# Calvin and Hobbes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2003, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228 "2003-08-05T23:58:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/41 "2003-08-06T13:31:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > \*\*Ok, here’s the real question: Is Hobbes real? > > I contend that Spaceman Spiff’s adventures, the T-Rexes, etc., are all products of Calvin’s exceedingly rich imagination, but that Hobbes does in fact become a real tiger when no one else is around. > > Anyone who believes that Hobbes is just a stuffed animal and only comes to life in Calvin’s mind is just plain sick. \*\* He’s real to Calvin, and that’s all that the strip, or I am concerned with. ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/42 "2003-08-06T13:52:32Z")
I can’t understand how Bill Watterson hasn’t done anything else! How can such an incredible talent just stop creating?! I can understand him wanting to get out of the newspaper syndication thing, but he could go straight to books, develop a different character if he felt the Calvin thing is played out… I just don’t get it. I LOVE his work. Love! ---
**Author:** ![B.Serum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/b.serum/32/14266_2.png) [@B.Serum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/B.Serum)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/43 "2003-08-06T13:57:02Z")
Oh, and regarding Hobbes’ reality… Someone (I think on this board) had a great comparison: Hobbes :: Calvin as Tyler Durden :: [Ed Norton’s character (from Fight Club)]. (Which I guess would make Marla Singer :: Susie) ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/44 "2003-08-06T14:07:58Z")
That link Fern Forest provided said that Watterson retired so he could address other challenges. That was in 1995. Has he met those challenges? What were they? ---
**Author:** ![welby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@welby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/welby)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/45 "2003-08-06T14:35:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > \*\*Here’s a chance card for **welby** > > _Go back three posts_ 😉 \*\* People keep telling me that I should read the whole thread before I get all posty. Experience had borne the advice out more than once, but I just don’t listen. ---
**Author:** ![godzillatemple](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@godzillatemple](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/godzillatemple)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/46 "2003-08-06T14:55:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by BrotherCadfael \* > **Ok, here’s the real question: Is Hobbes real?** Well, [according to the strip’s creator](http://www.ucomics.com/calvinandhobbes/characters.phtml): > [@](#): > > I don’t think of Hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when Calvin’s around. Neither do I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin’s imagination. . . . Calvin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone else sees Hobbes another way. I show two versions of reality, and each makes complete sense to the participant who sees it. I think that’s how life works. None of us sees the world exactly the same way, and I just draw that literally in the strip. And yes, I named my orange tiger cat “Hobbes”… 😃 Barry ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/47 "2003-08-06T15:08:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*That link Fern Forest provided said that Watterson retired so he could address other challenges. That was in 1995. Has he met those challenges? What were they? \*\* Watterson quit largely because he felt he wasn’t getting enough space or artistic freedom in his strip; he complained, loud and long, that newspapers weren’t blowing comic strip panels up big enough. It strikes be as being as very diva-esque complaint, but hey, it’s his strip and his life. He’s sort of a hermit. As an aside, Calvin’s Dad looks exactly like Bill Watterson, except Watterson has a moustache. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/48 "2003-08-06T15:20:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rico \* > \*\*LMAO thanks Fern! > > I can see why that was never included in the books! \*\* Now y’all got me wondering what the strip is. **Fern** , would you mind enlightening me? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/49 "2003-08-06T15:27:11Z")
Posted too early, didn’t see the link 'til now. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/50 "2003-08-06T15:41:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > \*\*I’m guess cause it’s Calvin basically saying that he wants to ride in a washing machine, which is a big no-no for the kiddies. It’s pretty tame, but judging by the editor’s reactions to some Far Side cartoons I can see why it was axed. \*\* Evidently, Andy Kaufman had a thing for playing in the dryer when he was Calvin’s age and look how _he_ turned out! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/51 "2003-08-06T16:38:21Z")
