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Calvin and Hobbes #3-4
The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury
Book by Bill Watterson
254 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
393 people are currently reading
4199 people want to read
About the author
Bill Watterson
397 books4,841 followersBill Watterson (born William Boyd Watterson II) is an American cartoonist, and the author of the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes". His career as a syndicated cartoonist ran from 1985 to 1995; he stopped drawing "Calvin and Hobbes" at the end of 1995 with a short statement to newspaper editors and his fans that he felt he had achieved all he could in the comic strip medium. During the early years of his career he produced several drawings and additional contributions for "Target: The Political Cartoon Quarterly". Watterson is known for his views on licensing and comic syndication, as well as for his reclusive nature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 604 reviews
August 13, 2016
Every time I try to read in bed, this happens:
December 31, 2014
I was a teen and I was loving The Far Side, but then I found Calvin and Hobbes, and it was like going from sociology class to philosophy.
I'm not saying one was better than the other. I'm saying I felt like I was taking college classes, and I was loving it!
These strips weren't about hitting you over the head with gags. They were nuanced takes on life. Watterson took a subtle approach to pointing out people's foibles. If you were the least bit reflective, you could see yourself in Calvin. Some probably intentionally deflected any self recognition in Watterson's work, because what you saw wasn't always pleasant.
As a book, The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes allowed Watterson to carry a topic from one strip to the next without preamble. This meant that not every page was hilarious or even had a point to make. Some pages were just bridges, and that's okay, because as a whole that series of strips gained a certain gravitas that created more of a solidified "book", which these comics collections often lack.
Earlier I said that I didn't think Watterson was necessarily better than Larson, but I'd have to hand it to Watterson over Larson when it comes to drawing. Watterson had a steadier hand, better technique. But who cares? You don't read either of these comics for the artwork. Having said that, Watterson did flex his muscle occasionally, especially when he would let us enter Calvin's dreamworld...
Often times the Calvin and Hobbes strip had a sarcastic edge or left you soured on humanity. Watterson clearly felt mankind needed improving and he used his strip to convey those feelings. However, kindness, the ray of light, and a general sort of sentimentality sometimes crept in and would make you sense that there was hope and a reason to fight on. Maybe I'm reading too much into all of this, but that's what the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip meant to me.
I'm not saying one was better than the other. I'm saying I felt like I was taking college classes, and I was loving it!
These strips weren't about hitting you over the head with gags. They were nuanced takes on life. Watterson took a subtle approach to pointing out people's foibles. If you were the least bit reflective, you could see yourself in Calvin. Some probably intentionally deflected any self recognition in Watterson's work, because what you saw wasn't always pleasant.
As a book, The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes allowed Watterson to carry a topic from one strip to the next without preamble. This meant that not every page was hilarious or even had a point to make. Some pages were just bridges, and that's okay, because as a whole that series of strips gained a certain gravitas that created more of a solidified "book", which these comics collections often lack.
Earlier I said that I didn't think Watterson was necessarily better than Larson, but I'd have to hand it to Watterson over Larson when it comes to drawing. Watterson had a steadier hand, better technique. But who cares? You don't read either of these comics for the artwork. Having said that, Watterson did flex his muscle occasionally, especially when he would let us enter Calvin's dreamworld...
Often times the Calvin and Hobbes strip had a sarcastic edge or left you soured on humanity. Watterson clearly felt mankind needed improving and he used his strip to convey those feelings. However, kindness, the ray of light, and a general sort of sentimentality sometimes crept in and would make you sense that there was hope and a reason to fight on. Maybe I'm reading too much into all of this, but that's what the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip meant to me.
June 5, 2010
If I'd have met Calvin in second grade, we'd still be married. It's really hard to find a good boy with a tiger.
January 12, 2020
propitious beginning to a new year
June 28, 2014
If you don't like Calvin and Hobbes, I question your judgment and I don't think we can be friends. That is all.
