Inseparable
How I got obsessed with Calvin & Hobbes (C&H):
It was an ordinary day…I was at my workplace and boy! it was one of those days when you looked at your watch and got irritated that it’s just been 10 minutes since you last checked the time…yeah BORED! time was way slower than a turtle.
When suddenly I get a link from a God Sent friend (God Sent not only for sending the link but in every other sense). Anyways, the link contained the monthly edition of C&H comic strips right from 1985 to 1995. I got busy since that day, at least for few weeks 🙂 heh heh heh.
History about Calvin & Hobbes:
It is a comic strip by Bill Watterson about an imaginative six year old boy, Calvin, and his (according to Calvin of course) live anthropomorphic stuffed tiger, Hobbes. Bill Watterson was successful in publishing his first strip in 1985 and retired in 1995. Bill had considered allowing an animation on Calvin and Hobbes, but it quite never happened as Bill was “very scared” at the thought of hearing Calvin’s voice :). It seems he was neither comfortable nor confident about the voice actors and animation team… oops! :O.
I say maybe it was for the best because sometimes, words and emotions on paper is better expressed than in an act. I’ll forever be thankful to him and my God Sent friend for bringing so much laughter into my life. And I’m sure you feel the same way if you are already a fan.
About the Strip:
It pertains to Calvin’s life which includes (not exhaustive):
1. His friendship with Hobbes
2. His imaginations and obsessions with tyrannosaurs, dinosaurs, pterodactyls
3. His adventures and philosophical talks with Hobbes
4. His creativity which is not acknowledged by anyone.
5. His views on – political and cultural issues, girls, being a grown-up, rights of a six year old, scope of improvement in his father to be liked by six year olds.
6. His dislike of – being good, monsters under the bed, bath time, normal food, school, building character, Susie (his classmate and also a neighbor), Rosalyn (the sadistic kid hater or babysitter) and of course not being able to do what he wants 😀
Why I love Calvin & Hobbes:
To start off with, the humor catches on like fire in every strip…I laugh out loud when I get flashes of it in my head….The kid is just sooooo cute. I wish I had his imaginative power. He is so naive at times, when Hobbes or his Dad tells him things which he wouldn’t want to believe and my heart goes out to him :(. Have you ever been told that you were adopted or you were picked up from a market place or a drain when you were a kid??? X-( Hmph! I have been a victim of such pranks and things as such were told to Calvin by his Dad and Hobbes..poor kiddo :(. But at the same time, the kid has the most matured views on political, cultural and environmental issues.
His expressions out beats any other comic or real life expression. I’m head over heels in love with his disgusted “Blechh! Ackpth! Kokpachh!” look when his dinner is served. Well the dinner isn’t as bad as the look he gives (though, who likes healthy food anyway, right?? 😉 ). But if you tell him he has “Monkey Stew” or “Toxic Waste” for dinner, his face lightens up brighter than a shining star!! His look of horror when “his food wants to eat him up” instead of the other way round is also worth mentioning. At one point, he actually wanted to freeze his “Blechh!” face for God knows what so ever reason!!…hahahaha can you believe it?…yeah but that’s Calvin, you don’t understand how his mind works. He doesn’t have a single photograph with a proper smile…
The Photogenic Calvin
Calvin and Hobbes are always at each others throat for cheating and making up rules while playing a game. Reminds you of your childhood days with your colony friends ain’t it? Hobbes has a way of greeting Calvin when he (i.e. Calvin) is back from school. Calvin hates it cos it’s more of an ambush, but he also hates it when he is “NOT GREETED”. Calvin is always accused of the wrong doings of Hobbes. He tries to tell his parents that it’s not him and the parents are thinking “yeah Hobbes did that! whatever…” (poor guy :(). Calvin is very much disgusted with Hobbes for being nice to Susie and having an interest in girls (preferably ones with whiskers hee hee hee).
But in spite of all, this they are just inseparable. They are the best friends ever. They create/play games with their own rules. They have their own club G.R.O.S.S (Get Rid Of Slimy girlS)…How cute is that? Calvin doesn’t have any other friend besides Hobbes. He loves Hobbes and believes that animals are a good listener, have a better understanding, and not as selfish as human beings. As for Hobbes, he is content just being Calvin’s friend and doesn’t want anything more….except tuna fish. Hobbes is usually at Calvin’s rescue for homework. If there’s someone who knows what to say at the right time and the right place, it’s got to be Hobbes. I envy that quality in him. Well both are just adorable!!
The 3 women in Calvin’s life besides his Mom:
1. Mrs. Wormwood – The teacher, who just ignores Calvin.
2. Susie Derkins- The classmate and neighbor, who under certain obligation cannot ignore Calvin even if she wants to. Oh yes, she secretly likes him. But at the same time she can’t help hating him for being mean to her. I think Calvin also likes her but his ego overrides the love…..sob sob 😦 too bad!
3. Rosalyn – The babysitter, who has to put up with Calvin so that she can pay her college fees. I love the ideas Calvin comes up with to get rid of Rosalyn and to annoy her in every way. Best ones being, warning Rosalyn’s boyfriend and telling him to break up with her, calling the police, threatening to flush her science notes…I could go on..heh heh heh.
The parents? Well, when they think they’ve seen the worst of Calvin, they are always proved wrong. I admire the Mom’s courage and strength to bring up a kid like Calvin. The Dad is sure happy not to be the Mom.
Calvin’s imagination starts to run wild especially when he is expected to pay attention. The Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous man, Dinosaurs, Pterodactyl, Transmogrifier, Time Traveling Machine, Duplicator and CalvinBall are few of his creations. The amazing thing is how well these imaginations, linked to the current happenings around him, are illustrated. I have no words to express Calvin’s creativity on his snowmen so I’ll leave it to the pictures to speak on their own.
Calvin and his Snowmen
I really appreciate and am grateful to Bill for bringing Calvin and Hobbes into this world. But even so, I’m just a wee bit disappointed with him for never disclosing “The Noodle Incident”. As I read it somewhere, he purposely left it to the readers to cook up their own stories. Well Mr. Watterson, if only I had wild imagination like Calvin!! :(….There’s part of me that wishes I have a kid like Calvin and the other part that slaps right back saying “Do you have the nerve?” 😀 😀 heh heh..
There’s so much more to write about Calvin and Hobbes, but I better stop. If you are not familiar with Calvin & Hobbes, you have yet to find out lots more about them. I haven’t covered even half of what could be written about the comic strip. I hope you liked what I could put in about C&H. For those who have not yet developed a liking for C&H..okay maybe I’m being too optimistic..but for those who haven’t read the comic strip, IT’S NEVER TOO LATE!!
Why you should start reading C&H:
If you don’t, you are missing out on one of the most exhilarating, mind refreshing and solacing piece of art. It’s a great place to improve your vocabulary. This is one of those stories with no moral endings. Oh did I mention that Calvin also hates stories with moral endings? Except for those created by him for his Dad ;)….Well all I can say is, it’s a treat for your mind and heart.
Disclaimer: This is not a promotion of Calvin and Hobbes (because it doesn’t need one). Facts about the comic strip and Bill Watterson have been taken from a wikipedia. I am not responsible for any errors in them. The rest are my personal views. I respect every individuals perception and I hope you respect mine too. Apologies for spelling and grammatical mistakes.
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