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An Excerpt from Bill Watterson's Introduction:
"I've loved comic strips as long as I can remember. As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as I don't even like riding in elevators. I kept my options open until seventh grade, but when I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made. There is great personal satisfaction in attending to detail and quality, and I remain very proud of the standards the strip met day after day. I also liked the responsibility of knowing that, succeed or fail, it was all my own doing. This approach kept the strip very honest and personal--everything having to do with Calvin and Hobbes expressed my own ideas, my own values, my own way. I wrote every word, drew every line, and painted every color. It's a rare gift to find such fulfilling work and I tried to show my appreciation by giving the strip everything I had to offer."
Exclusive Images from the New Collection
More Calvin and Hobbes Books
The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book |
Weirdos from Another Planet! |
Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons |
Book Description
Calvin and Hobbes is unquestionably one of the most popular comic strips of all time. The imaginative world of a boy and his real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when Bill Watterson retired on January 1, 1996. More than 30 million of the 17 Calvin and Hobbes books (all published by Andrews McMeel) have been sold. And now, the entire body of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons published in a truly noteworthy tribute to this singular cartoon. Composed of three hardcover, four-color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this edition includes all Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that ever appeared in syndication. This is the treasure that all Calvin and Hobbes fans seek.
Customer Reviews:
Calvin and Hobbes - one of the best comics !!!.......2007-10-01
Got this as a gift for my wife on her b'day, C&H are her fav comics. she loved it !!! Cant go wrong with C&H.
I am a fan of pearls before swine tho' :D
It's a tiger's world.......2007-09-26
Still love Calvin and Hobbes; read it every day for years when it came out.
A perfect melange of adult and kid perspective, this strip will remind you of how you were as a kid. I was definitely Calvin, minus Hobbes. I've got the report cards to prove it.
This edition is worth getting for adults, for the quality of the printing and care in the binding. For kids I'd say get used copies of the big paperbacks; cheaper and less worrisome when your little devils inevitably tear it apart from reading it over and over.
Right up there with Doonesbury and Bloome County as a modern comic strip classic.
A Great Discovery.......2007-09-23
As a foreigner, living in England, I was introduced to Calvin and Hobbes by a friend, Rod Patten of Austin TX.
Firstly I trawled the websites, but now I have this three volume combined edition. Anytime I'm a little low or bored, out come C&H.
The humor and draftsmanship are both superb.
I can thoroly recommend this book to anyone with a g.s. of h.
truly joyous gift.......2007-09-21
I bought this boxed set of "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" for my husband's birthday. He is thrilled with them and we are having a hard time keeping the boys "paws" off the books! I ordered them from the UK and they arrived so quickly, I was amazed. Thank you Amazon!
Comic series.......2007-09-10
All the Calvin and Hobbs comics are great and to have them all in three large books is wonderful. Books are well done and worth the money
Book Description
The magical friendship shared by Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes has endeared them to millions of fans in their comic strip appearing in more than 800 newspapers and in millions of books. Now their friendship endures in a full-color collection of Sunday cartoons and original art done for the book, all fit for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Whether visiting other planets as Spaceman Spiff, transmogrifying into a dangerous dinosaur, or just hanging around with Hobbes, Calvin's adventures display a showcase for the masterful art of Bill Watterson. The enlarged format of full-color Sunday illustrations provides more room for all the action and imagination inherent in each Calvin and Hobbes enterprise. Readers will delight in pages enlivened with the bright color images of this precocious pair embroiled in all kinds of predicaments. Watterson engages readers of all ages with the seemingly endless imagination of Calvin, tempered by the more thoughtful Hobbes. The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book will provide many lazy Sunday afternoons of smiles and laughter.
Customer Reviews:
Calvin the imaginative.......2007-05-27
This collection takes place mostly in summer/fall and the theme is around lazy days and Sundays as well. My favourite panel in this collection is when Susie and Calvin are playing house and begins: S: "Darlinggg, I'm home! And I brought a surprise!" C: "Let's hope it's a divorce!" I still go off into spurts of laughter at that one... **LOL** Enjoy (in full page and full colour) the adventures of Spaceman Spiff to a max here. There is also a lot of "pouncing" which I thought would have been more appropriate in Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat but....nevertheless 5 stars for a great strip that never gets tired!
THE BEST SUNDAY COMIC COLLECTION FROM WATTERSON.......2006-06-18
This collection is the best from Watterson. 5 stars. Calvin and Hobbes are great in this one.
Fun, Fun, Fun.......2006-02-07
What a treat, 126 large pages of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips in full-color. Having this book means being able to read and re-read your favorites. There are even a couple I'd like to frame and look at every day.
Bill Watterson does such a great job getting inside a kid's head and what a kid. Calvin's active imagination creates imaginary worlds, monsters under the bed, and bedevils his parents and Susie who lives down the street.
Hobbes comes alive when he's alone with Calvin, but reverts to a stuffed tiger when others are present. Their conversations are inventive, philosophical, and sometimes just silly. It's great fun!
My Very First Calvin and Hobbes Experience.......2005-01-20
Six years ago this book was my very first introduction to the world of Calvin and Hobbes. I had seen these comics in the newspapers, but for some reason had never really bothered to read them. Needless to say, this book changed all that.
