What is Watterson's worst-ever "Calvin and Hobbes"?

[Gaith]

Calvin and Hobbes. Perhaps the greatest newspaper comic strip of all time (okay, it is). There were so many wonderful and classic installments. So much magic conjured up in so little space. To attempt to single out any one entry as the series' best would be a hopeless task.

But might we agree on a single worst? The lamest strip Watterson ever made?

I don't have any of my C&H books on me, but the first one to come to mind is the one where Calvin proudly posts a "Calvin's Creek" next to a stream in the woods, only to find that Hobbes has already marked it as "Hobs Crk". There are two problems with this: one, the misspellings go against the consistent portrayal of Hobbes as smarter than Calvin (though I guess one could argue that he's still learning human ways this early in the series' run), and two, the implied attempt at owning a piece of nature just seems way out of character for everyone's favorite Zen-like tiger.

I'm sure it's a matter of Watterson not yet having firmly established Hobbes' character in his own mind, but still, there you have it: my default nomination for the Worst "Calvin and Hobbes" Strip Ever.

Any other picks?

 

[sojourner]

I can't think of one that was bad per se, but there are a lot that just weren't memorable. Which obviously makes it difficult to single them out.

 

[Gepard]

My pick for worst:

Calvin: Some kids at school got filthy rich today
Hobbes: How?
Calvin: They grabbed him by the drinking fountain.

And the art to accompany it is just the two characters riding their sled through a series of panels. Staggeringly unfunny.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

Any other picks?

No particular ones stand out because it's been a fair number of years since I read any Calvin & Hobbes. I remember, though, that the first year was weak compared to later in the run, as Watterson was trying out things, like Calvin's uncle, that didn't go anywhere or do anything until he figured out what worked and what didn't.

I will say that I don't like the final strip at all, because I felt at the time (and still do) that Calvin & Hobbes needed some closure, that Calvin needed to see Hobbes for what he was. I've sometimes thought that the strip should have ended with Calvin's mother announcing that she was pregnant. At other times, I thought that Calvin's father should have died suddenly. I think there needed to be a recognition from Calvin that childhood ends, and that's why I thought the strip should have ended with Calvin seeing Hobbes as a stuffed tiger.

 

[sojourner]

^That would have sucked. Calvin is a Peter Pan character. Eternally young in our hearts.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

the one where Calvin proudly posts a "Calvin's Creek" next to a stream in the woods, only to find that Hobbes has already marked it as "Hobs Crk". There are two problems with this: one, the misspellings go against the consistent portrayal of Hobbes as smarter than Calvin (though I guess one could argue that he's still learning human ways this early in the series' run), and two, the implied attempt at owning a piece of nature just seems way out of character for everyone's favorite Zen-like tiger.

Assuming that Hobbes is indeed a stuffed tiger, then anything he does that affects the real world must have been "really" done by Calvin. So if Calvin can't spell "Hobs Crk", then neither could Hobbes.

 

[Mr_Homn]

Any other picks?

No particular ones stand out because it's been a fair number of years since I read any Calvin & Hobbes. I remember, though, that the first year was weak compared to later in the run, as Watterson was trying out things, like Calvin's uncle, that didn't go anywhere or do anything until he figured out what worked and what didn't.

I will say that I don't like the final strip at all, because I felt at the time (and still do) that Calvin & Hobbes needed some closure, that Calvin needed to see Hobbes for what he was. I've sometimes thought that the strip should have ended with Calvin's mother announcing that she was pregnant. At other times, I thought that Calvin's father should have died suddenly. I think there needed to be a recognition from Calvin that childhood ends, and that's why I thought the strip should have ended with Calvin seeing Hobbes as a stuffed tiger.

As an adult, I like that idea A LOT... and it would have been much more emotionally impactful for adults....

But I was a little kid when I read those comics, and I'm not sure I'd want my future 7 year old kid to be bummed out by something like that.

 

[Christopher]

I will say that I don't like the final strip at all, because I felt at the time (and still do) that Calvin & Hobbes needed some closure, that Calvin needed to see Hobbes for what he was.