August 14, 2011
I love, love, love Calvin & Hobbes. Reading this, seeing the expressions on Calvin's face or the grimaces & scowls on his parents' faces just makes me all kinds of happy. It's going into that world that is Calvin's imagination that takes me back to my own childhood years where everything was possible that makes me happy & glowy. Bill Waterson's a genius. He captured what it's like being a kid with an overactive imagination & expanded on the idea with his own imagination & talent & got this... gem. I'm not ashamed to say I got teary eyed when Calvin lost Hobbes, the look on his face! The huge watery eyes! You'd have to be made of steel not to say "awwwwwwww!" & dab at your eyes. The performance reports Calvin gives his dad along with the progress charts of his overall evaluation as "dad" & the droll & slightly annoyed look on his dad's face as he receives these reports are some of the funniest moments ever. Read it. Enjoy the illustrations. Smile. Laugh. You can thank me later. :)
September 7, 2007
The comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" was, and continues to be, like the best gifts, unexpected and undeserved. It touches all the bases, from highbrow, considerably exclusive wit, to pricelessly rendered slapstick, to flat-out potty humor, to laugh-out-loud (loud!) knockout punchlines, and then every now and then for good measure it would either make you cry or question your very existence.
It's impossible not to adore Calvin, a true testament to Watterson's characterization skills when you consider that the kid is essentially a composite of nearly all of humankind's least attractive traits. One suspects that he's probably going to have a hard time in high school. Cannily lending the voice of relative sanity to a talking tiger, Watterson has created the ultimate cool older brother in Hobbes, skeptical but fascinated, indulgent but wary, amused but easily fed-up, and above all, always baiting, baiting, baiting. Nothing delights Hobbes like getting Calvin all riled up over something stupid, and no one is more easily riled than Calvin. These are brothers.
Fans of the series tend to hold dear one plotline in particular, wherein Calvin stumbles upon an ailing baby raccoon, and enlists his long-suffering mother in helping him nurse it back to health. With the funny pages historically providing a reliably benign atmosphere for ones Sunday donut and coffee, it's always affecting when strips tackle heavy material, no matter how ham-fisted the approach. Watterson, no surprise, handles it with aplomb, and one of my favorite moments from this series is a rare Calvinless strip, which finds the mother sharing a quiet moment alone with Hobbes, amused to be genuinely confiding in what is ostensibly a stuffed toy. The parents alone could have sustained an excellent comic, with the father's always hilarious methods of education-through-outright-lying providing some of the highlights of the strip.
The culmination of the raccoon story is unforgettably cathartic. The baby raccoon has, unavoidably and without much fanfare, died. Calvin is devastated, and his equally distraught mother comforts him as best she can. Given some time to reflect, Calvin accepts the animal's death with a few quiet comments. Then, in my favorite panel in the history of comics, the two are hugging. "But don't you go anywhere" says Calvin, and Hobbes' response of "Don't worry" is a rare and beautiful funnypaper acknowledgement of love and need. It's enough to make anyone forget years of Beetle Baileys and Cathys and Marmadukes, all of whom might catch you off guard with a begrudging chuckle every now and then, but few would champion them as art, and I can't think of anyone familiar with "Calvin and Hobbes" that wouldn't heartily proclaim these flawless cartoons to be twice as enjoyable as any old painting or sculpture. Timeless and wonderful and absolutely a classic.
It's impossible not to adore Calvin, a true testament to Watterson's characterization skills when you consider that the kid is essentially a composite of nearly all of humankind's least attractive traits. One suspects that he's probably going to have a hard time in high school. Cannily lending the voice of relative sanity to a talking tiger, Watterson has created the ultimate cool older brother in Hobbes, skeptical but fascinated, indulgent but wary, amused but easily fed-up, and above all, always baiting, baiting, baiting. Nothing delights Hobbes like getting Calvin all riled up over something stupid, and no one is more easily riled than Calvin. These are brothers.
