Watterson, Bill "Calvin & Hobbes" - 1985-95
My sons absolutely loved Calvin when they were younger. I believe they still do. But they were part of their lives and hence the life or our whole family for so long. Wherever I went, there was a "Calvin & Hobbes" book somewhere in the house.
This is a picture of the first book about little Calvin and his stuffed pet Hobbes. Everyone thinks, Hobbes is just a toy tiger but for Calvin, he is real and they talk all the time. That is definitely part of the charm of this series. But that's not all. Calvin is precocious and cheeky. In German I would call him a "neunmalkluger Dreikäsehoch" (word by word: nine times smart - three cheese high guy). But he is so cute, he makes fun of everyone, his parents, his teachers but also of himself. My favourite stories are when he builds all kind of snowmen. They make me laugh every time. Well, all his stories do.
Unfortunately, the cartoonist seems to be a very private person, didn't just forbid any merchandizing of his characters but stopped drawing them altoghether after ten years. What a shame. But, at least we have the 18 books he produced during his productive years. They can all be found in "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" from 2005 (see below).
From the back cover:
"This is the first collection of the popular comic strip that features Calvin, a rambunctious 6-year-old boy, and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, who comes charmingly to life."
LOL- Oh, I so LOVE Calvin & Hobbes! What a brilliant imagination Watterson has. He REALLY understands childhood. I've been tempted over the years to invest in the definitive collection of his work but was put off by the price. But I've just checked on Amazon and it seems to be quite reasonable... [grin] I think everyone needs a Hobbes in their life and maybe a relative like Calvin who lives in another town.....
ReplyDeleteI totally agree, Kitten. I follow one of the pages on Instagram that publishes one of his cartoons every day, almost like in the newspapers once upon a time. Anyway, he always gives me something to laugh but I also always ask myself, what have his poor parents done to deserve this? LOL
DeleteCalvin and Hobbes are SO fun! I love reading about their crazy adventures. It was sad when Watterson decided to end the comic strip.
ReplyDeleteI know. Don't these people understand that they don't "own" the characters anymore once they release them into the world and have to carry on? :)
Deletethanks for reminding me of these cute characters - off to the library to see what they have. Cheers
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Carole. I am constantly reminded of them because my sons still have a few in the house. Though, they've taken some, as well, of course.
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