The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book

Calvin and Hobbes

by Bill Watterson

A special tenth anniversary edition of comic cartoons starring the Calvin and Hobbes pair.

Calvin, cheeky, hyperactive and mischievous, and Hobbes, his cuddly toy tiger who, as far as Calvin is concerned is very much alive and kicking, are two of the most loveable and hilarious characters to grace the comic strip in years.

Sit back and enjoy...

Genres: Comics, Humor, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Strips, Comic Book

208 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Bill 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.

Reviews

[Orsodimondo · Rating 4 out of 5]

IL BAMBINO E LA TIGRE



Il mondo è più divertente visto attraverso gli occhi di Calvin - ancora di più attraverso quelli di Hobbes.

Peccato che in questa raccolta si metta in mezzo Bill Watterson, l'autore, che spiega, storicizza, racconta, svela i retroscena, parla e straparla, togliendo molto del gusto.

Così, ho fatto finta che fosse una raccolta normale senza le inutili didascalie dell'autore e sono arrivato felicemente in fondo - proprio come avrebbe fatto Calvin. 😃

Hobbes invece se lo sarebbe fatto leggere saltando le parti noiose di Watterson. 😁

[Exina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Calvin and Hobbes first appeared in 1985. This book is the tenth anniversary edition, where Bill Watterson shares his thoughts on cartooning, his struggles, and the ones who have inspired him. The reader gets a glimpse into the creative process, and some background information about the characters. Watterson also shares some of his favorite black and white strips.



A great collection!

[Rosh (on a short break) · Rating 5 out of 5]

You've read Calvin and Hobbes, possibly even loved the comic strip. But have you ever thought about how each strip came into being? I remember seeing a short-lived show long back named "Caroline in the City", where the lead character was a cartoonist. All I knew about the process was what I had seen in the show. Don't most of us simplistically assume that a comic strip involves three steps: think, draw and colour? But with this book, Bill Watterson reveals the intricacies of each of these processes and takes us behind the "Calvin and Hobbes" scenes.

The book can be roughly divided into two types of content, though Watterson hasn't structured it that way. About a fifth of it is dedicated to the technicalities around a strip: what chance would a comic strip have in a world where even newspapers aren't sure of a future, the change in comic strips over time, how Sunday comics needs to fit into the predefined fixed story panels, licensing, merchandise (which Watterson is famously and resolutely against!), the travails of thinking up ideas for a daily strip well before submission deadlines, ... This content gives a fascinating insight into how much actually goes into the making of a comic strip and then ensuring its success.

The rest of the book focuses on the characters and how/why each of them came into being. (Did you know that Calvin gets his name from a sixteenth century theologian and Hobbes gets his from a seventeenth century philosopher?) His revelations about Calvin and Hobbes are so heartfelt. He even answers the question that many of us have asked : "What is Hobbes' reality exactly?" Watterson's answer is, "Hobbes is more about the subjective nature of reality than about dolls coming to life." With respect to Calvin, he declares, "I wouldn't want Calvin in my house, but on paper, he helps me sort through my life and understand it."

The book also includes many of Watterson's favourite strips along with some background about why he chose to include them here. As this is the special tenth anniversary edition, there are no new comics in this book, unlike the special Collector's editions released prior to this. If you have read the first few Calvin and Hobbes books, you will find these comic strips familiar. Then again, it's Calvin and Hobbes. Who said rereads are boring? 😁

Watterson is almost a recluse in this modern world where every successful person strives towards the public eye. He might be the only cartoonist to retire his comic strip at the peak of its success. Unfortunately, this book came a few months before the retirement, so Watterson's reasons for stopping and the final Calvin strip don't make an appearance in this book. Nevertheless, if you love Calvin and Hobbes, there shouldn't be any doubt in your mind about whether to go for this book or not.