Calvin did see Hobbes for what he was, and so did everyone else. To everyone else, Hobbes was a stuffed animal, and to Calvin, Hobbes was a living tiger and his best friend -- and both views were treated as equally valid, with Hobbes often shown doing things that would've been impossible if the view of him as a stuffed animal were the only correct one. That was the mutable, multivalued, Schroedinger's-Cat reality of the strip, reflecting the mindset of a child. And that was its brilliance. (Note that as Watterston's art improved, the fantasy sequences grew far more realistic-looking while the "real" sequences kept their cartooniness. In no way was Calvin's imagination treated as an inferior perspective.)

 

[ebusinesstutor]

I can't think of a "worst" one but I suppose if I looked through my collection, I might find one weaker than the rest.

But overall, Calvin and Hobbes is the best comic strip, EVER! Sheer brilliance. I would rather have a thread about favourites rather than worst ones as there are so many favourites.

 

[Mr_Homn]

I will say that I don't like the final strip at all, because I felt at the time (and still do) that Calvin & Hobbes needed some closure, that Calvin needed to see Hobbes for what he was.

Calvin did see Hobbes for what he was, and so did everyone else. To everyone else, Hobbes was a stuffed animal, and to Calvin, Hobbes was a living tiger and his best friend -- and both views were treated as equally valid, with Hobbes often shown doing things that would've been impossible if the view of him as a stuffed animal were the only correct one. That was the mutable, multivalued, Schroedinger's-Cat reality of the strip, reflecting the mindset of a child. And that was its brilliance. (Note that as Watterston's art improved, the fantasy sequences grew far more realistic-looking while the "real" sequences kept their cartooniness. In no way was Calvin's imagination treated as an inferior perspective.)

Agreed. However, the fact that calvin's imagination is treated with as much respect as "reality" as we know it doesn't change the (in universe) fact that one day, calvin will have to grow up and willingly or not, he WILL lose that childlike perspective. Unless of course calvin is insane. Fortunately (Or unfortunately) we never got to see calvin grow up, so it's never really addressed in that way. I can see why, though. It would be beyond the scope of what the comic was about.

I would have liked to see the last strip being about Calvin as a somewhat frustrated overworked father (much like his dad), coming home one day and passing on Hobbes to his bright eyed son.

Maybe you could see Calvin's son running out into the woods with his new stuffed tiger, and the last pane would be Adult Calvin tearing up as he waved to Hobbes and his son. Maybe after Calvin Turns around, living hobbes could wave back... but calvin doesn't see it. Something to that effect

 

[sojourner]

Nah, if your gonna do something like that, you use 4 panels.

Panel 1. Adult Calvin as we've seen him imagine himself before, in a room pacing back and forth. A person in scrubs is leaning in through double doors with just a "!" and excited look.

Panel 2. closeup of adult Calvin leaning close in over a hospital bed, holding hands with a woman (adult Susie?) who looks tired/relieved. Calvin has a look of relief/joy/excitement on his face.

Panel 3. adult Calvin is looking through the viewing window into a hospital nursery. The "camera view" is from the nursery facing him. An incubator frames the lower part of the image but we can't see in. Calvin has a smile and a tear.

Panel 4. Now we have the view from behind Calvin looking into the nursery. We can see a baby gently sleeping in it with a look of content, there's a stuffed tiger in the incubator with it.

 

[Maurice]

Nah,the strip was right to stop in the middle and not give us closure. I don't care what happened to a grown-up Calvin. That's not what the strip was about.

 

[the G-man]

Nah,the strip was right to stop in the middle and not give us closure. I don't care what happened to a grown-up Calvin. That's not what the strip was about.

Exactly.


Besides, if you want to know what happened to grown up Calvin, look in the mirror.

 

[Robert D. Robot]

....At other times, I thought that Calvin's father should have died suddenly. I think there needed to be a recognition from Calvin that childhood ends, and that's why I thought the strip should have ended with Calvin seeing Hobbes as a stuffed tiger.

Man--- although I do understand your point, I can't agree with that concept. How about a teenage Calvin shown in the last strip as a soldier in Afghanistan being fatally wounded by an IED? With his last breath he could murmur "Hobbs", a la "Citizen Kane"?