I miss Calvin and Hobbes dearly. It’s like an old friend you never hear from anymore. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/52 "2003-08-06T16:45:31Z")
I like the one where they went on vacation and the 'rents wouldn’t let Calvin take Hobbes. When they came back, the house had been burgled. And Hobbes was missing. And the Spaceman Spiff adventures! And the psychotic snowmen! (Okay, okay, they were all my favorites…) ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/53 "2003-08-06T17:32:49Z")
I loved the tiny snowmen 🙂 And I liked the dad’s sense of humor. “The sun is the size of a quarter. See?” _holds up a quarter_ “No, you were a blue light special at KMart. Way cheaper, and almost as good.” Best.parent.line. EVER ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/54 "2003-08-06T21:15:16Z")
I also am really shocked at the permanency of Watterson’s retirement. In an article at the link I gave he comes off as some one extremely fragile who was quite traumatized by the attention he got from the strip and now lives in hiding. It’s kinda sad. The only thing I can think of that he’s done and made available since retirement is the intro to “Calvin & Hobbes Sunday Pages” where he says he paints and plays music. It does come off in an optimistic tone where he wonders why he quit something he was good at to pursue things he’s not good at and talks about how much he loves “Calvin & Hobbes.” I bet he’s done many strips just for his own pleasure but he doesn’t share because he wants to slip into anonymity. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/55 "2003-08-06T21:20:31Z")
Wouldn’t it be funny if he’s been doing strips all this time under a different name? Of course, I’d like to think we’d have noticed his style… but who knows? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/56 "2003-08-06T21:43:25Z")
Like Sandy Koufax, like Jim Brown, Bill Watterson quit while he was at the top of his game. _Calvin and Hobbes_ was indeed the best comic strip ever. ---
**Author:** ![wolfstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d6d6ee/32.png) [@wolfstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfstu)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/57 "2003-08-06T23:44:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fern Forest \* > \*\*Done and done. \*\* Thanks so much! ---
**Author:** ![CrazyCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CrazyCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CrazyCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/58 "2003-08-07T01:14:30Z")
I don’t remeber the Blue Light Special strip. Could someone indulge me with a linky-link or which book it’s in? Oh, and **Ivylass** , I think Calvin just forgot Hobbes because he was piddling and wasting time, and nobody else was willing to go back after they’d been on the road for an hour or two. I’ve always loved the one where Calvin’s copying off Susie’s test, and she keeps telling him wrong answers, telling him “The Louisiana Purchase” is a valid answer on a math test because it’s a trick question (or something similar). He thanks her, and she says, “Oh, you deserve it.” Susie and Dad were my favorite characters in the strip, excepting the title characters, of course. Come to think of it, my dad always said Susie reminded him of me, so maybe I just appreciate a kindred spirit. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/59 "2003-08-07T02:15:28Z")
The K-Mart quote comes from page 113 of “Something Under the Bed is Drooling.” ---
**Author:** ![The\_Man\_Who](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c2a13f/32.png) [@The\_Man\_Who](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Man_Who)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228/60 "2003-08-07T03:26:35Z")
November 28, 1985 was Thanksgiving, and I think I read somewhere that this was the year that all the comic strips were doing “attention to world hunger” strips. According to the archive at [MyComicsPage.com](http://MyComicsPage.com), the regular Calvin and Hobbes for that day has Calvin refusing to eat his dinner, and then ordering a pizza when he is sent away from the table. Calvin opens with “This smells like bat barf,” which I suspect (pulling speculation directly out of my ass) prompted a request for an alternate from his editor. (C+H would be fewer than 2 weeks old at this point and Bill Watterson would have had none of the clout he would later enjoy.) To see the regular strip, turn to page 10 of “Calvin and Hobbes” (the first book). -Myron PS: I **thought** I had read about the Thanksgiving connection on Martijn’s page. It’s at [http://www.reemst.com/calvin\_and\_hobbes/?page=books](http://www.reemst.com/calvin_and_hobbes/?page=books) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/calvin-and-hobbes/193228.md?page=4)