Fans of the series tend to hold dear one plotline in particular, wherein Calvin stumbles upon an ailing baby raccoon, and enlists his long-suffering mother in helping him nurse it back to health. With the funny pages historically providing a reliably benign atmosphere for ones Sunday donut and coffee, it's always affecting when strips tackle heavy material, no matter how ham-fisted the approach. Watterson, no surprise, handles it with aplomb, and one of my favorite moments from this series is a rare Calvinless strip, which finds the mother sharing a quiet moment alone with Hobbes, amused to be genuinely confiding in what is ostensibly a stuffed toy. The parents alone could have sustained an excellent comic, with the father's always hilarious methods of education-through-outright-lying providing some of the highlights of the strip.
The culmination of the raccoon story is unforgettably cathartic. The baby raccoon has, unavoidably and without much fanfare, died. Calvin is devastated, and his equally distraught mother comforts him as best she can. Given some time to reflect, Calvin accepts the animal's death with a few quiet comments. Then, in my favorite panel in the history of comics, the two are hugging. "But don't you go anywhere" says Calvin, and Hobbes' response of "Don't worry" is a rare and beautiful funnypaper acknowledgement of love and need. It's enough to make anyone forget years of Beetle Baileys and Cathys and Marmadukes, all of whom might catch you off guard with a begrudging chuckle every now and then, but few would champion them as art, and I can't think of anyone familiar with "Calvin and Hobbes" that wouldn't heartily proclaim these flawless cartoons to be twice as enjoyable as any old painting or sculpture. Timeless and wonderful and absolutely a classic.
May 5, 2023
This gets 4 stars, not because the content is bad but because there's quite a bit of overlap between this and the last Calvin and Hobbes I read, i.e. the Tenth Anniversary Book. But there was still much to amuse and delight.
April 6, 2015
Classic Hilariously Intelligent Comic Strip Collection.
June 11, 2010
5.0 stars. Second only to Gary Larson's "The Far Side" as my favorite cartoon series of all time. Always clever, always funny and always leaves you in a better mood.
June 17, 2012
This is my all time favorite childhood couple!
February 6, 2017
I needed something to clear my head after way too much research. This was perfect.
January 23, 2019
Calvin a little boy with his stuffed animal the tiger Hobbes, they experience many adventures in the fantasy of that little boy.
I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep my expectations
Their adventures are in space, vacation, camping and on school. Hi s fantasy and philosophy are perhaps very recognizable to young adults and adults alike when they remember back to their young days when life seemed much easier and uncomplicated.
I did show a few of the comic slides to a few younger colleagues who were surprised the kid has so much fantasy and noticed he had no cell phone, and why not?- It did show a generation gap, perhaps a gender gap as well or I am just too old to remember a world when fantasy was CGI free.
254 pages of fun and hilariously funny entertainment for those who read books instead of Facebook and such.
I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep my expectations
Their adventures are in space, vacation, camping and on school. Hi s fantasy and philosophy are perhaps very recognizable to young adults and adults alike when they remember back to their young days when life seemed much easier and uncomplicated.
I did show a few of the comic slides to a few younger colleagues who were surprised the kid has so much fantasy and noticed he had no cell phone, and why not?- It did show a generation gap, perhaps a gender gap as well or I am just too old to remember a world when fantasy was CGI free.
254 pages of fun and hilariously funny entertainment for those who read books instead of Facebook and such.
October 24, 2007
What else can I say? Part artist, part superhero, part ladies man. Calvin has the style that the ladies are beggin for...and his tiger is pretty fly too.
Imagination is a wonderful thing
Imagination is a wonderful thing
January 25, 2016
Why couldn't I have been born in the 80s? How come no one told me about Calvin and Hobbes until I was into my late teens? Oh well, glad I'm getting around to it because these strips are phenomenal!
September 10, 2016
No matter when I read Calvin and Hobbes, or under what circumstances, it is just perfect. What a wonderful mix of humor, philosophy, family, imagination, and friendship. This is the type of book that makes everything seem better, and is why I consider it easily one of my all-time favorites.
January 2, 2017
My childhood, in a nutshell. And, I still love these comics so much!
January 9, 2012
by Bill Watterson, published in 1988.
Every time I sit down and start reading my daughter Calvin and Hobbes, I just can’t help smiling out loud. There is something so true, so funny, so insightful about this comic strip it gets under your skin and tickles you from inside.