Calvin is a 6-year-old with a rather imaginative mind. He spends his days imagining himself as a dinosaur, a human bug, a space hero or a superhero. Hobbes is his stuffed toy tiger, an imaginary friend (or so it seems...), who has a rather funny philosophical take on Calvin's doings. Other important characters include Calvin's mother and father, who sometimes have it tough trying to put up with their son, and the neighbour's girl Susie, one of Calvin's main "enemies".
Basically this book consists of various Sunday strips, each the length of one page. In the beginning of the book there's also a 10-page short story about Spaceman Spiff, one of Calvin's many alter egoes. No former experiense with the comics is needed to enjoy this book.
Calvin & Hobbes is definetly one of the funniest comics of all time. Along with the Far Side, Matt Groening's Life Is Hell and the French Asterix comics these books manage to make me giggle aloud every time I read them (which can be quite embarassing when you have company).
But the Calvin and Hobbes books are, I think, also somewhat more than just a good laugh. Mr Watterson has a wonderful ability of going inside a child's head and seeing the space monster in the neighbour's girl or the time machine in a cardboard box. His characters feel very real, and at times, remind you of your own childhood.
I guess that's why these books also have such a strange sadness to them, because always behind the corner there lurks the awful possibility that Calvin, too, will have to grow up someday.
I miss these guys so much.......2004-05-15
Calvin and Hobbes was by far one of the most creative comic strips of the 80s and 90s--right up there with Bloom County and The Far Side. As a matter of fact reading this brilliant trio was a daily ritual for me.
But there was a perverse sweetness (I can't explain what that means) to Calvin and Hobbes that the others lacked. This collection, THE LAZY SUNDAY BOOK, features many of the best. Each time a look through it, I laugh out loud like an idiot. The overall effect, however, is nostalgia. There's nothing as good out there now, and I miss my trinity of comic geniuses, but Calvin and Hobbes the most!
Book Description
Zounds! Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous Man, the ferocious tiger Hobbes, and the rest of Calvin's riotous imagination are all included in The Days Are Just Packed. Calvin, the irrepressible pint-sized tyrant, is always bursting with energy. And the new volume's oversized 12-by-9 inch format provides Calvin's outrageous fantasies room to explode. Nowhere does the spiky-haired miscreant stretch out more than in the Sunday paper. And dozens of Sunday strips are lavishly reproduced in color for The Days Are Just Packed, along with Calvin's always amusing weekday adventures. In eight years, Calvin and Hobbes has conquered the syndicated cartoon world. Bill Watterson's work appears in more than 2,200 newspapers worldwide and is consistently voted "favorite comic" in reader's polls. All seven Calvin and Hobbes collections have sold over one million copies within a year of publication. With the advent of its exciting new size, The Days Are Just Packed has topped the bestseller lists even quicker than Calvin lands in the principal's office.
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
The days are definitely packed with adventures for this dynamic, but very short duo. From spaceships and interplanetary hideous monster beasties, to creeping around the backyard and generally getting up to suburban kidlet nogoodness, the fun is never in short supply. Neither is the wit, even if delivered under thread of Spaceman Spiff's raygun.
Vocabulary promotion in disguise #1.......2005-08-03
Our boys love the C&H cartoons. They are expanding their vocabularies without even knowing it! I refrain from telling them this though because they usually shy away from "educational" books.
Calvin The Great.......2003-11-21
Another great slab paperback filled with the very best of this over active duo. Themed for the holidays, Calvin and Hobbes get up to their usual mischief at the detriment of Mom, Dad, Susie and others. Read it over and over again just to get a little laughter in a boring day. Highly recommended.
Don't you wish everyday was summer?.......2003-10-31
Fans of Calvin & Hobbes who used to read the newspaper strip in the 80s and 90s will find great pleasure in reading this collection of C&H comics. These witty comics about the 6-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, named after the famous philosophers, will amuse people of all ages. The perceptiveness and humor of Watterson deserve the highest of cartoon awards, while his artistic creations exude hilarity. This cartoon is perhaps one of the most piercing yet funny critiques of modern society.
Summer is the time when Calvin and Hobbes can hang out in the treehouse and plot their next attacks on Susie, if they're not busy fighting with each other, that is. This book also contains some of Calvin's best snowman art. Procrastinators will love Calvin's newest invention - the Time Machine, or perhaps not? This is definitely one of the best C&H books around.
Note that there are two series of C&H collections: individual wide-format albums, each covering an entire year of strips (will call it "regular"), and the vertical aspect ratio "treasury series" which covers selected comics from two regular C&H books. Note that C&H ran for a year in newspapers, so there's 10 regular books and 5 treasury books. Though the cartoons are slightly smaller in the treasury collection, each treasury book is far thicker and contains more strips than a regular book, and is furthermore less expensive, so treasury books are a real bargain. "The Days Are Just Packed" belongs to the regular series and was published in 1993.