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[Katya]

Este texto vai começar de forma algo abrupta, mas exatamente onde devia: na minha recordação dos tempos mortos das aulas, passados na biblioteca municipal. Não sei dizer o que faziam os outros miúdos que para lá iam comigo - lembro-me bem de chegarmos à biblioteca em magote -, mas sei o que eu estava a fazer. Sei que corria às prateleiras da BD e de lá vinham Calvin & Hobbes*. E também me lembro que percorria os livros de fio a pavio, múltiplas vezes, mas que aquilo que fazia não era ler. A realidade é que saltava tudo o que eram tiras com texto para aquelas pranchas silenciosas. E era uma diversão pegada. Talvez que isso explique um certo apego e admiração pela pantomima, mas já me alongo.
Estamos em 2025, este mês as tiras de Bill Watterson fizeram 40 anos e eu corri às estantes (desta vez, as minhas) a repescar este especial do 10° aniversário. E ao lê-lo percebi, uma vez mais, que a relação livro/leitor é uma coisa complexa. Nesta caso porque, sendo Watterson cartoonista e escritor em igual medida, isso me permitiu crescer com o seu Calvin ao meu ritmo. Há qualquer coisa como 20 anos atrás, as minhas pausas dos estudos decorriam a gargalhar das peripécias de um puto com a minha idade; hoje, as minhas pausas dos estudos (caramba que isto são muitos anos para ainda continuar na escola!) decorrem comigo a filosofar sobre os vários aspetos caricatos da vida, ainda na companhia de um puto que outrora teve a minha idade...
Será assim tão anómalo? Diria que Watterson sabia demasiado bem o que fazia. E esta edição especial é particularmente notável por nos permitir vislumbrar as engrenagens por detrás do encantamento que nos lançou, oferecendo insights sobre o processo de criação do autor, os seus receios, incertezas, preferências, histórias pessoais e inspirações por detrás das tiras, reações dos fãs, peripécias do processo de publicação e inúmeras outras curiosidades pelas quais os admiradores e colecionadores se pelam.
Às páginas tantas, diz o autor:
Calvin é autobiográfico na medida em que reflecte sobre as mesmas questões que eu, mas tem mais a ver com o adulto que sou do que com a criança que fui. Muitos dos problemas com que se debate são metáforas dos meus. Suspeito que a maioria das pessoas envelhece sem ter crescido e que dentro de cada adulto (por vezes não muito no fundo) há um fedelho caprichoso. Utilizo o Calvin como um escape para a minha imaturidade, como uma maneira de preservar a minha curiosidade pela natureza, como uma forma de ridicularizar as minhas obsessões e de fazer comentários sobre a natureza humana. Não gostaria de ter um Calvin em casa, mas, no papel, ele ajuda-me a pôr ordem na minha vida e a compreendê-la.
Meia dúzia de palavras que não só justificam o trabalho de uma vida, mas também a dedicação dos seus fãs.


*Calvin & Hobbes foi banido das bibliotecas escolares do Tennessee em meados deste ano. Suponho que, nos próximos tempos, nenhuma criança nas escolas públicas do 16° Estado Norte-Americano viverá uma experiência remotamente semelhante à minha. E eu lamento que não possam crescer na companhia do rapazinho e do tigre de peluche que me deram a conhecer a filosofia existencialista, o pensamento crítico, o respeito pela natureza, a ironia, a amizade, a imaginação e um cento de outras coisas que a censura, por muito que se esforce, não terá o poder de apagar.

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great and wonderfully humorous strips here...but a bit too much commentary. I've never liked it when newspaper comic compilations have an excess of words outside the strips.

[Pallavi · Rating 5 out of 5]

****5.0****
This guy is Amazing...
Calvin!!

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sami stripovi su reprize onih koje smo vec videli u prvih par kolekcija ali komentari od Vatersona je ono sto ovde dize zabavnost posto licno volim da citam kako je neko dosao na ideju za neke stvari. Po meni obavezno stivo za svakoga ko voli Calvin and Hobbes.

Narocito onaj deo kada objasnjava da je dobio negativnu postu na strip gde Kalvin fantazira da unisti skolu. Odgovor ko nije kao dete mastao o tome :)

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing made me happier than reading Calvin and Hobbes (as well as Opus), especially when I was in college. I looked forward to every strip and often in addition to a good laugh I would get a nice warm feeling. This collection is especially gratifying because it includes commentary from Watterson, which often provides a wider view of what he was trying to achieve with his work.

