# For those who miss Calvin and Hobbes **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906 "2003-08-18T04:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skwerl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Skwerl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skwerl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/1 "2003-08-18T04:46:43Z")
If anyone misses the comic Calvin and Hobbes, you should ask your paper to carry Frazz. Does anyone’s paper run this one? It seems to me to be a borderline Calvin ripoff. Check these links: [http://www.comics.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20030817.html](http://www.comics.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20030817.html) [http://www.comics.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20030803.html](http://www.comics.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20030803.html) [http://www.comics.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20030725.html](http://www.comics.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20030725.html) for some of the more egregious examples. You’ve got the short, precocious, cynical little kid (Calvin). The taller, more mature mentor-ish type who tries to give some more wordly perspective (Hobbes). There’s the teacher who the kid thinks is some old hag that spends the summer in a coffin when she’s not feasting on blood, but she really just cares about the kids’ education (Ms. Wormwood). There are plenty of bicycle jokes, since in Frazz the title character is an avid cyclist (ala Calvin’s Dad). Much of the time when the kid’s talking you only see his little dot eyes and the top of his head, just like in the great C&H. Anyway, the overall humor of the strip often seems very C&H like to me. The strip’s funny usually, I’ll give it that, but half the time it makes me wonder “Didn’t I see this strip in _Yukon Ho!_?” Has anyone else noticed this? ---
**Author:** ![Rainbowthief](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4bbf92/32.png) [@Rainbowthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rainbowthief)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/2 "2003-08-18T05:34:16Z")
Is there a Suzy-type little girl to serve as his nemesis? I’d never heard of Frazz before, but [Get Fuzzy](http://www.comics.com/comics/getfuzzy/index.html) has been my Calvin & Hobbes replacement and I think it’s the best comic strip being published today. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/3 "2003-08-18T05:58:05Z")
It _has_ to be Bill Watterson using a pseudonym. I mean, the text is even slanted in the same direction. ---
**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 18, 2003, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/4 "2003-08-18T06:40:33Z")
It’s weird that you should mention that. I’ve been thinking to myself that it was kind of like Calvin grown up. Especially the mouths. ---
**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/5 "2003-08-18T06:56:04Z")
Dear God. Joe K is reading my mind… and Frazz DOES look like older Calvin. This whole strip just sends out very Watterson-ish vibes for me, not to mention the way the shorter kid is drawn. His facial features and general expressions are Calvin reincarnated… This is a bit scary, and yet also a bit awesome… Maybe it _is_ Watterson under a pseudonym. ---
**Author:** ![SPOOFE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c5a1d2/32.png) [@SPOOFE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SPOOFE)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/6 "2003-08-18T08:17:21Z")
Wait, wait… we’re getting another dose of Watterson-ish vibes, and y’all are complaining?!? WHAT’S WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/7 "2003-08-18T08:22:35Z")
I hope it isn’t Watterson… I would have expected him to do something completely different after C&H. Still, the expression and gestures are dead on, as is the general humour. A Google search didn’t yield anything useful on Mallett, other than that he’s the “author of Frazz” and “illustrator of children’s books”. And look at this: [http://www.bikereader.com/BikeReader/contributors/mallett/frazz.html](http://www.bikereader.com/BikeReader/contributors/mallett/frazz.html) The bike humour is there, and even the way the bike is drawn has Watterson written all over it. However… look at the bottom of the page **Skwerl** linked to: “Buy Frazz on a T-shirt, mug, and mousepad”? Watterson _hates_ merchandising. My opinion? Just someone who couldn’t (or didn’t want to) develop a style of his own and decided to rip off Watterson. That’s not to say it isn’t very well done. ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/8 "2003-08-18T08:28:49Z")
I love Frazz (even better than Get Fuzzy)! Our paper just started carrying it. I had missed the Watterson vibe, but now that it’s been brought up, I agree completely. The humor, the attitude and the art combined. There is no Suzy-type character, though. Hey, whether it’s Ol’ Bill, or whether it’s simply C&H inspired (I wouldn’t call it a rip-off; it’s too good), I’m not gonna complain. ---
**Author:** ![that.sound.again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e5b9ba/32.png) [@that.sound.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/that.sound.again)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/9 "2003-08-18T10:34:26Z")
Definitely inspired. This guy read C&H a lot. But to think it’s a _pseudonym_… have a closer look at the line quality and color, for starters. This one’s done wit a felt tip and computer colored - Watterson always used a brush for inking and watercolour. The art of Frazz is passable. But nowhere near [Bill Watterson](http://www.alloftheabove.net/cahr/art/stupendousmanbookback.htm) quality. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/10 "2003-08-18T11:49:46Z")
