If you are in one of your worst moods or in a depressed state of mind or haven’t had a good laugh in your stress filled life, look no further - Calvin and Hobbes is the harbringer of a big smile on your face.
For those who are not acquainted with this cute little fellow and his pet, here is the intro - Calvin is this hyperactive 6 year old whose best friend is Hobbes, a stuffed toy tiger, who comes alive in Calvin?s presence and accompanies him in all his adventures.
Some of the wild experiences of Calvin include:
Taking off on wild trips into space at school
Teasing his neighbour and classmate, Susie
His pranks on the baby sitter
Longing to play with the snow in summer
Praying for Santa to bring his ?catalog? of presents
His invention of Transmorgifiers
All these and more make you roll with laughter.
You also encounter some philosophical moments when you least expect it:
Calvin cribs as usual ’’ I’m getting disillusioned with these New Years.
They don’t seem very new at all! each New Year is just like the Old Year.Here Another year has gone by and everything’s still the same! There’s still pollution and war and stupidity and greed! Things haven’t changed.
I say what kind of future is this? I thought things were supposed to improve! I thought the future was supposed to be better!
to which Hobbes replies philosophically ’’The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present’’
Hobbes comes alive only in Calvin?s presence and sometimes remains nothing more than a stuffed toy and this transformation can be best described in none other than through the author?s own words :
?When Hobbes is a stuffed toy in one panel and alive in the next, I’m juxtaposing the ’’grown-up’’ version of reality with Calvin’s version, and inviting the reader to decide which is truer. Most of the time, the strip is drawn simply from Calvin’s perspective, and Hobbes is as real as anyone.
So when Calvin is careening down the hillside, I don’t feel compelled to insert reminders that Hobbes is a stuffed toy. I try to get the reader completely swept up into Calvin’s world by ignoring adult perspective. Hobbes, therefore, isn’t just a cute gimmick. I’m not making the strip revolve around the transformation. The viewpoint of the strip fluctuates, and this allows Hobbes to be a ’’real’’ character.?
Bill Watterson has given us a visual treat along with the humorous anecdotes. His illustrations are lucid with life and provide great inspiration for any aspiring cartoonist.
The books are better (than the random ones you pick on the net or in any newspaper) for various reasons ? can read a page whenever you feel like and cheer yourself up apart from making people turn green with Envy for starting your own collection of C&H.