On the same theme, I might think that reality and statistics needed to catch up with Kirk regarding chances he took with the ship. Series finale: Scotty warns Kirk about pushing the engines any further, Kirk orders him to do so, Scotty shakes his head as he pushes the button, and the Enterprise explodes into many, many tiny pieces.

I am kidding. While I do understand the point, I don't wish to see the Simpsons grow old, or Charlie Brown to change that shirt, or have the Coyote ever catch the Road Runner.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

I would have liked to see the last strip being about Calvin as a somewhat frustrated overworked father (much like his dad), coming home one day and passing on Hobbes to his bright eyed son.

Pssst. Or daughter...

Try Hobbes and Bacon. And then this one.

 

[Christopher]

Agreed. However, the fact that calvin's imagination is treated with as much respect as "reality" as we know it doesn't change the (in universe) fact that one day, calvin will have to grow up and willingly or not, he WILL lose that childlike perspective.

In a realistic world, yes, but not in a comic strip. Remember, this strip ran for ten years, and every year Calvin went through the seasonal cycle -- winter to summer, start of school to end of school, a Christmas every year -- and yet for the whole time he remained six years old. So we're not talking about reality here. We're talking about a fictional construct symbolizing the experiential world of a child, a world where reality is distant, confusing, and unsatisfying and the imagination feels far more vivid, accessible, and controllable. Within that mindset, the future is remote and hypothetical, and the way things are in the present feels eternal. Calvin and Hobbes was a representation of that mindset, of the timeless and mutable existence that children inhabit, not of the underlying reality. It was a reminder of a way of seeing the world that most adults forget they ever shared.

That said, however, I am rather fond of this piece of fan art:

http://www.coffeeandcigarettes.com/2009/02/11/yea-verily-i-say-unto-thee-this/

 

[Gaith]

I agree with Christopher - C&H exists outside reality, and any attempt to force it to conform to plausibility would ruin the magic. "Midichlorians", anyone?

Assuming that Hobbes is indeed a stuffed tiger, then anything he does that affects the real world must have been "really" done by Calvin. So if Calvin can't spell "Hobs Crk", then neither could Hobbes.

As Christopher has noted, that assumption is faulty, and Calvin isn't shown either in this strip or others as being a poor speller himself. This particular strip just don't fit with the run's general style.

My pick for worst:

Calvin: Some kids at school got filthy rich today
Hobbes: How?
Calvin: They grabbed him by the drinking fountain.

And the art to accompany it is just the two characters riding their sled through a series of panels. Staggeringly unfunny.

I dunno, I kinda like that one. Sure, it's a cheap pun, but I find it kind of amusing, and the recurring motif of the sled-journeys is always a beautiful one; it contributes to the series' Zen-like tone. In short, I don't agree that it's a worse strip than "Hobs Crk".

 

[the G-man]

Speaking of 'ruining' the ending of Calvin, there's this poorly done comic strip called Lio that tires to fill the void of both Calvin and the Far Side. Basically, it's the old comic strip "Henry," but with creepy things thrown in ("ha ha, it's funny because, instead of a dog, the missing pet was an octopus!").

The hack creator did a Sunday strip once where he thought it would be 'hilarious' to have Lio go out in the woods and find a sled, with a corpse and a stuffed tiger next it, implying that Calvin starved to death, lost in the woods after that last strip.

Eff....him.

 

[Redfern]

I remember one piece (it had to be "fan" art, but it looked fairly authentic) depicting Calvin's parents talking about the child's recent "treatments" with Ritelin (or something of a similar nature). We see Calvin writing or drawing something with the "living" Hobbs sitting next to the boy, but by the last panel, Hobbs has reverted to a stuffed toy and we realize Calvin will never again see the tiger as a "person".

Like a said, convincingly drawn, but a real downer (though not "morbid" as the example stated above).

Sincerely,

Bill

 

[the G-man]

I remember one piece (it had to be "fan" art, but it looked fairly authentic) depicting Calvin's parents talking about the child's recent "treatments" with Ritelin (or something of a similar nature). We see Calvin writing or drawing something with the "living" Hobbs sitting next to the boy, but by the last panel, Hobbs has reverted to a stuffed toy and we realize Calvin will never again see the tiger as a "person".

Was it this one?

I think it looks fairly authentic because whomever did it cut and pasted actual Watterson art and added new speech balloons.