Calvin and Hobbes: Just Calvin

Calvin and Hobbes: Just Calvin

When I was a few years younger, maybe nine or ten, I loved Calvin and Hobbes comics (and I still do, as should you). They hold the power to entertain a frantic, easily distracted mind like my own for hours on end. A considerable feat, as the individual strips do not collectively form any cohesive story; almost every page of an anthology contains a new story. As such, one would likely think that an anthology of Calvin and Hobbes would be easy to pick up and set down on a whim. Do not be fooled. An anthology of Calvin and Hobbes will so thoroughly ensnare you in the antics of elementary schoolers and humans in general that many days will pass without your notice.

As you may have ascertained from the title, Calvin and Hobbes is a comic strip that centers around the misadventures of Calvin, a young boy, and Hobbes, a stuffed tiger toy who is also Calvin’s best friend. Both Calvin and Hobbes are named after philosophers, theologians, which makes a fair amount of sense to me, as their comic can be quite thought-provoking at times, and Bill Watterson has admitted it is sort of an intellectual outlet for him. A way to be immature and work through life’s obstacles.

Calvin is not an unbelievably pretentious child on a path to graduate college by fourteen. He is quite the opposite, really. Calvin possesses an intense aversion to work on any endeavor that does not strike his fancy. These unfavorable projects include school and chores. However, Calvin has demonstrated at times his superhuman work ethic. For example, he builds a crime scene with snowmen around his parents’ car here:



(From The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes)

While Calvin is not at all excited about school work, the audience is left to assume he is at least an observant and intelligent child. He frequently makes political references that other six-year-olds of his time would likely be oblivious to, comparing himself and Hobbes to “the Republican Party and Tammany Hall” when he turns himself into an elephant, and shouting that his parents are communists for enforcing a bedtime. Further, he often comes up with… er… clever means of evading responsibility. For example, when Calvin doesn’t want to take a bath, he hides in the bathtub, knowing that his parents wouldn't possibly think to look for him in the very place he was supposedly avoiding.

It is shameful that I have not yet touched on Calvin’s most distinctive characteristic -- his vivid and consuming imagination -- especially since this is the main focus of the comic. Calvin is a bit of an outcast within his community. He is bullied by Moe at school, and the only other peer that interacts with him is the vengeful and easily angered Susie, whom Calvin has a particular knack for annoying. As such, many of Calvin’s days are spent absorbed in his fantasies. There are several recurring fantasies through the comics, and they often serve as a buffer between Calvin and his interactions with other people.

For example, one of Calvin’s fictional alter egos, Spaceman Spiff, often finds himself interacting with hostile aliens who simply turn out to be human beings he’d rather not interact with. The author of the comics does a great job making these changes entertaining, despite how often they occur. When Calvin is immersed in his fantasy realm, the reader cannot truly decipher what is going on outside of his head. But when that veil is lifted, and the actual interaction Calvin is having is revealed, the situation of Spaceman Spiff takes on a new meaning, and Calvin’s mundane situation becomes much more interesting. For example, Calvin is asked a question in class about an assignment he didn’t read:



(From The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes)

As another, perhaps more vital example, Calvin interacts with his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Often, Calvin looks to blame Hobbes when he would otherwise get in trouble.



(From: The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes)

Interestingly enough, Bill Watterson, the author and artist of these comics, suggests in the introduction to The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book that Calvin does actually experience the fantasies in the comics as his own reality. He introduces the dynamic between Calvin and Hobbes, for example, as a very literal representation of how different people see the world in different ways. To Calvin, who likely feels lonely and excluded from a society of his peers, Hobbes is a helpful and intelligent best friend. To everyone else, people who don’t have the same friendship need as Calvin does, Hobbes is a simple stuffed toy.

Calvin is an interesting character because he somehow represents people outside of his age group, making him easy to connect with and root for. Certainly, Calvin appeals to people of similar age, as his vivid imaginings are just the fantastic adventures many six-year olds embark on. His toy tiger comes to life, for goodness’ sake! That’s pretty spectacular for a young child to read about. At the same time, Calvin has to deal with issues outside of his fantasy realm that allow him to connect with older audiences. For example, Calvin can be a bit of an eccentric worrier, a trait furthered by his overactive imagination. His brain sometimes turns very mundane situations, such as waking up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and sneezing, into terrifying scenarios. The classic example of this are the monsters dwelling under Calvin’s bed.



(From: The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book)

Personally, I relate to Calvin’s worrying. Though perhaps Calvin does not fret over things very often, when he does, his worrying is likely over something imaginary or overblown. I often find myself fretting over things I can’t control, and highly doubt I am the only person who does so. As such, Calvin can (occasionally) appeal to both the worrier and the imaginer locked up inside our brains.

As Bill Watterson suggests in his character introductions preceding The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book, Calvin deals with some big questions within the comics. Questions about life, and the nature of it, that people have yet to figure out. The conversations one has with oneself as they drift off to sleep. For example, when Calvin finds an injured raccoon in the woods and tries to rescue it, he is forced to wrestle with the idea of death.



(From: The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book)


All in all, Calvin and Hobbes is interesting for many people to read because it is such a versatile story. Often, as I reread these anthologies, I am able to pick out new, previously unappreciated subtleties that I can connect with as a reader. Calvin isn’t just a six-year-old, as Bill Watterson explains in his introduction. Instead, he is meant to be a human with struggles and attributes that people can sympathize with.