Calling Spaceman Spiff.......2003-08-31
There is little you can say about a Calvin and Hobbes book. As with the other books in this series, it is very funny, insightful of people and children, and something that I seem to be able to read over and over. Bill Waterson brings a perspective on humans that is as unique as Gary Larson's perspectives, only his viewpoint surrounds our "hero," Calvin. The long-suffering Hobbes (a tiger, don't you know) is often a voice of doubt and sanity that Calvin rarely, if ever, heeds. When Calvin realizes that Hobbes is being critical, a fight generally ensues. Given that Hobbes is a "ferocious" tiger, Calvin rarely gains the upper hand.
This book is excellent and relatively benign humor, good for any occasion when you need a break from the world. More amazing, this book can be read over and over, and each time you'll still find it funny. I strongly recommend this book.
Book Description
Calvin and Hobbes are ready to pounce back on bestseller lists everywhere with this all-new collection of daily and color Sunday cartoons. Reprising the wide-open landscape format of last year's collection, The Days Are Just Packed, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat chronicles another segment of the multifarious adventures of this wild child and his faithful, but skeptical, friend. If the best cartoons compel readers to identify themselves within the funny frames, then all who enjoy Calvin and Hobbes are creative, imaginative, and ... bad, bad, bad! Calvin, the irascible little boy with the stuffed tiger who comes to life are a pair bound for trouble. Boring school lessons become occasions for death-defying alien air battles, speeding snow sled descents elecit philosophical discussions on the meaning of life, and Hobbe's natural inclination to pounce on his little friend wreaks havoc on Calvin's sense of security. Calvin's the kid we all wish we'd been. Sassy, imaginative, far more verbal than his parents can manage, Calvin is the quintessential bad boy - and the boy we love to see. He terrorizes little Susie, offers "Candid Opinions" from a neighborhood stand, and questions his parents' authority. "What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?" he demands. Calvin and Hobbes manages to say what needs to be said about childhood and life: "Eww, mud," says Calvin. "Look at this gooshy, dirty, slimy, thick, wet mud... Bleecch... Talk about a kid magnet!" Created by Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes has quickly become a favorite in more than 2,300 daily and Sunday newspapers. Recent readership polls show the strip as No. 1 in the Kansas City Star, Salt Lake City Deseret News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dallas Morning News, Akron Beacon Journal, and Schedectady Daily Gazette.
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
The title alludes to the four legged part of this classically funny duo. The thing that causes Hobbes, Calvin's tiger, the most joy, is pouncing on, and scaring the crap out of, his owner. Calvin is a willing participant, most of the time going along with it for the thrill. A lot of satire and insightful observation delivered along with the clowning, here.
Typical Calvin.......2007-05-27
This collection takes place mostly in winter/spring/summer and is not themed (as you would think) along the lines of Hobbes "pouncing" which made me hesitate to purchase it at first because I wasn't that keen on all that pouncing. If you are into that aspect of C&H, however, you can get the C&H Lazy Sunday Book Collection. This one DOES however contain a lot of his priceless snowman sculptures which I AB-SO-LOUTELY LOVE, a great deal of interation with Susie, and escapades in Miss Wormwood's class. 5 *s for another fantastic collection!
Do NOT read before bedtime. Depressing!.......2006-12-13
An only, lonely child. Bullied at school. Clearly a genius level intellect, he's unchallenged and stifled since nobody, not his parents, and not even his teacher, recognizes this. A father who's always too busy to spend any time with his son. A father who's often seen, get this, reading --*reading* -- rather than paying his only son some attention! A mother, who literally, in strip after strip, throws him out the door. Throws, as in "child flying through the air". A child, and a small child at that, allowed repeatedly to wander alone through the woods! A child denied even a pet. His only friend -- a stuffed tiger.
Makes the "Peanuts" look like "The Family Circus".
Classic Calvin and Hobbes.......2006-10-19
This collection has a few of my favorites in it (especially the girls/bugs analogy - priceless!) Great for any age - I read C&H starting around age 7 and I still read it today! I enjoy it just as much, though I see it from a unique perspective now. Every kid should grow up with this.
Stupendous Man!.......2006-08-18
This is probably the best calvin hobbes book that Bill Watterson wrote.With plenty of funny stories about the duo. I think is a must have for every single calvin and hobbes fan. If you don't already have it, Buy it today
Amazon.com
Now that Bill Watterson has retired from drawing syndicated cartoons, the only way to get our Calvin and Hobbes fixes is through his book collections. The 10th Anniversary Book is particularly notable, because in addition to getting some of his most wonderful cartoons, we also gain a sense of Watterson as a person.
Approximately one-tenth of the book contains essays about matters great and small--from cartooning to life--and stories about the inspiration behind some of his greatest strips. Not surprisingly, Watterson shines through as a being of considerable integrity, and the cartoons gain in depth thanks to his commentary. And, of course, the cartoons in the other 90% of the book are alternately side-splitting hilarious or touching. Happy Anniversary, Bill, and good luck with whatever it is you are doing now!
Customer Reviews:
He's a little preachy.......2007-09-12
Don't get me wrong, I love C&H. But Watterson is a bit preachy in this book. He tries to explain his rationale behind some of these comics and that's generally cool. But he has comments where he bashes other comics for being pretentions jerks while he comes across like basically a pretentious jerk. /shrug, it's still a good book with good comics. For me, it was a mix of eye-rolling at Watterson's comments vs. laughing at the comics.
