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dantastic's review
5.0
I'm a Calvin and Hobbes fan from way back so this set has been on my radar for quite a while. After a few years of having this on my wish list, my wife finally got it for me for Christmas. It was worth the wait.
As everyone knows, Calvin is a six year old boy whose best friend is his stuffed tiger Hobbes. This book collects every Calvin and Hobbes strip. The dailies are in black and white and the Sunday strips are in color, as nature and Bill Watterson intended. Dates accompany each strip noting when it was originally printed.
The presentation is great. The pages are heavy duty and slick, built to last. The colors are vibrant but not overdone, looking more like the Sunday strips would have originally looked if not printed on the cheapest newsprint imaginable. The Sunday strips are shuffled slightly so they don't interrupt the flow of longer arcs, like the propeller beanie or the many camping trips. The individual volumes lay flat for easy reading. The dimensions are slightly larger than the omnibuses for the 1990s. Honestly, six or eight volumes would probably make for easier reading but this set is pretty damn impressive.
As for the content, it's as magical as it ever was. On one level, it's a look back at the unbridled imagination and enthusiasm that goes with being six years old and having the world at your disposal. On another level, it's a realistic, sometimes cynical, look at the world through the eyes of a child.
I read a little more than half of this material before Bill Watterson went on the first of his two sabbaticals, which is a shame because the strip truly plateaued once he came back. The Sunday strips busted free of the usual shackles and Watterson had a lot more leeway to experiment. Watterson's art is simplistic at times, partly because of the Peanuts influence, but it's fun to watch the look of the strip evolve as he got more comfortable with it. The tweaks were so gradual that most people didn't notice but it's readily apparent when flipping through the first few strips and then the last few.
Watterson gets a lot of credit for going out on top and not milking the cash cow that was Calvin and Hobbes until the udders became infected and gangrenous. Calvin and Hobbes were never used to sell insurance, for instance, and Watterson never earned a dime on the sticker of Calvin peeing on various things that we see everywhere. The strip may have gotten a little more cynical toward the end, if anything, but was still the best thing in the funny pages.
It took a couple weeks for me to chew through this and it'll be a while before I pick it up again, what with an infant in the house and all. Still, I have to wonder what the strip would be like today, what with global warming, social media, and all the rest of the stuff that has transpired since Watterson called it quits in 1995.
The best comic strip of the modern era is still the best comic strip of the modern era. Five out of five stars.
As everyone knows, Calvin is a six year old boy whose best friend is his stuffed tiger Hobbes. This book collects every Calvin and Hobbes strip. The dailies are in black and white and the Sunday strips are in color, as nature and Bill Watterson intended. Dates accompany each strip noting when it was originally printed.
The presentation is great. The pages are heavy duty and slick, built to last. The colors are vibrant but not overdone, looking more like the Sunday strips would have originally looked if not printed on the cheapest newsprint imaginable. The Sunday strips are shuffled slightly so they don't interrupt the flow of longer arcs, like the propeller beanie or the many camping trips. The individual volumes lay flat for easy reading. The dimensions are slightly larger than the omnibuses for the 1990s. Honestly, six or eight volumes would probably make for easier reading but this set is pretty damn impressive.
As for the content, it's as magical as it ever was. On one level, it's a look back at the unbridled imagination and enthusiasm that goes with being six years old and having the world at your disposal. On another level, it's a realistic, sometimes cynical, look at the world through the eyes of a child.
I read a little more than half of this material before Bill Watterson went on the first of his two sabbaticals, which is a shame because the strip truly plateaued once he came back. The Sunday strips busted free of the usual shackles and Watterson had a lot more leeway to experiment. Watterson's art is simplistic at times, partly because of the Peanuts influence, but it's fun to watch the look of the strip evolve as he got more comfortable with it. The tweaks were so gradual that most people didn't notice but it's readily apparent when flipping through the first few strips and then the last few.
Watterson gets a lot of credit for going out on top and not milking the cash cow that was Calvin and Hobbes until the udders became infected and gangrenous. Calvin and Hobbes were never used to sell insurance, for instance, and Watterson never earned a dime on the sticker of Calvin peeing on various things that we see everywhere. The strip may have gotten a little more cynical toward the end, if anything, but was still the best thing in the funny pages.
It took a couple weeks for me to chew through this and it'll be a while before I pick it up again, what with an infant in the house and all. Still, I have to wonder what the strip would be like today, what with global warming, social media, and all the rest of the stuff that has transpired since Watterson called it quits in 1995.
The best comic strip of the modern era is still the best comic strip of the modern era. Five out of five stars.
gordcampbell's review
5.0
How cool a present is this? I was completely surprised when my wife dropped this on my lap on Christmas morning. Almost instantly I was back in my teenage years reaching for the paper every day to see what Calvin and his best friend Hobbes were up to. Goofing around, social commentary, subversiveness, this strip had it all and I absolutely love it to this day.
sonofatreus's review
5.0
I don't have much to say. Calvin and Hobbes is, rightly, a classic, held up as a quintessential depiction of childhood/boyhood. I agree, even if mine wasn't always exactly like Calvin's.