[Donald Trump (Parody) · Rating 2 out of 5]

To anyone looking upon this book for the very first time may think this is a great book. Some would say this is a perfect book for the young one's. But to anyone with an adult age would look upon this book with a totally different view. Something is definitely going on in this book that is out of the norm, so that's when i looked into this book.

This book is obviously about a young man named 'Calvin' who goes on these "journey's" with his best friend 'Hobbes'. What some would think that makes this a book for all ages is that this 'Calvin' kid is of the younger age group which might relate with some of the kids who read this book. But what you don't see is that this kid somewhere along the story of these comics is that he is a total drug addict. It would be one hundred percent obviously once you read a little bit into this story. And i will come into my reasoning below along with some spoilers so be fair warned.

Warning: Spoilers And Discussion Of Essential Plots Elements Follow

So to me these sets of comics to me are based on this kid and his life on some type of hallucinogen, He gets high and and talks to his pet tiger and goes on some crazy "trips" or drug fueled story's. For example is "Spaceman Spiff" the reader is dropped into a drug fueled day dream about Calvin crashing a UFO on what looks to be the planet mars with two suns who crawls up to an alien which to the reader might look like he will surely die, But to the readers surprise it was another drug infused dream so when the reader looks on it is just his mom getting his attention. And in another story which has no name, Calvin and his "pet tiger" Hobbes find basically a cloning machine and Hobbes clones a bunch of Calvin's for his personal use, But the reader might think it is just his memory of him using drugs and going on adventures across the setting.

The setting of this story is where ever Calvin decides to go on his drug induced adventure takes him. So this basically mean he will visit some spots in this book like his school, home, to a forest for "camping", and other places around this kids town. But in his own mind he will visit some places that would be considered some crazy trips.

The protagonist would be Calvin and his pet Hobbes. The reason Calvin an Hobbes are the protagonist is because the whole book revolves around them and their drug trips.Calvin is a young boy who has a serious drug problem that you can not really see in the story, you can only see his drug trips. Hobbes is a stuffed tiger who comes to life so say in Calvin's drug fueled trips.

The antagonist could also be Calvin himself. With all these drugs he is taking it could ruin his future. He might not be able to get a job, he could be hooked on the drugs he is taking, or he could overdose.Another set of antagonist could be he parents for not noticing that their sun is on some form of hallucination.

The conflict changes between every story inside this book but i think it revolves around his drug problems,Don't agree? i will list off some examples why i think so.In one of the very first stories Hobbes was ''stolen'' from Calvin, but some might think on a drug induced daydream he left him and wandered around leaving him somewhere the reader finds out later on. Another good one is Calvin is looking at himself in the mirror along side of Hobbes, apparently Hobbes cuts his hair but to a more adult reader Calvin must have took some sort of drug and pulled his hair out.

The rising action in this story is the wonder of what drug Calvin will take next and what type of trip he will go on. For example Calvin must have took bath salts in a museum and started to trip. This started to get to me "had me hanging on the edge of my seat". I was wondering what he was going to do next, and this is where i assumed he took bath salts. Later on Calvin meets a museum guard and as the book says "messily devoured" which makes the reader assume he must have ate his face off, along with the rest of his body in a brutal way.

The climax in these stories is when something major happened, for example when Calvin ate the guard. I will be listing off some of the climaxes in this story. So Calvin decides to take some form of hallucination and shows Hobbes this "transmogrifier" which is a box. He gets inside and tells Hobbes to turn him into a tiger, which in Calvin's drug filled world he does. Which is the climax of the story because its when the most interesting part of the story happens.

The falling action in these stories is about when the drug is wearing off of Calvin, and he begins to come back to reality. That is about the time his parents come and get his attention and knocks him out of his drug induced dream.