"I've tried to return some of the fun, magic, and beauty I've enjoyed in other comics. ".......2007-01-31
"I've always loved cartoons. With 'Calvin and Hobbes', I've tried to return some of the fun, magic, and beauty I've enjoyed in other comics. It's been immensely satisfying to draw 'Calvin and Hobbes', and I will always be grateful to have had the opportunity to work in this wonderful art form." (p. 208)
This book allows us to see the man behind the pen. This collection is a selection of what Watterson thought was important, interesting or profound about various strips he drew. It is the equivalent of a director's commentary on a DVD.
I relished the introductory essay, which is far superior to the one found in the Monster Box Set. It covers more of the in and outs of drawing, Watterson's battle for control of Calvin, his no-marketing stance, and his push for those wonderful Sunday comics. We have yet to see his artistic superior, much less an equal.
If we read between the lines, Watterson's retirement was not a surprise. The battles he fought for his integrity really damaged a part of his soul. This book provides a better explanation than his terse press release, and I feel for him. The Far Side, Bloom County, and now Foxtrot have run their course, and like these other comics, we can use this book to stoke memories--the roses of the soul that charm us in winter.
From Watterson's point of view, this book is the best of the best. After reading it, I see what he meant. The reason why C&H was so popular was that he touched the soul's taproot. You have the two sides of the man, with the animal being human, and the human an animal, then the shifting frame of reference between the imaginary and real world. As a chronic daydreamer, I understand this perfectly. In fact, I find myself in many situations that Calvin does, with the same results.
This is art--we se ourselves, and are better for it.
Love this book.......2006-11-10
Best cartoon series that I can remember. Use it as a coffee table book for guests to flip through and enjoy. Very satisfied with condition when received.
LUV'D IT!!!!!.......2006-09-17
Calvin And Hobbes...What A CLASSIC! It's hillarious, its clever, it's got everytihin! I bought this book as my first Calvin and Hobbes book years ago and I loved it immediatly! If im sad or upset, I just read this book and i'm happy again! IT's incredible! Watterson's commentary is an extra for this book and it's informative too. Also, this book has more strips than some of the other ones so buy this one! I hope this helped!
Fantastic.......2006-09-01
Having already owned every conceivable collection and reprint of Calvin and Hobbes material, I hardly needed a recap of the previous decade up to the point when this book was published. The attraction, then, had less to do with the smattering of strips that filled these pages and more to do with the bonus essays and commentaries that Watterson provides, shining some significant amount of insight onto the world of Calvin and Hobbes.
The first twenty pages or so are filled with Watterson's ruminations on the transformation (or devolution) of comics from their inception to the present day, licensing issues regarding his own strip, sabatticals, influences, the writing process, and his hard-won superior Sunday strip format. A lot of readers regard these essays (particularly the one dealing with licensing) as the verbal equivalent of Watterson patting himself on the back, but I firmly assert that any such interpretation can only result from entirely misreading Watterson's words. I can only conclude that Watterson's natural eloquence is confusing to those readers who are only capable of understanding illustrated stories, or else that they don't finish the essay before jumping to conclusions. A careful, complete read will guarantee clarity, as Watterson is extremely succint and therefore precise in the ideas he is communicating.
I only have two minor complaints regarding this edition, the first being that I would have appreciated a bit more analysis of the characters and their origins. I have read in interviews that an earlier strip of Watterson's contained an imaginative, tiger-toting younger brother of the protagonist, and it was only at an editor's suggestion that Watterson considered making these characters the focal point of the strip--which, needless to say, became by degrees the Calvin and Hobbes we know and love today. This information, along with a few of those old strips containing the "prototype" Calvin and Hobbes, would have made an excellent addition to the book.
My other complaint is that too much space is given to entire stories--weeks of strips--that are preceded by only one or two lines of commentary. I wish only a few strips from the entire story had been included, so as to free room for more material and resulting commentary.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment of all is the fact that Watterson retired shortly after publishing this compilation. I suppose I should feel grateful for the wonderful ten years that were given to us, and I certainly do, but another part of me wonders at all the possibilities that the next decade might have held for the two intrepid explorers as they discover a universe of humor, whimsy, imagination, tragedy, and friendship. The Tenth Anniversary Book highlights the brilliance of Calvin and Hobbes, and makes us realize how short ten years can really be.
Book Description
They're back: Calvin, the six-year-old dirty tricksmeister and master of indignation and his warm, cuddly philosopher sidekick, Hobbes, a tiger whose idea of adventure is to lie on his back by the fire and have his stomach rubbed. In six short years this unlikely due has captured the hearts, the minds, and, most of all, the funny bones of America. They are the msot phenomenal success story in syndication - and publishing - history. In only six years, they appear in more than 2,100 newspapers worldwide, and Calvin and Hobbes wins as many readership polls as Calvin has excesses. All seven of Bill Watterson's collections have sold a million copies within a year of publication. This treasury collection contains a never-before-published full-color section, as well as the cartoons appearing in The Revenge of the Baby-Sat and Scientific Progress Goes "Boink." All Sunday cartoons are presented full-page and full-color.