My daughter loves it too. This collection, The Authoritative Calvin And Hobbes, includes all the comics from “Yukon Ho!” and “Weirdos From Another Planet!” and is fantastic. But don’t let me tell you, just go out and get it and read it for yourself.
In this collection we see Calvin the elephant, Calvin the human slinky, Calvin the piece of paper. He and Hobbes even go on a magic carpet ride (no, not that type . . .) and fly by his dad’s tall office building, but of course his dad doesn’t see.
And probably one of my all time favourite strips is in here. The one with Calvin as god, but the puny inhabitants of earth displease him and they will suffer . . . His parents think he will be an architect. See how absolutely great these strips are? And it is not just one strip wonders either but a consistent barrage of funny tinged with heart.
Two more stories of note are the portable transmogrifier gun and the raining-for-a-week camping vacation. Both priceless in their evil fun and wit. Watterson, though an adult, had a special talent for climbing inside a six year old’s head and pulling out exactly what was there exposing it for us to see - like brains on a plate of which I’m sure Calvin would approve.
All the regulars are back as well. We see Stupendous Man, dad’s ratings in the polls, Susie and water balloons, treks to the great snowy outdoors and run ins with deranged aliens on hostile worlds (either his teacher Ms Wormwood or his mom forcing him into the bath)
Just plain brilliant. Get them, get them all and enjoy again or better yet do as I’m doing and read them to your 6-10 year old kids. Nothing gets them to stop fidgeting like reading Calvin and Hobbes.
For those wishing to collect all the strips of Calvin and Hobbes I provide the complete paperback listing below.
The complete Calvin and Hobbes trade paperback list: (all the Calvin and Hobbes strips, but you don’t need to collect all the paperback editions that are out there to get them.)
This list will give you all the strips without having to collect all the paperback editions out there.
1) The Essential Calvin and Hobbes
2) The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes
3) The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes
4) Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons
5) The Days are Just Packed
6) Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat
7) There’s Treasure Everywhere
8) It’s a Magical World
9) The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book (Optional, this volume has lots of duplicates from the other collections and only a few strips that don’t appear anywhere else)
Every time I sit down and start reading my daughter Calvin and Hobbes, I just can’t help smiling out loud. There is something so true, so funny, so insightful about this comic strip it gets under your skin and tickles you from inside.
My daughter loves it too. This collection, The Authoritative Calvin And Hobbes, includes all the comics from “Yukon Ho!” and “Weirdos From Another Planet!” and is fantastic. But don’t let me tell you, just go out and get it and read it for yourself.
In this collection we see Calvin the elephant, Calvin the human slinky, Calvin the piece of paper. He and Hobbes even go on a magic carpet ride (no, not that type . . .) and fly by his dad’s tall office building, but of course his dad doesn’t see.
And probably one of my all time favourite strips is in here. The one with Calvin as god, but the puny inhabitants of earth displease him and they will suffer . . . His parents think he will be an architect. See how absolutely great these strips are? And it is not just one strip wonders either but a consistent barrage of funny tinged with heart.
Two more stories of note are the portable transmogrifier gun and the raining-for-a-week camping vacation. Both priceless in their evil fun and wit. Watterson, though an adult, had a special talent for climbing inside a six year old’s head and pulling out exactly what was there exposing it for us to see - like brains on a plate of which I’m sure Calvin would approve.
All the regulars are back as well. We see Stupendous Man, dad’s ratings in the polls, Susie and water balloons, treks to the great snowy outdoors and run ins with deranged aliens on hostile worlds (either his teacher Ms Wormwood or his mom forcing him into the bath)
Just plain brilliant. Get them, get them all and enjoy again or better yet do as I’m doing and read them to your 6-10 year old kids. Nothing gets them to stop fidgeting like reading Calvin and Hobbes.
For those wishing to collect all the strips of Calvin and Hobbes I provide the complete paperback listing below.
The complete Calvin and Hobbes trade paperback list: (all the Calvin and Hobbes strips, but you don’t need to collect all the paperback editions that are out there to get them.)