The resolution is story is finished right around the last slide. That's also when the author drops a little punch line to give the reader a laugh. But it is a ironic kind of laugh, you are laughing at Calvin and how life isn't going his way.

The denouement of these stories are basically the resolutions of these stories. A puny cute little joke at the end of every story.

The secondary characters of this book would be anyone who may witness Calvin on his drug trip.That would be for one Calvin's parents, They are suppose to guard Calvin and keep him safe but they must be doing a bad job for the fact they let him go on these wild drug trips. Susie A girl that interacts with Calvin in some of the stories, My look on Susie may be someone who is on drugs as well could also be Calvin's drug dealer.Moe, A sort of bully to Calvin. Moe could more realistically be the dealer of Calvin, Calvin could owe Moe some money or drugs because Moe always treats Calvin like crap.There is Rosalyn, a babysitter of Calvin for when his parents get tired of watching Calvin take drugs. She is a gold digger and doesn't care about Calvin's well being, she barely care what he does as long as he doesn't bother her.Finally there is Calvin's teacher Miss Wormwood, I think Calvin hates her because one point in the story when she gives Calvin a bad grade on his report of bats he is seen digging what looks to be a grave so Calvin might be plotting to murder her. This is a crazy book with crazy characters.

There really are no memorable quotes because it is a comic strip.

My overall look of this book was quite memorable to me, Calvin really reminded me of my younger self except for the massive drug trips. I enjoyed watching Calvin go on some crazy drug trips with Hobbes. I thought it was quite funny as these trips give Calvin some sort of alter ego as the same with Hobbes, Except Hobbes's ego is changed by Calvin's drug trip and emotion. But like i said overall this is a nice book if you are interested in watching a little kid trip balls on drugs, and going through the trip with Calvin himself.

[Ethan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love comics.

I’ve never been quite as avid a reader as many of the really hardcore comic geeks, but I absolutely remember the comic strips I read when I was real young, as part of learning to read - i.e. Disney Adventures magazines, hand-me-downs from my parents, et cetera. As an adult, I like comics from both North America and Japan, though I’m slightly biased toward the latter. This here, though, is a non-superhero/fantasy/sci-fi example - rather, it’s a comic strip. I own all except two of the Calvin and Hobbes books, which came out after I completed my collection for the first time, but I didn’t see much point in buying them - it wasn’t anything I didn’t already have. Except in the case of the exhibition guide book, which I’m contemplating buying. I like all the books, but this one here is probably my favorite, so it’s the focus of today’s review.

The book’s main two highlights, for me, are the art and the commentaries. The art isn’t really anything new - it’s rather like a “best of” collection, but the strips feature color art, which is an enjoyable plus. Since Calvin and Hobbes has never gotten any adaptation whatsoever, it’s hard to imagine color images when looking at the strips in black and white, so the book makes it nice to see Watterson’s idea of how everything looks colored. And each strip includes a bit of commentary from Bill Watterson, some of which is particularly resonant with me as a reader. One rather amusing piece of commentary comes with the strip depicting Calvin flying his fighter jet and blasting his school, before cutting back to him begrudgingly dragging himself into class: "Some readers thought it was inexcusable to show a kid fantasizing about bombing his school off the face of the earth. Apparently some of my readers were never kids themselves."

Which reminds me of one reason I’m fond not only of this particular book, but of the series in general: that it’s being told from a kid’s perspective. Although my views on being a kid are aptly described by Watterson’s line “I’ve never understood people who remember childhood as an idyllic time,” it still is fun every now and then to read a story where the main character is a child, and the atmosphere is neither overly idealistic nor too pessimistic. In the case of Calvin and Hobbes, the author isn’t afraid to show the less positive aspects of being a kid - case in point, being a student (on his experiences in school, Watterson mentions that he did pretty well, but doesn’t remember it with much fondness), and grown-ups being in charge - while simultaneously not making it overly depressing. Apart from that, probably the main aspect I like of the story having a kid for the main character is the use of imagination.

