Calvin & Hobbes Appreciation Thread

[Powder]

Originally Posted by Dirty Blond

I'm not with Watterson all the way regarding licensing. I think most of us can agree a plush Hobbes would have been cool to have.

Many fairs and carnivals that I went to as a kid had bootleg Hobbes plushies. I ended up winning one, I still have it.
It's pink though, not orange. Neat nonetheless. Totally agree that we coulda used some stuff, even just a statue or snowglobe would be nice.

[Rikirk]

*Tries to sneak in the house,....(gets pounced)*

[Leo656]

Sorry to jump in so late, on one of my annual drop-ins. Best comics strip ever and the collections are some of the best sources of pure joy that exists on this Earth. That's all.

[Fugitoid Jones]

Originally Posted by Powder

Many fairs and carnivals that I went to as a kid had bootleg Hobbes plushies. I ended up winning one, I still have it.
It's pink though, not orange. Neat nonetheless. Totally agree that we coulda used some stuff, even just a statue or snowglobe would be nice.

A snowglobe would've been fantastic, especially one of Calvin and Hobbes on their sled, or one of Calvin's snowmonsters.

[discordiatookie]

Love Calvin & Hobbes. There was always collected books in my household when I was growing up, thanks to my Mum who was also a fan. I've got three or four collected books lying around, they never get old.

[Powder]

I've been consdering getting the two tattooed. Hmm...

[Oculus Orbus]

Oh man, I consider Calvin and Hobbes to be one of the greatest artistic achievments of all time in any media, and probably the best comic strip of the las 50 years (exceeded only by Peanuts). Watterson's resistance to license the strip makes a lot of sense to me, considering how mass media and capitalism often was one of the main subjects of the strip.

Originally Posted by Powder

I've been consdering getting the two tattooed. Hmm...

That would be about as cool as a tattoo can get. Just saying.

[BoggleKng]

Has anyone seen this?
http://www.dearmrwatterson.com/store/

I am currently on the hunt for any Watterson or Calvin and Hobbes OA..

[Prowler]

Probably my favorite comic strip alongside Garfield and Foxtrot. It never gets old. I own every strip in book format.

I don't mind Watterson's views on licensing. Imagine if Calvin & Hobbes ever got a live action movie like Garfield did? Sounds scary

[Dawnatello Turtle Chick]

Hands down one of my absolute favorite comic strips of all time. I have such fond memories of shared reading time with my dad growing up. He has all the books and I've read them countless times, great stuff!

I also loved his made up reports for school- Bats are birds, etc. When he decided to start collecting his snot in a jar for those that didn't have enough snot... And of course all his alter-egos.

Nostalgic side note- I also remember reading the old 1950s & 60s Disney Uncle Scrooge comics with my dad- I love those too!

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by Dawnatello Turtle Chick

Hands down one of my absolute favorite comic strips of all time. I have such fond memories of shared reading time with my dad growing up. He has all the books and I've read them countless times, great stuff!

I also loved his made up reports for school- Bats are birds, etc. When he decided to start collecting his snot in a jar for those that didn't have enough snot... And of course all his alter-egos.

Nostalgic side note- I also remember reading the old 1950s & 60s Disney Uncle Scrooge comics with my dad- I love those too!

I own plenty of Disney comics, from Donald and Scrooge to Mickey and Goofy. They're pretty popular in several European countries. In fact, most people here grow up reading those character's comics than watching their cartoons.

[Pterobat]

"Calvin and Hobbes" was a brilliant comic. I loved it as a kid, and understood the depths of Watterson's satire later in life. The art was great, the characters were fun, and it changed the way Sunday comics were done, as Watterson fought for flexibility of panel space to showcase his artistic plans.

As you grow up, you realize how Calvin is incredibly articulate and smart, but uses most of that for just being the same brat that young kids normally are. It's great.

As a dinosaur geek, it's also fascinating to watch his artwork of the creatures evolve as he learned more (something he notes in the 10th Anniversary Collection), and the contrast between the highly realistic art and the cartoony style of the rest of the comic.

