Calvin and Hobbes

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The very first Calvin and Hobbes treasury.
The two main characters (L. to R) , Calvin and Hobbes.

Calvin and Hobbes was a regular syndicated comic strip created by Bill Watterson and ran from November 15, 1985 until December 31, 1995. The strip, notable for its artistic and philosophical content, was wildly popular with comic readers throughout the United States and still maintains a loyal following to this day.

Calvin and Hobbes is arguably not furry because only one half of its pair of title characters is an animal, although the animal in question is an anthropomorphic tiger.


  • Calvin, a six-year-old human boy with spiky hair, a wild imagination and a talent for annoyance. Calvin deals with a basically normal assortment of experiences and pitfalls in his own novel manner, oftentimes by completely ignoring something unpleasant, or by making a memorable statement. The world of Calvin and Hobbes is viewed primarily at his eye level, making the wall between "reality" and "fantasy" very flexible and indistinct.
  • Hobbes, a tiger, is Calvin's best friend, who, from Calvin's point of view, is an anthopomorphic tiger and, from everyone else's point of view, a stuffed tiger. Hobbes is very much the voice of reason of the duo, though he is seldom anxious to intervene on Calvin's behalf or prevent his friend from doing something foolish, citing issues such as preoccupation or dignity. He also apparently enjoys pouncing on Calvin at random. Because Hobbes is only seen to interact with Calvin (everyone else seems to see him as a plush toy), the question arises as to how much of Hobbes' activity could be attributed solely to Calvin's imagination. There are times when things seem to happen that make the reader wonder whether Hobbes really was responsible.

An inspiration to others[edit]

A number of other comics owe a lot to Watterson's work. Among them are: Tommy and PJ, Whatever USA, FoxTrot, Sinfest.

See also[edit]