Childhood is the point in life where people can think in all kinds of whimsical, fantastical ways, a creativity which I think too many people lose when they become adults. It’s always nice for me to see other author’s who’ve similarly held on to that creative way of thinking, and to see how they use it. In the title protagonist’s case, he imagines all kinds of fantasies, seeing his parents and teacher as aliens, and himself as a hero, to name a few examples. Some readers have posited a darker interpretation, that Calvin is suffering from schizophrenia or a related mental illness, and that these are manifestations of it - but I just see it as a kid being a kid. Another part of the story I like is that it’s never clarified if Hobbes is actually alive, or just Calvin’s imagination - that’s an interesting ambiguity.

Overall, I recommend the book for any Calvin and Hobbes fan, especially if you’re looking to keep your collection small. The book provides an opportunity to enjoy many of the series’ best strips while concurrently looking at some of the author’s in-depth writing, and makes for an interesting read.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

[Lucy]

kind of obsessed with crotchety bill watterson

[L.C. Tang · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite cartoonist and illustrator! I am hooked. I read this book as a child and reread it again.

[Dave Logghe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The real joy of this book is remembering, even for just a couple of hours, what it was like to be a kid. I don't know if the comics transported me there through writing or if it was just the nostalgia. I remember picking up Calvin and Hobbes for the first time at a garage sale. It was 50 cents or thereabouts, and I really just picked it up because I was a bored little kid waiting for his parents. When I looked at the inside cover, I saw that the previous owner's name was the same as a friend of mine. Noting a chance for something in common (I was a socially awkward kid) I begged my parents for it, saying that "I always wanted this book!"

It sat neatly on my bookshelf for a couple months, then on a summer day when I was too lazy to go pretend I was a knight (or a robot, or a jedi) I sat in my little nook in the house and started to read it. First I skipped ahead to every colored "sunday comic." After exhausting the supply, I went back and read it cover to cover. I won't say that I was forever changed, but I'm pretty sure I went outside and started acting like a dinosaur right after.

I guess my real love of this comic didn't become apparent to me until earlier today. I was at my local bookstore, hoping to acquire a copy of Empire Magazine. The spot for it was empty, so here I was with ten dollars to spend and no book to spend it on. I browsed for about ten minutes before sighing and resigning myself to going home empty-handed. On my way out, I noticed the Tenth Anniversary book sitting on an impulse rack. Solidifying the bookseller's decision to have an impulse rack, (darn you!) I bought the book and went on my way.

Imitating my young self, I left it on my bed, and proceeded to watch movies all day. Once I finished my last movie, I went into my room, remembered my purchase and sat down to flip through it. Again I was unable to get up until I read it cover to cover.

The strips are fantastic, the stories remind me of myself and of ways that I wished I had been when I was younger. Many strips also have a line or two of writer commentary which I love. Nothing makes comics more meaningful than receiving some insight from the mind of the person that conceived it.

In short (or long, wow I didn't intend to write this much), this book is well worth picking up. Buy it for yourself. Buy it for your kid. Buy it for your neighbor's kid. Everybody should experience Calvin & Hobbes.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recién terminado.
Me sorprendió muchísimo, el comienzo es mi parte favorita sin dudas. Poder entender un poco todo este mundo alocado de las tiras cómicas, los cambios, problemas y demas. Las tiras me gustaron, la mayoría me resultaron meh, pero las que iban destinadas a dejar un mensaje me llegaron y eso es lo que cuenta.
Hay una gran variedad de temas, por lo que puede resultar interesante a una gran gama de lectores. En mi família casi me sacan el libro de las manos y eso que nadie lee, imagínense.
Si tienen la posibilidad de conseguirlo o leerlo háganlo, de seguro van a encontrar algo que les guste.