This list will give you all the strips without having to collect all the paperback editions out there.
1) The Essential Calvin and Hobbes
2) The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes
3) The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes
4) Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons
5) The Days are Just Packed
6) Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat
7) There’s Treasure Everywhere
8) It’s a Magical World
9) The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book (Optional, this volume has lots of duplicates from the other collections and only a few strips that don’t appear anywhere else)
February 10, 2021
No se li pot posar menys nota.
June 13, 2008
This book is about a six year old boy and his best friend (who is a stuffed tiger) Hobbes. This duo spells trouble. Calvin thinks Hobbes is real but he is a stuffed animal but Calvin pretends to make Hobbes do things and his mom gets mad at Calvin but he blames it on Hobbes!
Calvin isn't good in school because he never does his homework and in the class room he is always fantasizing about "Spaceman Spiff". Calvin is a pretender, He pretends to turn himself into an elephant with his transmogrifier box. Or he visits the disosaurs with his time machine, flies past his dads office with a magic carpet, I could go on all day.
Calvin and Hobbes are the most funny six year old and tiger I've ever seen. I hope you enjoy their company as much as I do.
Calvin isn't good in school because he never does his homework and in the class room he is always fantasizing about "Spaceman Spiff". Calvin is a pretender, He pretends to turn himself into an elephant with his transmogrifier box. Or he visits the disosaurs with his time machine, flies past his dads office with a magic carpet, I could go on all day.
Calvin and Hobbes are the most funny six year old and tiger I've ever seen. I hope you enjoy their company as much as I do.
March 25, 2016
- recently I decided to reread a few panels of all the Calvin and Hobbes books each time I sit down to read anything. I have been savoring this book for roughly six months now. Time for the next adventure! - some days I feel like Hobbes: sure of myself, life-drunk, philosophical. Other days I am Calvin: my imagination controls me. I have so many questions it's tough to focus on anything - once in awhile I'm mom or dad and I'm trying so hard to put on a front and be a grown-up I miss everything. Thankfully there's always another panel, another tomorrow, and no matter what, always a character I can relate to
October 9, 2009
One of the most perceptive, thought-provoking, and truly funny cartoon strips ever created! Watterson not only nails life, he's hilarious. He addresses everything from philosophy to film noir. I was actually saddened when I learned he was quitting the strip! Thank goodness we've got his books to recall. Life, art, literature, philosophy, friendship, imagination, evil -- you name it, Calvin and his toy tiger take it on. Add this book to The Essential Calvin and Hobbes and you'll have most of the great ones -- a gem.
January 28, 2013
Why is it that whenever I'm feeling a little low, all I have to do is pull one of the Calvin & Hobbes books from the shelf and give it a good re-read to perk me up. I've many other "funny-books", but these are the ones that bring me most joy.
Then, a little after I am done, I start re-realizing that Watterson will probably never do any more, then I get sad again.
I'm very grateful for what I have... and I'll re-read them as many times as I need... I just wish there were more.
OK, now I'm feeling sad again, guess it's time to pull another one of the shelf
Then, a little after I am done, I start re-realizing that Watterson will probably never do any more, then I get sad again.
I'm very grateful for what I have... and I'll re-read them as many times as I need... I just wish there were more.
OK, now I'm feeling sad again, guess it's time to pull another one of the shelf
June 10, 2013
Life is better with Calvinball in it; since I met Stupendous man, learned of the Transmogrifier and the power of one's imagination.
Summer is approaching and there's never been a better time to take C&H and start reading :)
Summer is approaching and there's never been a better time to take C&H and start reading :)
July 22, 2018
I liked it. Calvin is a smart kid. Hobbes is amusing. It is like Winnie-the-Pooh for a slightly older audience! Just a cute kid and his stuffed tiger. Some Snoopy and Dennis the Menace style too. Some skits are short, others longer. Most are good.
October 15, 2009
One of my favorite all time Sunday comic strips. This little boy, Calvin, with his spiked hair and imagination the size of the world, struck a chord with me.
