Is there anything in the world that was better than Calvin & Hobbes? I’m not sure there was. Sure, sure, there is eating and sex, but Bill Watterson’s masterpiece of a comic strip is right up there. Far more than three panels of humor each day, the full scope of the work will long stand as one of the great achievements of sequential art.
And no, I don’t think I’m overstating the case.
In 10 years, Watterson evolved his strip from a quirky and funny comic strip that was a slightly edgy, modern version of Peanuts into something wholly unique. Something with a pretty amazing range. Something that could be risque one day and charmingly quaint the next; dealing with childhood antics on Monday and making serious political and social commentary on Tuesday. Calvin & Hobbes has made me laugh, cry, think, snicker, and more. I don’t think any strip has had the range of delights that C&H had. It was smart and funny and juvenile and a thousand other things.
Calvin & Hobbes is one of the great treasures of the 20th century. For real.
As my proof, I present to you the snowman series of strips. If that’s not brilliant, nothing is. (EDIT: Discovered when reviewing links in 2016 that this link was dead, so I’ve removed it. Sorry!)
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Excellent post! I loved Calvin and Hobbes and was gutted when it ended. Easily the best newspaper strip I've ever read-by miles. Nothing even comes close, IMO.
Couldn't agree more, Matt. C&H was so far off the charts good it made every other strip look poor by comparison.
Hi Eric, I read your posts a lot on imwan, and found your blogs from them, so pop in to read from time to time.
I LOVE C&H and miss it dearly. That prophetic strip you posted was great and a perfect example of what we're missing in the comics pages (or should that be sites?) these days.
I bought the complete C&H when it was released in 2005 and it's still my favorite present to myself.
Thanks for sharing this!