Recent Comments

1. over 15 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   There’s nothing wrong with TV. Yeah, there are a lot of trashy and worthless shows, but, get this, there are a lot of trashy and worthless books, too. Does that mean all books are bad? Of course not. Having a rap song laden with expletives doesn’t devalue Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony.

   There are still wholesome shows. There are still interesting shows. There are still funny shows. There are shows that make you think, shows that teach you new things, and shows that help you relax. I think the only reason people criticize television is because it’s “easier” than reading a book, which somehow makes it wrong. You people talk about television like it’s the spawn of Satan and I really don’t see a reason for it.

   The key to good entertainment, like anything in life, is moderation. Watterson is criticizing the people who spend all day watching TV, not anyone who enjoys it.

2. almost 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   This is one of my favorite C&H strips. I laughed so hard when I read this the first time.

3. almost 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   Joe, how Calvin manages to get into situations that seem impossible without outside help is just part of the joke. It’s the idea that little boys manage to do the seemingly impossible just to make things a little more difficult for everyone else.

   You’re right about Hobbes, though. He’s a real tiger to Calvin and a stuffed tiger to everyone else. Neither one is necessarily “wrong”, and they don’t contradict themselves. They’re just two ways of looking at the same world. Watterson talked about it in the 10th Anniversary Edition (which is a must-have for any C&H enthusiast).

4. about 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   Calvin calls it a toboggan. Not sure why Hobbes called it a sled.

   Watterson doesn’t have any children. Nor was he anything like Calvin when he was young. As for Hobbes, he was primarily based off of Watterson’s tabby cat, Sprite. So he said in the 10th Anniversary Edition.

5. about 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   The Sunday strip had to be written, drawn and inked weeks in advance. Watterson said he was almost never that well prepared, so that’s why the Sunday strip is rarely incorporated in the current story. A lot of newspapers didn’t even have a Sunday edition, so the Sunday strip couldn’t be integral to the story anyway lest many people have no idea what is going on come Monday. Most of the time it wasn’t worth the hassle of writing a Sunday strip into the story, so Watterson didn’t do it very often.

6. about 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   I’m pretty sure he was referring to his own dignity. There’s no dignity in going kicking and screaming.

7. about 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   Yeah, Gil, because flying through a windshield and surviving will certainly make you stronger and will not in any way leave you partially disfigured with possible brain damage.

   “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” – Anonymous

   “Oh really?” – AIDS

8. about 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   I like the way Hobbes looks in a raincoat.

9. about 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

   BATS = BUGS

10. about 16 years ago on Calvin and Hobbes

    Bill Watterson has said that the nature of Hobbes’ reality doesn’t concern him. I wish I had the direct quote (it was in the 10th Anniversary Edition), but he said that Calvin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone else sees him another. We all see the world differently and he just draws that literally in the strip.

    He also said that Hobbes is definitely not a stuffed animal that magically comes to life around Calvin.