This is the section for all the clueless people out there that have never read Calvin and Hobbes before or don't know much about it. Heck, there is some information for the veterans too, so listen up!
General Information
- Who is the author of Calvin and Hobbes?
- When was Calvin and Hobbes created?
- Why did Bill Watterson stop making Calvin and Hobbes?
- How many Calvin and Hobbes comics are there?
- How many Calvin and Hobbes books are there?
- Why can't I find Calvin and Hobbes merchandise?
The Cast
- How did Calvin get Hobbes?
- Is Hobbes real or just a stuffed animal?
- What is Calvin's last name?
- Is Calvin dumb or smart?
- What religion is Calvin?
- What are the names of Calvin's parents?
- Does Calvin have any brothers or sisters?
- Does Calvin like Susie?
- What grade is Moe in?
Personal Information
- How many Calvin and Hobbes comics have you read?
- How many Calvin and Hobbes books do you have?
- Where can I get more Calvin and Hobbes?
- Why do you like Calvin and Hobbes?
- Why should I like Calvin and Hobbes?
General Information
Who is the author of Calvin and Hobbes?
Calvin and Hobbes was created and written by Bill Watterson and ONLY Bill Watterson. He is one of the few big time comic authors that does all his own work and does not have a staff of writers and artists to write the comics for him when he doesn't feel like it or doesn't have enough ideas. This is one of the reasons why his comics have more consistent characters and more diverse situations.
When was Calvin and Hobbes created?
The first Calvin and Hobbes comic was published in November 18, 1985. As to when Watterson first thought up Calvin and Hobbes, I do not know. But I do know that Peanuts by Charles Schulz, Pogo by Walt Kelly, and Krazy Kat by George Herriman are three comic strips that have been tremendously inspirational to Watterson and have greatly aided Watterson in developing the vivid and exciting world for Calvin and Hobbes.
Why did Bill Watterson stop making Calvin and Hobbes?
Bill Watterson discontinued the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip mainly because of the ever increasing pressure from his syndicate (Universal) to get liscensed. Watterson believed that by making Calvin and Hobbes products, he would be betraying his characters. In his book, The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book, Watterson states:
"Everyone is looking for the next Snoopy or Garfield, and Calvin and Hobbes were imagined to be the perfect candidates. The more I though about licensing, however, the less I liked it . . . In an age of shameless commercialism, my objections to licensing are not widely shared . . . I have several problems with licensing. First of all, I believe licensing usually cheapens the original creation. When cartoon characters appear on countless products, the public inevitably grows bored and irritated with them, and the appeal and value of the original work is diminished. Nothing dulls the edge of a new and clever cartoon like saturating the market with it. Second, commercial products rarely respect how a comic strip works. A wordy, multiple-panel strip with extended conversation and developed personalities does not condense to a coffee mug illustration without great violation to the strip's spirit. The subtleties of a multi-dimensional strip are sacrificed for the one-dimensional needs of the product. The world of a comic strip ought to be a special place with its own logic and life. I don't want some animation studio giving Hobbes an actor's voice, and I don't want some greeting card company using Calvin to wish people a happy anniversary, and I don't want the issue of Hobbes's reality settled by a doll manufacture. When everything fun and magical is turned into something for sale, the strip's world is diminished. Calvin and Hobbes was designed to be a comic strip and that's all I want it to be. It's the one place where everything works the way I intend it to. Third, as a practical matter, licensing requires a staff of assistants to do the work. The cartoonist must become a factory foreman, delegating responsibilities and overseeing the production of things he does not create. Some cartoonists don't mind this, but I went into cartooning to draw cartoons, not to run a corporate empire. I take great pride in the fact that I write every word, draw every line, color every Sunday strip, and paint every book illustration myself. My strip is a low-tech, one-man operation, and I like it that way. I believe it's the only way to preserve the craft and to keep the strip personal. Despite what some cartoonists say, approving someone else's work is not the same as doing it yourself. Beyond all this, however, lies a deeper issue: the corruption of a strip's integrity. All strips are supposed to be entertaining, but some strips have a point of view and a serious purpose behind the jokes. When the cartoonist is trying to talk honestly and seriously about life, then I believe he has a responsibility to think beyond satisfying the market's every whim and desire. Cartoonists who think they can be taken seriously as artists while using the strip's protagonists to sell boxer shorts are deluding themselves . . . When a cartoonist licenses his characters . . . the strip has no soul. With its integrity gone, a strip loses its deeper significance."
So you see, Watterson has many good and thoughtful reasons on why he doesn't license Calvin and Hobbes. That is why the increasing pressure to license his work pushed him to the discontinuation of Calvin and Hobbes. The other reason is that Watterson did not wish to be pushed to the point where he became a dry well of ideas and had to pump out bad quality comics. Personally, I respect Watterson for his decision and I prefer to reread beautiful awesome old comics than read boring and supersaturated new comics.
How many Calvin and Hobbes comics are there?
There are about 3,100 Calvin and Hobbes comics published, give or take a few. There were, of course, many more made by Watterson but discarded before they ever got to the papers because he discerned them to be low quality.
How many Calvin and Hobbes books are there?