Customer Reviews:
C&H FTW.......2007-09-12
If you love C&H, you'll like this book. For me, Calvin is like pepperoni pizza... when it's good, it's really good, and when it's bad, it's still good.
an epic, great modern day comic strip parable ................2007-05-04
I could relate to Calvin and Hobbes, from the moment I first started following the adventures of the devilish, eternal six year old (Calvin) and his scruffy, stuffed pal tiger (Hobbes). Though, many of the plots appear simplistic (example: Calvin makes a mess and his mother yells at him!), there is so much more to the little strips than meets the eye. For starters, Calvin and Hobbes ponders the meaning of life, the voicelessness of children in society, and self image (among other themes).
Though, this comic strip is something that definitely appeals to little children, because it presents a little boy that we all can relate to (or maybe spent time avoiding on the playground if he teased us), and his stuffed animal. Anyone who owned a stuffed animal and knows what an important bond that is for a child, knows the feeling when that toy crosses over from the identity of "inanimate object" to "lifelike being." The creature that we relate to truly embodies the qualities who want in a best friend and companion, and we aren't doing the talking for that creature, because it truly does have a mind of its own! (in the eyes of a child) Wonderful, very funny and beautifully drawn. I've had mine for almost fifteen years and I just went back to look at it today. It feels like no time has passed between now, and the time I first looked at it. Buy this today and make it a part of your collection.
Long.......2007-03-08
This Calvin and Hobbes book is the best i've read by far. Its 250 pages long and each page contains 3 strips.
The strips in this book are especially funny and i am sure you'll enjoy them.
I highly reccomend this book.
Zen and Graphic Art.......2007-01-31
Calvin and Hobbes has always been a good `grounding' read . . . Kinda Zen, kinda common sense, always funny.
Best Book ever.......2006-11-02
This is about the best thing I've ever read. I never get tired of re and rereading it again and again. You just miss them so much after the book ends, you want to read it again. It always brings laughter, or even tears of laughter. It is a pity Bill Watterson retired from making these wonderful comics.
And this is only the first book I've read. I just ordered Calvin and Hobbes: the Authoratative, and I cannot wait...way too excited.
Book Description
When cartoonist Bill Watterson announced that his phenomenally popular cartoon strip would be discontinued on the last day of 1995, Calvin and Hobbes fans throughout the world went into mourning. Fans have learned to survive - despite the absence of the boy and his tiger in the daily newspaper. Now, like the wave of a sweet memory; comes one last chance to experience Calvin and Hobbes, in its final collection. Like the thirteen extraordinarily successful Watterson books that came before it, this volume promises to deliver all the satisfaction of visiting its characters once more. Calvin fans will be able to see their favorite mischief maker stir it up with his furry friend, long-suffering parents, classmate Susie Derkins, school teacher Miss Wormwood, and Rosalyn the baby-sitter. This collection, including full-color Sundays, has it all: Calvin-turned-firefly waking Hobbes with his flashlight glow; courageous Spaceman Spiff rocketing through alien galaxies as he battles Dad-turned-Bug-Being; and Calvin's always inspired snowman art. There's no better way for Watterson fans to savor once again the special qualities of their favorite strip.
Customer Reviews:
Life.......2007-08-23
I love this book. Calvin and Hobbes have much to say about living and life. I keep a copy of this book around always. I think this is the best of the series.
The last couple pages are worth the price of purchase. A snowy hillside with Calvin and Hobbes on a sled looking down at an unmarked field of snow. I give this to friends who are moving on with their lives, as a hope for their future. "It's a magical world".
Magic.......2007-03-10
This was written by the son of the person "love my kids". This hysterical book is really the best Calvin and Hobbs out there. In wrapping up his beloved comics characters, Watterson has included all the best aspects of Calvin and Hobbs, from close encounters with aliens as spaceman spiff, to the blissful and heartwarming ending of the entire strip, where Calvin and Hobbs, after Clavin proclaims "It's a magical world, Hobbs ol' buddy!" Set off in their sled toward the snowy winter horizon for future adventures in our imaginations. And whoever wrote "it's a depressing world", reach over and pull your boxers out of your buttcrack.
Should be titled, "It's A Depressing World"..........2006-12-13
An only, lonely child. Bullied at school. Clearly a genius level intellect, he's unchallenged and stifled since nobody, not his parents, and not even his teacher, recognizes this. A father who's always too busy to spend any time with his son. A father who's often seen, get this, reading --*reading* -- rather than paying his only son some attention! A mother, who literally, in strip after strip, throws him out the door. Throws, as in "child flying through the air". A child, and a small child at that, allowed repeatedly to wander alone through the woods! A child denied even a pet. His only friend -- a stuffed tiger.
Makes the "Peanuts" look like "The Family Circus".
Great farewell.......2006-03-14
From what I know this is the last C&H collection published before Watterson's adieu. That means the last page and, in particular, the last picture are the last we'll hear from Calvin and Hobbes in our lifetime. They're both absolutely beautiful and I don't mind to confess that I had tears in my eyes the moment I watched them. This book is typically exhilarating Watterson art: crazy, warm, witty, always funny and incredibly well written and designed. The strips about Calvin's snowmen are the ones that probably stand out, but it's a very tough call. A great, great farewell from my all time favourite comic strip.
