Writing Calvin and Hobbes

[Brasil]

Greatest comic ever. I had forgotten how great it was until Melissa had given me Scientific Progress Goes "Boink" for my birthday. I read through it in a matter of hours, because it's just so well-written and imaginative.

I'd go as far as to say that Calvin and Hobbes is the greatest comic ever, because it's social commentary as told from an 8-year-old. Calvin always has an agenda, he never shuts-up. If he doesn't like how things are run, he speaks his mind.

His fantasies are probably some of the most brilliant plot devices I've ever seen in a comic, because we know precisely how Calvin views the world, both from his dinosaur fantasies and Spaceman Spiff, and while we don't always agree with him, we can respect him for it.

It may be just me, but reading Calvin and Hobbes ignites a childhood passion long since forgotten, the wonder of playing with little plastic dinosaurs in the sandbox, or just doing something completely pointless like a lengthy scavenger/flag hunt on the weekend.

Calvin and Hobbes is the greatest comic ever. Thoughts?

[Shinmaru]

I love Calvin because he's so ridiculous, yet at the same time, a lot of his thoughts have so much meaning behind them, whether they're childish or not. For every time Calvin wishes he could buy a flamethrower or lay waste to his school, there are just as many times where he espouses messages friendship, love and such. No matter what he's doing, Calvin is constantly learning something, whether good or bad.

I love his fantasies, too. They're so imaginative, and they work so well at drawing you in...whenever I see one of Calvin's fantasies, I'm often reminded of myself, as I'm an avid daydreamer lol. And I'm sure that with the way Calvin is, many other people besides myself see themselves in Calvin.

And I've always found it funny how someone so obviously intelligent and thought-provoking could be so horrible in school.

[Hevn]

[COLOR=RoyalBlue][SIZE=1][B]Calvin and Hobbes is a really cool comic that I can never get enough of the witty dialogues and every thing else that's just plain humorous.

Calvin is one amazing character. His mere facial expressions can make me laugh. He's realistic and frank with his views and, at the same time, has an overactive imagination that ranges from social observations to simple, childish and fun "alter-egos". I personally love Stupendous Man, Spaceman Spiff, and Tracer Bullet. ^_^

He?s got the mind of a child and the sense of a genius. Most of all, I envy how carefree he is and how he enjoys his childhood. He gets to do loads of fun craps that I never got to do when I was 8 like? hammer nails on the table and... call someone a booger brain. Yes, I've never called someone a booger brain. Sad..

[COLOR=Purple]"I call it 'lookout' hill because that's what you yell whenever we go down it." - Calvin[/COLOR][/B][/SIZE][/COLOR]

[Godelsensei]

[COLOR=Gray][FONT=Courier New]Calvin's six, actually.

But yeah, he's awesome. As is Hobbes. Any one who attempts to dispute that fact [i]obviously[/i] SUCKS.

I think my favourite part of the series (of which I own 14+ volumes) is how intelligent it is, while still being funny. Calvin's attitude towards life reminds me very much of my own and that of most of my friends.

The most outstanding attribute to Calvin and Hobbes, in my opinion at least, is that it never starts to wane. When Watterson knew he didn't want to go on with it, he ended it with a nice, big, picture of snow and a line that brings a faint smile to the lips, as oppose to dragging on with comics he wasn't proud of.

[i]It's a magical world, Hobbes ol' buddy. Let's go exploring.[/i]

(Btw, has any one else here ever actually played Calvinball? It's awesome, neh?^^)[/FONT][/COLOR]

[Brasil]

Oops. Yeah, Calvin's six. Thanks, Godel.

I can read the 10th Anniversary Collection and always find something new in there. Whether it's a particular bit of dialogue that really stands out, or Watterson's commentary on various aspects of cartooning or Calvin and Hobbes, I'm continually "wowed."

One strip in particular, actually, really hit me.

I find that Watterson is one of those cartoonists who don't have to use dialogue at all to effectively tell a story. Like he says in his notes, comics are a visual medium, but even the visuals can't replace the dialogue--that is, great writing can save poor visuals, and likewise, great visuals can save poor writing.

But what happens when the only bits of dialogue are at the end, and could be simple one-liners? The "Summer Days Always Seem So Short" strip shows Watterson's skill with visuals to tell the story.

Throughout the strip, we're shown fantastic scenes of childhood summer, Calvin and Hobbes exploring, running through the woods, checking out bugs, digging for dinosaur bones, scavenger hunts, even catching fireflies. This alone would be a terrific collection of images, but Calvin and Hobbes' dialogue in the very last panel clinches the theme of childhood summer:

"Why does it always seem like summer days are so short?"
"I know what you mean. We didn't even get to half of our itinerary."

It's just awesome, and I think it's one of the best examples of how Calvin and Hobbes taps into our own childhoods. Its themes are timeless and universal in the world of a 6-year-old. ^_^

And don't forget, Shin, as Calvin explains his lackluster grades, "You know how Einstein flunked Math, well my grades are WORSE!"