The only thing that surprised me about this series — I never really read C&H growing up, being more into Foxtrot and Farside — was how great the art would be. I found myself laughing at Calvin's, Hobbes', Susie's, or the mom's expression more often than I did at the actual written jokes (which are good, but sometimes expected). Occasionally the strip will have no words, turning them into a kind of slapstick usually, and these were the real gems, appreciable only after establishing strong characters, whose actions and mannerisms are instantly recognizable without a word.
I still might like Foxtrot or Farside more, but Calvin and Hobbes are naturally Hall of Fame-level good.
The only thing that surprised me about this series — I never really read C&H growing up, being more into Foxtrot and Farside — was how great the art would be. I found myself laughing at Calvin's, Hobbes', Susie's, or the mom's expression more often than I did at the actual written jokes (which are good, but sometimes expected). Occasionally the strip will have no words, turning them into a kind of slapstick usually, and these were the real gems, appreciable only after establishing strong characters, whose actions and mannerisms are instantly recognizable without a word.
I still might like Foxtrot or Farside more, but Calvin and Hobbes are naturally Hall of Fame-level good.
torfi's review
5.0
Langsamlega bestu myndasögur sem ég hef lesið. Bill Watterson nær einhvern veginn bæði að hafa fullkomna innsýn í heim sex ára barns og á sama tíma beita flugbeittri ádeilu á samfélagið.
megggem's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
minsies's review
3.5
It is always dangerous to revisit things you first discovered in your childhood.
And oof, Calvin and Hobbes is no exception. I still like it ... most of the time. The casual misogyny and reinforcement of gender roles, though, no matter how ironic they were intended to be - 100% barfbuckets.
Re-read with caution.
And oof, Calvin and Hobbes is no exception. I still like it ... most of the time. The casual misogyny and reinforcement of gender roles, though, no matter how ironic they were intended to be - 100% barfbuckets.
Re-read with caution.
trish204's review
5.0
I remembered having read this comic in a German newspaper when I was little. THAT'S how famous Calvin and Hobbes was/is!
Then I noticed that I unconsciously still knew a lot of lines from back then so I started looking into collections and fell in love with the cute artwork and deep messages all over again so I had to buy the complete edition.
This box consists of 4 books: the first has all the comics from 1985-1986; the second those from 1987-1989; the third those from 1990-1992; and the fourth contains all the comics from 1992-1995.
Moreover, the first book has a long (but not boring) introduction by Bill Watterson himself in which he explains how Calvin and Hobbes came to be, what his creative drive was and also a little bit about his private life.
Now, I don't think I need to say a lot about the comics themselves, so I'll keep this short:
Calvin is a very imaginative young boy who has an imaginary friend: Hobbes, a stuffed tiger. And together they have the most awesome adventures.
The comics have a very wide range. What's so fascinating is that kids will just see the funny jokes and cute art while adults can also get deeper into the messages. Bill Watterson really is masterful in incorporating (for example) political criticism in just a handful of panels! One can see the development of the comic when reading the strips one after the other the way I did, but he was always artful and always had something to say.
Some of the themes include friedship
or young love (although ... come to think of it, it still works this way with many adults, too)
or well-known problems from the parents' perspectives
or, as mentioned before, deep political views such as this
To me, this isn't just a comic. It's a very important, very big part of culture and should be known by as many people around the world as possible! Not to mention that I learned to read with it. Thus, I plan to read these strips again and again and again.
Oh, by the way, my favourite quote is this:
Then I noticed that I unconsciously still knew a lot of lines from back then so I started looking into collections and fell in love with the cute artwork and deep messages all over again so I had to buy the complete edition.
This box consists of 4 books: the first has all the comics from 1985-1986; the second those from 1987-1989; the third those from 1990-1992; and the fourth contains all the comics from 1992-1995.
Moreover, the first book has a long (but not boring) introduction by Bill Watterson himself in which he explains how Calvin and Hobbes came to be, what his creative drive was and also a little bit about his private life.
Now, I don't think I need to say a lot about the comics themselves, so I'll keep this short:
Calvin is a very imaginative young boy who has an imaginary friend: Hobbes, a stuffed tiger. And together they have the most awesome adventures.
The comics have a very wide range. What's so fascinating is that kids will just see the funny jokes and cute art while adults can also get deeper into the messages. Bill Watterson really is masterful in incorporating (for example) political criticism in just a handful of panels! One can see the development of the comic when reading the strips one after the other the way I did, but he was always artful and always had something to say.
Some of the themes include friedship
or young love (although ... come to think of it, it still works this way with many adults, too)
or well-known problems from the parents' perspectives
or, as mentioned before, deep political views such as this
To me, this isn't just a comic. It's a very important, very big part of culture and should be known by as many people around the world as possible! Not to mention that I learned to read with it. Thus, I plan to read these strips again and again and again.
Oh, by the way, my favourite quote is this:
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