I respect Watterson's desire for privacy and the lack of licensed merchandise on his part--he's outlined solidly why he believes in the latter in several places, and I agree with him.

(I don't have a problem with "selling out" if it's voluntary on the part of the artist, and in Watterson's case, it obviously would not be.)

While Watterson is a very private sort, the book "Looking for Calvin and Hobbes" manages to piece together a lot about the comic's history through interviews with people who knew Watterson. I'd recommend checking it out:

http://www.amazon.ca/Looking-Calvin-.../dp/1441106855

I still own one of those carnival plush tigers, and mine actually is orange. I called it "Hobbes", but I never thought of it as an actual Hobbes bootleg likeness. I might post a picture later.

[Master Splinter]

Oh how I would love to have a copy of the rare Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes book....

-ms

[Pterobat]

As I suggested, here is my "Hobbes" that I won at a carnival in the 1990s.

[Powder]

Originally Posted by BoggleKng

Has anyone seen this?
http://www.dearmrwatterson.com/store/

I am currently on the hunt for any Watterson or Calvin and Hobbes OA..

Heard about it when the trailer dropped but I've still not seen it. Forgot to, actually. & as for the OA, HA! No chance.

Originally Posted by Pterobat

https://24.media.tumblr.com/c2bda78e...fffpo1_500.png

As I suggested, here is my "Hobbes" that I won at a carnival in the 1990s.

Mhm, that's the same one I have! The only difference, as I said earlier, is that mine is like a magenta color.

[Donatello19]

They also made some calendars way back when...but other than those and the textbook, there's nothing else I know of. The creator stated a reason why he didn't want any merchandise, I think...can't remember what he said.

I used to love Clavin and Hobbes! Totally forget about it until I saw this thread..gotta hunt down some of the books now.

[TMNT_Guy]

You know, I had never heard of Calvin and Hobbes until the internet; It was never published in my local newspaper. I guess they felt the B.C. Comic Strip was more important.

[Pterobat]

Originally Posted by Donatello19

They also made some calendars way back when...but other than those and the textbook, there's nothing else I know of. The creator stated a reason why he didn't want any merchandise, I think...can't remember what he said.

I used to love Clavin and Hobbes! Totally forget about it until I saw this thread..gotta hunt down some of the books now.

Basically, Watterson felt that merchandising would cheapen his characters, by taking them out of their comic context and making them things to sell mugs and plushies, instead of just being standalone comic characters.

At other times, he's said he doesn't think animation could measure up to the potential of a comic strip, and that it'd be unnerving to hear someone give a voice to Calvin.

Watterson got into huge fights with the syndicates over this very thing, and it was pretty rough on him.

This article here goes into it: http://web.archive.org/web/200602101...du/comics.html , but the Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary book also did.

Here's one quote from the article:

"Some very good strips have been cheapened by licensing. Licensed products, of course, are incapable of capturing the subtleties of the original strip, and the merchandise can alter the public perception of the strip, especially when the merchandise is aimed at a younger audience than the strip is. The deeper concerns of some strips are ignored or condensed to fit the simple gag requirements of mugs and T-shirts."

Of course, Calvin and Hobbes was popular, so a lot of people made bootleg products. Everyone knows about the peeing Calvin decals, but some more innocent stuff was out there. My cousin used to have a bootleg Calvin and Hobbes t-shirt with artwork from one of the Boy Scout strips printed on it.

[chrisdude]

Calvin and Hobbes is my favorite strip. My grandfather gave me his old copy of The Essential Calvin & Hobbes, when I was a kid, and over time, I just kept buying books until there weren't any left.

I do think it could make a great cartoon, especially with the 11-minute format that's caught on. But we'll always have the comics.

[plastroncafe]

There's apparently going to be a show of Watterson's work in Ohio at the Billy Ireland Cartoon Library & Museum.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stor...ks-to-OSU.html