A bittersweet departure.......2005-08-30
Watterson closes up the C&H series beautifully with this final book.
Everything about Calvin and Hobbes is stellar. The artwork, by itself, is superior to almost everything else out there. The dialogue is still amazing. Calvin and Hobbes is one of the few comics that manages to make me actually laugh.
But, of course, there's this sadness in reading this, in realizing that there won't be any more adventures with our little protagonist. Recommended for all fans.
Book Description
In just over five years of syndication, Calvin and Hobbes has become an American comic strip sensation - touching the hearts (and funny bones) of the millions who read the award-winning strip. One look at the new Calvin and Hobbes collection and it is immediately evident that Bill Watterson's imagination, wit, and sense of adventure continue to be unmatched. In this collection, comprised of cartoons never before published in book form, Calvin and his tiger-striped sidekick Hobbes are hilarious whether the two are simply lounging around philosophizing about the future of mankind or plotting their latest money-making scheme. Chock-full of the familiar adventures of Spaceman Spiff, the latest findings of Dad's popularity poll, and time travel to the Jurrassic Age, Scientific Progress Goes "Boink" is guaranteed to set scientific inquiry back an ean - and advance the reading pleasure of all Calvin and Hobbes fans.
Customer Reviews:
Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink': A Calvin and Hobbs Collection.......2007-01-11
Very funny. My son is finally reading. He is enjoying himself while learning new vocabulary.
Wickedly funny comic strip.......2006-11-18
Calvin and Hobbes is one of my favourite cartoon series, and it is one of the few which can be equally enjoyed by adults and children alike.
Bill Watterson has a M.A. in Political Science, which suggests the reason for the names of the main characters. Calvin is of course named after John Calvin, the Reformed theologian who advocated Predestination, and Thomas Hobbes, the English Political Philosopher Thomas Hobbes who argued for 'The War of all against All' in his social contract theory.
Calvin is a somewhat dysfunctional six year old who is a constant headache to his parents, babysitters, teachers, and classmates. Calvin seems to embody several classic types of rebellious children in one character. Addicted to TV, hating girls, engaging in games which destroy the family home and engaging in wonderful fantasies make many of the high points of the series, which are darkly funny and often have a deeper satirical message about our world to the adult reader. To the younger reader, they no doubt will be delighted when Calvin makes his own time machine, goes back to the dinosaur age or becomes 'Spaceman Spiff' who fights evil aliens, or the 'Get Rid of Slimy Girls' Club Calvin forms with Hobbes.
This is a delightful comic to own and enjoy, for adults and children alike.
Hysterical and bittersweet.......2006-04-25
When you get right down to it, is there anything better than Calvin & Hobbes? In this compilation or any of the others, you get lessons in quantum physics, nostalgic looks at the agony of grade school, observations in human nature, and a bit of the "thing under the bed" style horror. All this and you'll laugh yourself to the point of wetting your pants.
The Calvin & Hobbes strips are hysterical. But beyond that, they are poignant and often bittersweet, reminding us of the children we once were and of the rich fantasies that come with childhood.
Behold Calvin, utterly impish and wise-beyond-his years. His snowmen displays, at times morbid at times downright surreal, could fill a collection of its own.
Calvin fancies himself the smartest boy in the world. And who can argue with him, other than his long-suffering parents and his faithful friend Hobbes, a tiger who may or may not be real.
Hobbes is the pentultimate friend. He is Calvin's confidante and his patient ear, but he is also the first to pounce on the boy or to challenge his sordid views of the world. Together, the pair ponder the meaning of life, question the adult world, or sneak off to explore the fascinating landscapes of childhood found under dead logs or under rocks.
If I were banished to a small island with only scant supplies to get me through my days, this book would be among the items in my trunk. I have had this collection for ten years or more and I've gone through it a dozen times. I'll go through it a dozen more before it's battered to the point of unreadable.
Watterson is an absolute genius. But as you fall into the world of Calvin & Hobbes, you'll forget that they were created by a mere man at all.
Calvin and Hobbes-the Dynamic Duo.......2006-04-05
Probably one of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes stories is about Calvin's Duplicator/Transmorgrifier/Transmorgrifier Ray. The kid's imagination is completely limitless. And, Mr. Watterson, if you're reading this review, you should make a story where Calvin has his birthday party. Five stars to ALL Calvin and Hobbes books!!!
Calvin and Hobbes Experience the Topography of Life.......2005-11-16
This wonderful collection of cartoons has provided me many hours of enjoyment. As all fans of Calvin and his companion tiger Hobbes know, Bill Watterson's imagination has created a comic strip whose characters wonderfully capture flights of fantasy that help many of us vividly recall some of our most memorable childhood experiences. Calvin (in his many roles), Hobbes - the wonderful embodiment of every child's most loyal companion , Susie Derkins - the little girl next store who is constantly appalled by Calvin's weirdness,, Moe the bully, and Rosalyn the constantly embattled babysitter all manage to come to life in episodes that are sure to bring smiles to the faces of everyone who get to know them.
