Today we celebrate the 25th anniversary of crucial Sunday comic Calvin and Hobbes. At this point, Calvin and Hobbes has been gone longer than it was with us as an active strip, but it remains unparalleled in its juxtaposition of juvenile humor with legitimate social criticism. But most of all, it was a bridge that joined parents and children and help them understand one another just a little bit better. We were all reminded of the infinite possibilities that Calvin represented, those dreams that we stretched to attain, and the forces that would bring us back down to reality.Who in 1985 could have guessed that the exploits of a boy and his stuffed tiger could speak so clearly to so many people; that thousands upon thousands of readers would be united in finding little bits and pieces of their lives mirrored in those three little boxes in the funny pages. We each have our own Hobbes--the full time foil (but part time snake charmer) for Calvin's antics; the straight man to ground us when our minds run a little too wild, and egg us on when we need to learn a lesson for our own good. Calvin and Hobbes, as characters, had a relationship with qualities from both brotherhood and friendship. Together, they involved themselves in any number of imaginative projects: parenthood approval polls, avant-garde snow sculptures, harrowing toboggan/Radio Flyer rides down hills and off cliffs, the exaggerated adventures of Spaceman Spiff/Tracer Bullet/Stupendous Man, epic battles of Calvinball, run ins with Rosalyn the baby sitter, or simply contemplating the complex world of grown ups. These are all things that we grapple with growing up, in one manner or another. Everyone has their version of Saturday mornings, jacked up on Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, reading Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie. And who didn't join at least one version of G.R.O.S.S. in middle school, to ensure that the object of our affection thought that their mere presence would induce vomiting.
For his part, writer/illustrator Bill Watterson always made a big deal about protecting his creation from being tainted. He refused to sign autographs, or even really do interviews, claiming that both would trivialize what he (and many others) saw as precious. None of the copious amounts of Calvin merchandise is authorized by Watterson. That includes those frat boy tee shirts with the eponymous characters dancing in shades and PJs, and the hick stickers of Calvin pissing on the Chevy logo (or Ford, depending on your particular automotive leanings). In fact, the only official Calvin and Hobbes products, besides the books, are two monthly calenders (1989 & 1990), one tee shirt created in a run of one for the MOMA, and an educational book, Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes, which is long out of print and sells for several hundred dollars if you are lucky enough to find one for sale.
Calvin and Hobbes is unique in that, in its ten years of existence, it was always consistently funny, touching, whimsical, philosophical and endearing. It never dipped in quality. You can read and re-read the collections and they are still just as humorous and relevant as ever. We can still learn just as much from those familiar panels, see our own lives reflected back at us and find comfort in that. And even through there will probably never be new Calvin and Hobbes comic, we can just remember what we once had and how good it was. That doesn't make it mean any less. True friends are hard to come by.