Próximamente reseña completa en el blog, voy a compartir algunas de las tiras para que puedan ver un poco.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little collection from the first 10 years of Calvin and Hobbes with great commentary. I love Watterson's refusal to hold back and tell it like it is. I remember buying this when it was first published and reading it from cover to cover despite not understanding the intricacies and Watterson's complaints about the newspaper comics cabal but reading it again today, it's so biting and hard hitting. It should have been obvious that Watterson was just years away from hanging up his pencil and retiring the characters that were so beloved.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opens with a lot of short essays. "Hobbes is more about the subjective nature of reality than about dolls coming to life." Goes on w/ lots of commentary, which kinda spoiled it for me. Watterson is a little too full of himself if you ask me... I don't think his fans made him famous for the high-falutin' reasons he tells himself. I think the strips are brilliant, but the readers are fully entitled to appreciate them at will... even if they favorite ones that Bill said weren't his best or were produced under pressure or whatever.

What I'm saying is, if you have access to several of the others, skip this one. Unless you do actally want all the behind-the-scenes stuff.

[Joshua Debo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made a visit to OSU’s Billy Ireland Cartoon Museum last week since I’ve got some free time and was reminded that I picked up a copy of this a while back. Appreciated Watterson’s commentary after visiting the museum.

When I used to run down the driveway on Sunday mornings to grab the paper, it was to spend time with strips similar to Calvin & Hobbes, but it is funny to imagine a 9-year-old me diving into the newest Doonesbury in the same effort.

[Aneesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have the complete works, but this book has a strongly worded introduction about integrity, and notes on individual strips throughout.

5yo discovered she loves Calvin and Hobbes and I discovered I have achieved my dream of becoming Calvin's dad. Also, Calvin is a bad influence.

[Rodolfo Santullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Segundo libro del genial Watterson y su tira que sumo en mi haber y se trata nada menos de la selección y repaso en primera persona que hace el propio autor de los 10 años de su tira. Esta antología se publica durante el último año de publicación de Calvin & Hobbes pero por cómo escribe y la describe Watterson no suena que fuera consciente de que no habría más publicaciones de sus personajes a posteriori (de hecho, ignoro las razones por las que dejó de publicarla y no hace comentario ninguno al respecto en este libro). Ponerse a describir de qué va la tira es presuponer que existe alguien que no conoce a estos maravillosos personajes, pero digamos que Calvin & Hobbes se compone por la relación muy especial que tiene un niño -muy particular- con su peluche -que es, por lejos, el más razonable de los dos- y ocasionalmente su entorno -representado por su vecina, su maestra y, especialmente, sus padres. Aquí, Watterson explica extensamente, en un texto muy rico sobre todo para creadores de historieta como quien suscribe, su proceso creativo, sus inspiraciones y -por encima de todo- su relación con la industria de la historieta y los muchos dolores de cabeza que le ha provocado (lo que quizá explique, después de todo, el abandono de la serie). Su selección, incluso, no se construye de "lo mejor" de la tira a su criterio, sino que muchas veces elige a propósito tiras "fallidas" (en sus propias palabras) para demostrar caminos que no funcionaron, personajes que no prosperaron y líneas narrativas que, después de todo, no le rindieron como esperaba. Además, la gran mayoría de las tiras viene acompañada por comentarios alusivos -que, muchas veces, funcionan como un "explicar el chiste" que no las beneficia incluso cuando los chistes son buenísimos- que van construyendo un corpus o lo que significa Calvin & Hobbes para su propio autor. Entonces, la lectura de este libro se construye en verdad por la lectura de dos libros: las tiras seleccionadas (excelentes) y los artículos y comentarios del autor al respecto (muy útiles pero a veces discursivos de forma innecesaria), quien resulta tener mucho humor -y desnuda su intimidad sin problema ninguno- pero también por momentos dueño de un ego algo intragable. Como sea, un libro especial para fans de una de las mejores tiras cómicas que existe, pero sin dudas -para aquellos que no tienen especial interés en el "detrás de cámaras"- convienen más otras recopilaciones que se limitan solamente a la publicación original.

[Ry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed this right now.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is classic Calvin and Hobbes and a great memorial to the short life of the best comic strip ever written. The introductory information written by Bill Watterson was interesting and gave me a brief insight into the quirky and creative mind that created these adorable, mischievous and precocious characters.