This is fantasy at its best, at times simply lighthearted everyday experiences observed from Watterson's unique perspective and at other times cartoons being used as the conduit for wonderful philosophical observations. I found equally priceless both Hobbes leering smile as he responds to Calvin's question "I wonder why man was put on earth. What's our purpose? Why are we here?" with the simple answer "Tiger Food" and Calvin's sudden frightening bout with cubism when his ability to see both sides in a debate fractured his perspective and led him to see everything from all angles. In fact, the title of my review is adapted from one of my other favorite episodes in the book.
Calvin's love of life and Hobbes love of Calvin are contagious; I found myself cheering them on and not wanting the book to end. (Luckily there are many other collections of this comic strip which was sadly terminated after only ten years.) I continually smile, chuckle and on occasion laugh out loud whenever I pick up this book, which I often do in my spare moment. And if you're with someone else when you're reading these, your progress will be slowed but your enjoyment increased by your desire to share the delight which you experience. A wonderful book for kids of all ages (I'm only 63) and most adults will enjoy it as well.
Tucker Andersen
Book Description
Calvin and Hobbes books have taken the country by storm and here's the biggest, brightest one yet! Calvin and Hobbest soared to the top of the bestseller lists in its first month of publication, selling a million copies within 9 months of publication. Something Under The Bed Is Drooling exploded out of the stores, selling nearly a million copies within the first month of publication! Now, those two books are brought together in this over-size anthology-type book. Adding to the fun in The Essential Calvin and Hobbes are an original 16-page story and color Sunday cartoons.
Customer Reviews:
Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03
I am not sure I have ever met anyone who has read some Calvin and Hobbes comic strips and hated them. I suppose there might be a person or two out there allergic to stuffed toy tigers, perhaps, or had a horrible accident involving one. Those would be the only people I could think of that would not find these strips entertaining, no matter what age.
Calvin looks a little different in this one.......2007-06-02
This collection contains earlier C&H cartoons. Being accustomed to seeing a slightly different looking Calvin in the more modern works it takes a little getting used to. His head is HUGE! His mouth...HUGE...and also very much like those Peanuts characters. The way his body and feet are drawn is also like them. Maybe they were Watterson's inspiration? Aside from the bigger head and mouth, Calvin in drawn shorter and wider than we are accustomed to and Hobbes is also bigger than him (when he is a stuffed tiger) which makes Calvin look even smaller. I thought at first that he was four or five but then he refers to himself as a six year old so that hasn't changed. I'm guessing that Watterson refined his craft in the years following...after all, this was originally published in 1988!!!
In this collection we see:
Calvin meets Hobbes
Calvin meets Susie...and does some serious flirting???
Calvin goes to the doctor and lives to tell the tale
His mom lets him try smoking
Shrunken heads for dinner anyone?
Calvin vs Rosalyn...who wins?
Many, many more memorable episodes in this collection that will keep you coming back for more!
CAUTION!!: When the information said "Includes cartoons from Calvin & Hobbes and Something Under the Bed is Drooling" I was under the impression that it contained just a few of those. Not so! It actually COMBINES those 2 books so that ALL of those cartoons are contained herein. I learned this because I ordered this together with Calvin & Hobbes...I am assuming it will be like this for other collections as well.
ONE OF THE BEST!.......2006-06-18
This calvin and hobbes collection is one of my favorites. I own every single one, but this one is better to me because it has more Sunday comics in it. The adventures, the fun, the snow, the beach...Bill Watterson shouldn't have quit. 5 Stars
Hobbes' Favorite Thing To Do.......2005-09-07
As you can tell by the cover on here, Hobbes' favorite thing to do is pounce on Calvin when he gets home from school.
Calvin does not like going to school, because he gets just about everything wrong, he tells Susie the disgusting things he brought for lunch, at recess there's the bully Moe and when he gets home, Hobbes pounces on him.
Calvin's mistake:Shouting out "I'M HOME!" when he comes in the door. He knows Hobbes will hear him and that gives him the advantage of pouncing on Calvin.
A fantastic collection of early Calvin and Hobbes comics.......2004-06-16
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, first published in 1988, is chock full of early Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. No cartoonist, not even Charles Schultz, has captured the magical essence of childhood the way Bill Watterson did in this strip, and it should come as no surprise (although it did to Watterson) that Calvin and Hobbes quickly developed an incredibly loyal following. This strip went way beyond mere popularity. While I was in college, the campus newspaper decided to stop running Calvin and Hobbes (I think this was during one of Watterson's sabbaticals) - this resulted in nothing less than a furor on campus, as countless students immediately demanded the return of C&H. In a matter of days, Calvin and Hobbes were right back where they belonged.
How does a comic strip featuring a mischievous six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger attract a fiercely loyal following of adults? Most adults would love to be children again, to know the freedom and sense of wonder that somehow withers inside the human soul after the onset of puberty. Calvin and Hobbes vividly recreates the feelings and emotions of the very essence of childhood. It brings back memories of things we forgot far too long ago, and it thus reawakens the deepest parts of our ever-hardening souls. Reading this comic strip is the next best thing to being a child yourself. Calvin does everything you used to do: he takes time to stomp in mud puddles, he lets his imagination run wild to make thrilling adventures out of even the most mundane tasks, he ponders the same deep questions you are now, as an adult, afraid to ask, he goes for the gusto no matter what sort of risk is involved, he is in every way a perfect specimen of childhood. Who, as a child, didn't pretend to be a dinosaur, walk around with a hideous expression in hopes of your facing freezing that way, tease the girls (or boys) you claimed to hate, journey to distant worlds unseen by human eyes, etc.?