Well, if it isn’t him (I still think it may be; the idiosyncratic details are easily variable), then it’s an extremely dedicated underling; perhaps an inker (Maybe he lied about being a one-man operation?). Plus, merch would definitely aid in the make-a-living end of things, and these guys would be a lesser evil to sell than, say, Hobbes. ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/11 "2003-08-18T15:37:06Z")
I’m suspicous as well. Looks like a grown-up Calvin to me. He’s given up Hobbes but has become “Hobbes” to a kid a lot like him. That’s my theory anyway. There’s an interesting email exchange between Jeff Mallet and this guy [here](http://www.danmagnolia.com/diary/archives/2002_10_01_index.html) (down at the bottom of the page). ---
**Author:** ![qwanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ea924/32.png) [@qwanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qwanderer)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/12 "2003-08-18T16:15:10Z")
That’s really strange, because the thing that’s been going through my head since C&H ended is that the comic Zits, by Jerry Scott and Jim Borgman, is exactly what Calvin and Hobbes would be if he grew up. The pen work is similar but a little more complex; they have a lot of the same kind of humor; they even have the same old tree house in one strip; but the focus on teenagerhood makes it plenty original. Either these guys are huge Watterson fans, or one of them is the real deal. Check it out. [http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/zits/about.htm](http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/zits/about.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Short\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Short\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Short_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/13 "2003-08-18T16:22:57Z")
Well, **Greywolf** ’s link sorta settles it. I don’t think Watterson would ever refer to himself as the Michelangelo of comics, even when he’s using a pseudonym. I like his line “if you learn from one guy you’re derivative, and if you learn from a dozen you’re original”. I’ll be forced to quote that when the next occasion arrives. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![qwanderer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ea924/32.png) [@qwanderer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qwanderer)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/14 "2003-08-18T16:38:24Z")
p.s. especially the strip for monday, july 14 ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/15 "2003-08-18T16:40:31Z")
Interesting. Just this month a thread pointed me to a “Far Side” substitute, [“Off The Mark”](http://www.offthemark.com/daily.asp). Now I have a “Calvin and Hobbes” substitute in “Frazz”. My two all time favorite comics, reborn, sort of. There is joy in Mudville after all. ---
**Author:** ![Lux\_Interior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@Lux\_Interior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lux_Interior)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/16 "2003-08-18T18:25:16Z")
> [@](#): > > I like his line “if you learn from one guy you’re derivative, and if you learn from a dozen you’re original”. I’ll be forced to quote that when the next occasion arrives. I like, “If you steal from one person, it’s plagiarism. If you steal from hundreds of people, it’s research.” or something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Achernar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@Achernar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achernar)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/17 "2003-09-21T16:34:36Z")
I’m bumping this thread to point out that in [today’s Frazz](http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/frazz/archive/frazz-20030921.html), Bill Watterson is mentioned, and in sort of an odd way. In fact, the joke is pretty self-referential. Suspicious?! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/18 "2003-09-21T18:34:34Z")
Very interesting, **Achernar**. Hmm… could it be? Could it? Maybe not… but still… ---
**Author:** ![StanDup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@StanDup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StanDup)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/19 "2003-09-21T18:39:39Z")
Very interesting, **Achernar**. Hmm… could it be? Could it? Maybe not… but still… ---
**Author:** ![Gadarene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Gadarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gadarene)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2003, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906/20 "2003-09-22T12:39:40Z")
JMHO, but, um…Frazz isn’t in the same league as C&H. Not only is it not nearly as funny, but I disagree with several of the posters above that it has the same humor or the same feel as Calvin & Hobbes. I think the art is similar, but that’s all. I could be wrong, but I don’t think there’s any way in the world that’s Bill Watterson under a pseudonym. If it were, the strip would be miles better. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-those-who-miss-calvin-and-hobbes/195906.md?page=2)