvin and Hobbes books and has me read it to her sometimes. I have to explain a lot of it to her but she loves it. This one? vanelsas.files.wordpress.com/2007/12/calvin-and-hobbes-christmas-poem-vdef.jpg

THAT'S IT! F'n A!

Quoted: The Calvin/snowman cartoons Watterson did are PRICELESS!!!

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Did the author do any lithographs or anything? I would love to get a nice framed one for the office. No, Watterson Didn't do -any- merchandising or licensing other than his books. Yep.  You have to admire a guy who values artistic integrity more than loads and loads of cash.  There aren't very many people like that around.

I read somewhere that Watterson used to go to bookstores and pull out random C&H books, and sign a random page, or draw a picture.

They ended up on eBay and he never did that again.

The last strip came out on my honeymoon.  I remember sitting in a hotel in Dallas reading it.  Like I had lost a friend.  Calvin & Hobbes ceratinly had a way of touching me emotionally.  My wife bought me the boxed set, great to read it all again.  I see soooo much of Calvin in my oldest son!

Quoted: I really enjoyed his work, and probably had all of his books. Lost them in the Divorce of 2000. I had no idea there was a boxed set out - looks like that's going on my Christmas wish list. EDIT: Didn't know the boxed set was hard cover. Nice for some, not for me. Guess I'll just re-buy the soft covers.

I dunno if they'll have it again this year but Costco had a GREAT price on the box set last Christmas time... If you have a membership or know someone who does, get it there...

Quoted: Quoted: I really enjoyed his work, and probably had all of his books. Lost them in the Divorce of 2000. I had no idea there was a boxed set out - looks like that's going on my Christmas wish list. EDIT: Didn't know the boxed set was hard cover. Nice for some, not for me. Guess I'll just re-buy the soft covers. I dunno if they'll have it again this year but Costco had a GREAT price on the box set last Christmas time... If you have a membership or know someone who does, get it there...

Thanks.

My bad as I didn't elaborate:  I don't like hardcover books.  Have quite a few, just prefer soft.

Thanks, DR!!!

Quoted: The last strip came out on my honeymoon.  I remember sitting in a hotel in Dallas reading it.  Like I had lost a friend.  Calvin & Hobbes ceratinly had a way of touching me emotionally.  My wife bought me the boxed set, great to read it all again.  I see soooo much of Calvin in my oldest son!

I remember that day, too. I was angry about it all day long, I felt like it had broken my heart.  I was 9 years old, I didn't want to accept that there weren't going to -BE- anymore Calvin and Hobbes.

I was, and still am glad that he ended it on a high note with a beautiful Sunday layout.  Those were always m favorites.

This was it, right?

The snow man strips were some of the best ever!!

Quoted: The snow man strips were some of the best ever!!

Agreed.  Those were my favorites.

I love the snow man ones, but I also like some of the philosophy you would get while they were rocketing down the hill in the radio flier or watching the seasons change.

Best strip ever.

a boy and his tiger FTMFW!

My son has this shirt.

Quoted: a boy and his tiger FTMFW!

I don't think that I could say that better myself.

People ask me why I love the strip so much, and its hard to explain. I have to lend them a copy.
You just have to read it yourself, you know?

Watterson, as one of the previous posters put it, was a genius.

Every strip was magical, entrancing it. Every single one of them.


I remember finding this trip on the intarwebs, and even know I knew it was faked, it still pulled on my heartstrings.

Watterson didn't write it, but it still goes along with how he felt about the world.



When Hobbes turns back into a tiger in the last panel, it breaks my heart.

Quoted: My son has this shirt.

WTF...  Little bit over the top for me.

See avatar.

Shane

the crazy snowmen comics and the live food were classic.

Quoted: Quoted: My son has this shirt. WTF...  Little bit over the top for me.

No such thing in my universe.

This one is his favorite.

This thread and a recent death in the family reminded me of this:

Quoted: My son has this shirt.

Fuck that shit

Quoted: I was hoping this thread would be a discussion of these guys: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/19/John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg/488px-John_Calvin_-_Young.jpg upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d8/Thomas_Hobbes_%28portrait%29.jpg

Here ya go.




I was beat to it  I guess it I took too long darn it .

Quoted: Quoted: Did the author do any lithographs or anything? I would love to get a nice framed one for the office. No, Watterson Didn't do -any- merchandising or licensing other than his books.