Of course, Hobbes is just as important to the comic strip as Calvin. Hobbes is a tiger, Calvin's best and constant friend, a fellow partaker in the joys of childish innocence. To Calvin, Hobbes really is all that, and that is how we see him as well - until, that is, someone else comes into the frame, when he suddenly becomes nothing more than a stuffed animal. Watterson is a fantastic comic artist, and there is just something captivating about the way he draws Hobbes in his stuffed animal form. Everything about Watterson's art is fantastic, though, particularly the way it captures the emotions of its two principal characters.
Sadly, we have only ten years of comic memories in the form of Calvin and Hobbes, as the inscrutable Bill Watterson retired (around the age of 37) in 1995 and quite obviously has no plans of returning to the public arena. Watterson is actually frighteningly private and seems to be living a life of unmatched solitude. I find this extraordinarily sad: here is a man who captured the essence of childhood so vividly in the form of Calvin and Hobbes, a world bursting with life and possibilities, yet now he seems to have withdrawn from life itself. We must be thankful we do have as much Calvin and Hobbes material as we do, and The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, with 255 pages of black and white daily strips and color Sunday strips, features much more than just a chunk of it in and of itself.
Book Description
The 2001 Festival Of Cartoon Art at the Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library will feature Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes. The exhibit will be called "Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995." It is scheduled to run September 10, 2001 to January 15, 2002. Andrews McMeel will publish the exhibit catalog that will reprint all 36 of the works in the exhibit, and it will include an essay by Mr. Watterson abou this work on the strip, plus his comments on each of the strips in the display. This book is a must-have for all Calvin and Hobbes fans.
Customer Reviews:
Great buy.......2007-05-25
The book was in great price, and it arrived in great condition. The best thing was, however, the promptness of the delivery!! Thank you very much.
a little bit of perspective...and a lot of fun.......2005-03-07
The commentary provided by the author on each of the Sunday cominc cartoon included in the collection in itself is worth the book. Each cartoon is presented twice, though. The left panel is similar to the sketches and the right hand presents the same cartoon in color. Each of the two pages provide a narrative related to the specific cartoon - explaining the artistic characteristics and inspiration for the cartoon....All in all, an excellent addition to any Calvin fan (and which intelligent reader isnt!)
Great Look Behind the Scenes.......2004-12-25
For the eleven years that it ran (1985-1995), Waterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" comic strip was one of the greatest ever. His genius is reflected in a combination of brilliant images, imaginative story lines, unpredictable situations, and just the fun, love, and silliness of a little boy and his stuffed tiger. I have a few of the large format books, and I get a bit tired by Watterson's gassy forewords, in which he never fails to yak on and on about the cruel cartoon industry with its shrinking sizes, loss of artistic greatness, and insistence on merchandising every successful strip. Whatever. He does it again in this book, so you'll have to skip past that. The book doubled as the exhibit catalog for a showing of Watterson's works at Ohio State a few years ago. The interesting pages are dozens of Sunday strips with his personal comments under most of them. They appear in both the original draft and the final colored form (though personally, I didn't see much value added in running the same strip twice --in black-and-white and then in color). But it is fun to page through and laugh again at some of the most creative, clever, humorous, and well-drawn strips ever.
Insightful looks at classic sunday strips.......2004-05-13
Calvin & Hobbes was much more than a really good newspaper comic strip.
Created by Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes will be hailed among the greatest ever created, right alongside Peanuts and Krazy Kat for its creativity, scope of influence and the enjoyment it offered the reader. It was a strip capable of being all things gleeful and all things sad, all things goofy and all things serious.
Bill Watterson's genius cannot be overstated. He was a master of the comic form. He somehow managed to be funny, clever, touching, insightful, warm, cynical, uplifting, devious, nostalgic, and mischievous, all in the space of a little three- or four-panel comic strip.
And his Sunday strips? A feast. His use of space and color, especially in the strip's later years, was masterful. He knew how to work a page like no other.
In this collection, some of the best Sunday strips are collected in glorious color. Each is amended with footnotes and annotations by the creator himself, along with early pre-newspaper versions of the strips. While many of these can be found elsewhere, this collection is a nice look back at some favorites, made even better by the insight and observations of the man who drew them. Even those intimately familiar with these cartoons will learn something new about the craft of comic creation through his annotations.
Each comic strip is a story - and for longtime Calvin & Hobbes readers, a memory. That final strip, with its clean slate of white snow into which Calvin and Hobbes disappear, talking of discovery and exploring ... just fantastic.
If you're a fan of Watterson's work and Calvin & Hobbes, you owe it to yourself to pick this up.
Bill Watterson. Cartoonist exrtodinaire........2003-02-23
Another in a collection of zany, wonderful episodes brought to us by a cartooning master. Keeps us in touch with sanity and makes us laugh because we need it! Good job, Bill!
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Calvin and Hobbes
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