I was heartbroken when I heard that Bill Watterson had decided to stop writing the Calvin and Hobbes strip. I felt like I was losing two good friends. Long before I became a mother, I would read the strip, laugh, and say "God's going to give me a son just like Calvin.". And He did! Well, maybe my son is not exactly like Calvin, but he's pretty close. I can definitely relate to Calvin's mother's exasperation when her too-smart-for-his-own-good son did something crazy.

My own son grew to like Calvin and Hobbes also. He used to read my C & H books for his daily reading homework assignments and would sometimes find new words in them, like "labotomy" and "transmogrifier". (I don't think his teachers appreciated my letting him use them as learning materials.).

Long live Calvin and Hobbes!

[Matty-Swytla · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say than: "It was amazing." :)

[Jon the · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best one!

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

An awesome book!

[Amto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nunca había visto nada sobre esta historieta. NADA. Y es reeee famosa.
Me gustó poder conocerla y acercarme a estos personajes. En esta edición aniversario contamos con una selección de las mejores tiras cómicas comentadas por el autor. Me gustaron tanto las historias como los pequeños comentarios que tenía el autor al respecto. Cada una tiene su trasfondo y su lógica.. y esos renglones complementaban muy bien lo que estábamos leyendo.
También cuenta con un "prólogo" donde habla sobre la historia de las tiras cómicas en general y nos mete un poco en este mundo desde el punto de vista de un dibujante. Luego se nos presentan los distintos personajes y ciertas características suyas. Toda esa parte fue interesante.
Me gustaron mucho los personajes. Calvin es un niño travieso con mucha imaginación y que a veces se pone filosófico por ciertas cuestiones de la naturaleza humana. Hobbes por otra parte es calmado y aunque lo acompaña en sus travesuras, al mismo tiempo lo apacigua y le ofrece otra mirada o perspectiva. Se puede decir que Hobbes quiere llevar a Calvin a una parte más realista de la vida o bajarlo de las nubes.. lo que termina siendo gracioso ya que es un peluche xD
Disfruté mucho leyendo esta antología de tiras, me reí y me entretuve viendo las locuras de estos personajes. Son historias para todo público y, es más, entre más adulto seas más irónico te va a parecer el humor del autor en ciertos temas.
Recomiendo que lean algo de esta historieta. El diseño es muy lindo, los personajes son entrañables y seguramente les hará mucha gracia o les dará nostalgia.

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a true joy it is to return to Calvin and Hobbes after more than a decade away. The writing is still inspired, the comic timing still precise and the art… no wonder even a child could love Calvin and Hobbes.
Watterson’s insights into his subject matter and what inspired it are worthy reading as well. The man is a scholar of art and he isn’t afraid to let you know his position on just about anything through his work and his reflections on it.
But the best part? Reading Calvin and Hobbes when you have a genuine best friend, the Hobbes to your Calvin or perhaps in my case the Calvin to my Hobbes, makes this feel so sweet and magical that I want to share it with her.

[Evan Leister · Rating 5 out of 5]

i read this book as a kid for a snapshot of the comic strips in miniature, but reading it as an adult and.learning more about Watterson's creative process is inspiring to my own creative work and projects. I've been embarking up on a project to learn to draw and I'm brewing some fiction ideas and it's a lovely surprise to be able to refer to this book as a resource.

Of course the comics are enjoyable and I very much enjoyed Watterson's commentary throughout the book.

[Mariana Quesada · Rating 4 out of 5]

La verdad nunca había leído nada de Calvin y Hobbes. En este libro tenemos algunas de sus tiras cómicas acompañadas de comentarios del autor. Hace referencia a qué lo inspiro a hacer cada tira, algunas de las que se arrrpiente y las dificultades que representaron algunas de ellas.

[Isaac Jensen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Calvin and Hobbes, brilliant as always. This anthology gives a bit of insight into Bill Waterson’s process, with tastefully minimal comments about some of his favorite strips from the first ten years of the comic.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waterson talks a bit too lengthily on his struggles with licensing and such in my opinion, but overall a good book. It was amazing to see and hear his thoughts behind the iconic strips we love.