January 15, 2013
I wasn't familiar with Calvin & Hobbes growing up; like Ramona Quimby, Calvin is "not a good influence". ;-) I've seen a few of the strips around, but never in much context. So this book was something of a learning experience.
Unlike Ramona, whose popularity is (imo) mainly due to her being an accurate and realistic little kid, Calvin is a caricature, but an equally accurate and lovable one in his own style. His Ramona-to-the-Snoopyth-power imagination lets the writer dabble in many different genres while always keeping the strip grounded, and his conversations with Hobbes and his parents feature not only the sly streak of social commentary so many adult writers pride themselves on including in their "kiddie" voices but ALSO that much more elusive thing, the realistic voice of a small child trying hard to provide trenchant social commentary from his own level.
It's that streak of stubborn social consciousness - the child trying to participate in the adult world, rather than representing a self-contained idyllic fantasy of the past - along with the mile-wide imagination, that puts Calvin & Hobbes on a level with Ramona, and far above most other books I've read about kids in that age range.
Well, that and the snarky stuffed tiger. :D
Unlike Ramona, whose popularity is (imo) mainly due to her being an accurate and realistic little kid, Calvin is a caricature, but an equally accurate and lovable one in his own style. His Ramona-to-the-Snoopyth-power imagination lets the writer dabble in many different genres while always keeping the strip grounded, and his conversations with Hobbes and his parents feature not only the sly streak of social commentary so many adult writers pride themselves on including in their "kiddie" voices but ALSO that much more elusive thing, the realistic voice of a small child trying hard to provide trenchant social commentary from his own level.
It's that streak of stubborn social consciousness - the child trying to participate in the adult world, rather than representing a self-contained idyllic fantasy of the past - along with the mile-wide imagination, that puts Calvin & Hobbes on a level with Ramona, and far above most other books I've read about kids in that age range.
Well, that and the snarky stuffed tiger. :D
August 22, 2009
This is the comic that relates the adventures of Calvin and his toy tiger, Hobbes. Hobbes is seen by Calvin's parents as a plush toy and by Calvin and the reader as a pouncing and amiable "real" tiger — Calvin's slightly-more-sensible better half.
I enjoyed the early years of this comic but then it started to get too something. I don't know what. Too rote, maybe. A little preachy, perhaps. Plus, I started seeing those awful Calvin peeing on a Ford/Chevy symbol bumper stickers everywhere. (I have not researched it, but I find it hard to believe that someone who conceived of the comic and its many moral and philosophical themes would also come up with the idea of his character peeing on a company logo.)
But the beginning years were grand, filled with adventures and lots of little-boy imagination.
Recommended read.
I enjoyed the early years of this comic but then it started to get too something. I don't know what. Too rote, maybe. A little preachy, perhaps. Plus, I started seeing those awful Calvin peeing on a Ford/Chevy symbol bumper stickers everywhere. (I have not researched it, but I find it hard to believe that someone who conceived of the comic and its many moral and philosophical themes would also come up with the idea of his character peeing on a company logo.)
But the beginning years were grand, filled with adventures and lots of little-boy imagination.
Recommended read.
January 17, 2024
The more I read Calvin and Hobbes the more I like it. I took on reading these initially because they were on lots of goodreads lists. And had a lot of tags that I was following. This book is essentially a repeat of two books I'd previously read, plus just a little more material. So really I should like it as much as the previous read. But I like it more. There are pages of brilliance. And I know not to try to read this straight through. Sure it is too much much of the time. And the flimsy-ness of the book is not the best. 3.5 of 5.
August 4, 2025
this is my favorite Calvin and Hobbes book iiiiiii lllllloooovvvveeeee iiiiiiiiiiiiittttttt❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️❤️☺️☺️☺️☺️❤️☺️☺️❤️❤️☺️❤️❤️❤️☺️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️❤️❤️☺️❤️❤️☺️☺️❤️☺️☺️☺️❤️☺️☺️❤️☺️☺️❤️☺️❤️❤️☺️❤️❤️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
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