I know there were a couple of calendars. Google says there's also a Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes textbook and a shirt somewhere.

Awesome strip.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Did the author do any lithographs or anything? I would love to get a nice framed one for the office. No, Watterson Didn't do -any- merchandising or licensing other than his books. I know there were a couple of calendars. Google says there's also a Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes textbook and a shirt somewhere. Awesome strip.

Yeah, a friend of mine has the teaching book. I am jealous.
My mother actually had one at a point when she  taught grade school; but this was yeeeears ago.

Last time I checked that book is going for like $1-1200

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Did the author do any lithographs or anything? I would love to get a nice framed one for the office. No, Watterson Didn't do -any- merchandising or licensing other than his books. Yep.  You have to admire a guy who values artistic integrity more than loads and loads of cash.  There aren't very many people like that around.

Yup. All of those Calvin-peeing-on-something stickers on trucks, Calvin and Hobbes t-shirts, etc. are all pirated. Rip-offs. And Watterson doesn't get a cent from them.

Part of the reason he quit doing the comic is because the syndicate kept trying to force him to sell out and do plushies, a tv show, etc. He didn't want his comic to be whored out like Garfield, so he quit.

A lot of his Sunday strips were attempts to break the rules. The syndicate mandated certain panel sizes, a certain number of panels, etc. at first and he broke all the rules and got them to say "to heck with it, do what you want". He also managed to get a few newspapers to make the Sunday comics bigger as a result.

Watterson was awesome. Makes me wish he'd do a big Calvin and Hobbes comic book for an anniversary or something.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Did the author do any lithographs or anything? I would love to get a nice framed one for the office. No, Watterson Didn't do -any- merchandising or licensing other than his books. Yep.  You have to admire a guy who values artistic integrity more than loads and loads of cash.  There aren't very many people like that around. Yup. All of those Calvin-peeing-on-something stickers on trucks, Calvin and Hobbes t-shirts, etc. are all pirated. Rip-offs. And Watterson doesn't get a cent from them. Part of the reason he quit doing the comic is because the syndicate kept trying to force him to sell out and do plushies, a tv show, etc. He didn't want his comic to be whored out like Garfield, so he quit. A lot of his Sunday strips were attempts to break the rules. The syndicate mandated certain panel sizes, a certain number of panels, etc. at first and he broke all the rules and got them to say "to heck with it, do what you want". He also managed to get a few newspapers to make the Sunday comics bigger as a result. Watterson was awesome. Makes me wish he'd do a big Calvin and Hobbes comic book for an anniversary or something.

Yup, if I recall didn't he go on  two different 9 month sabbaticals as well to refresh his creativity?
He's a helluva guy, I love  reading the interviews people did with him.

Best comic ever!

I own every one of the books.

One of my favorites is when Calvin finds himself in the middle of playground with all the girls, since all the boys are playing baseball.  He's running around with his shirt over his mouth and nose screaming, "I'm in coody central."  Suzie calmly replies, "Don't worry, stupidity produces antibodies."

Another one finds C&H walking along a sidewalk and Calvin spots a buckeye on the ground.  He comments how perfect it is, shape, color, etc., then Hobbes says, "are you going to put it in your collection?"  Calvin replies, "No, I'm gonna see if I can dent Suzie's skull from 50 feet."

Quoted: One of my favorites is when Calvin finds himself in the middle of playground with all the girls, since all the boys are playing baseball.  He's running around with his shirt over his mouth and nose screaming, "I'm in coody central."  Suzie calmly replies, "Don't worry, stupidity produces antibodies." Another one finds C&H walking along a sidewalk and Calvin spots a buckeye on the ground.  He comments how perfect it is, shape, color, etc., then Hobbes says, "are you going to put it in your collection?"  Calvin replies, "No, I'm gonna see if I can dent Suzie's skull from 50 feet."

Quoted: Quoted: The Calvin/snowman cartoons Watterson did are PRICELESS!!! bbs.wiredminds.org/images/user_files/421b39e442220a229f04a.gif www.ianai.net/jokes/CalvinAndHobbs.Snowmen/Snowmen/mime-attachment-9.jpeg img.photobucket.com/albums/v601/matusz/wc17-CalvinAndHobbes.jpg

+1, I always like the snowman strips the most