There are 17 official Calvin and Hobbes books in print. See the entire list with more information and pictures of the covers included. Rumor has it that Watterson might make more Calvin and Hobbes books (not in newspapers, only books) and/or a special volume of Calvin and Hobbes that contains ALL the Calvin and Hobbes comics might be coming out.
Why can't I find Calvin and Hobbes merchandise?
Watterson is strongly against licensing his characters. He feels that by plastering his characters on coffee cups and t-shirts, the strip's world is diminished and his characters have lost the magic they had possessed in the comic strip. For this reason, there is no legal Calvin and Hobbes merchandise.
The Characters
According to the comics, in the very first comic, Calvin "caught" Hobbes using a tiger trap with a tuna fish sandwich as bait. Some people say Calvin's parents bought him Hobbes, and this may be so, but if you really want to enter the world of the strip and take it on its own terms, then Calvin just as easily could have caught Hobbes.
Is Hobbes real or just a stuffed animal?
According to Watterson, Hobbes is not purely Calvin's imagination nor purely just a doll. Rather, he exists as two separate realities, both equally correct to the viewer of each reality. Calvin views Hobbes as his pouncing tiger; that is correct. The rest of the world views Hobbes as an inanimate creature; that is correct. We see examples of both realities, Hobbes gets sewn up and takes baths in the washing machine. On the other hand, he climbs up the tree and throws Calvin down a ladder. Can both happen? In the strip's world, it can.
Calvin does not have a last name. As far as Watterson is concerned, it isn't important.
Some people look at Calvin's vocabulary and declare him a genius. Others look at his math skills and declare him an idiot. The truth is, Calvin is incredibly bright and talented at the things that he is interested in. Calvin enjoys talking and philosophizing; he knows all the right words. Calvin hates math; he can't do 3 + 7 and gives his homework to Hobbes for him to come up with eleventeen. Calvin loves dinosaurs; he can tell you all the differences between an allosaurus and a tyrannosaurus rex. Calvin hates writing; he thinks writing sentence is hard labor. So you see, the strip is so deep and can be viewed on too many levels to truly answer the question. But in my opinion, Calvin is smart.
Calvin is a confused kid with no religious bias that leans toward being a deist. His parents seem to have no religion of their own either. Calvin often struggles with questions about Santa, which often parallels questions somebody would ask about God. One time, Calvin states that he has the same questions about Santa and God. Hobbes doesn't seem to really have a religion, but is a true philosopher, and always comes up with thoughtful (and witty) answers to Calvin's burning questions.
What are the names of Calvin's parents?
Calvin's parents do not use names in the strip. As far as Watterson is concerned, their names are unimportant because they are only known to Calvin and mom and dad.
Does Calvin have any brothers or sisters?
No, Calvin is and only child. In one comic, Calvin is seen waking up at 5:00 AM on a Saturday bouncing off the walls and stairs and eating cereal with a 1:1 ratio of sugar to cereal. Calvin later comments that his habits are producing the desired effect; he has no brothers or sisters so far. So, in short, Calvin doesn't want brothers or sisters anyway, he just wants Hobbes.
Early in the strip, Calvin and Susie childishly flirted by calling each other names. Hobbes, in turn, teased Calvin about Susie. As the strip progressed, their love-hate relationship turned toward a hate-hate relationship with possible mild crushes DEEP down in their hearts. Instead, Hobbes becomes the guy all the babes like and Calvin gets a very negative view of "mushy relationships."
This is an easy one. Moe is a first grader that is humongous and shaves.
Personal Information
How many Calvin and Hobbes comics have you read?
I am proud to be able to boast that I have read all of the Calvin and Hobbes comics. That's about 3,100 comics. I guess this makes me a fan.
How many Calvin and Hobbes books do you have?
I have all of the official Calvin and Hobbes books. That's 17 books in all.
Where can I get more Calvin and Hobbes?
The best online resource for Calvin and Hobbes is www.calvinandhobbes.com simply because it contains all the Calvin and Hobbes comics. Unfortunately, you can only access about half of them (when Calvin and Hobbes finished, uComics started showing a new comic everyday starting from day one; now you have to subtract 11 from the year [if was September 1, 2002, you can see all the comics up to September 1, 1991]) but it still has the most and highest quality comics on the web. If you are looking for a place to buy Calvin and Hobbes books, www.amazon.com has all the books and at decent prices.
Why do you like Calvin and Hobbes?
I like Calvin and Hobbes because it is witty and thoughtful. Calvin's sporadic thoughtful conversations are my highlights of the 10 years of Calvin and Hobbes. Sure the comic is funny, but a lot of comics are funny; Calvin's intelligence is what make Calvin and Hobbes special.
Why should I like Calvin and Hobbes?
Calvin and Hobbes has all the qualities of the greatest comics out there. It is original, hilarious, thoughtful, beautifully drawn, and best of all, you won't have to shuffle through any bad comics to get to the good ones because they were all created with the utmost love for the characters. The characters are always true to themselves and the stories always seem to top the previous ones. There are no overused jokes and gimmicks so often found in today's comics. There are no strips with simply talking heads and the comics (especially the later Sundays) have artwork that matches the greatest of the early full-page Sundays. Any way you slice it, Calvin and Hobbes is a wonder of a comic and Watterson deserves the greatest of praise for any and all of his creations in Calvin and Hobbes.
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