Read this series (click next a few times to see them all):
https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1992/05/05
It looks like it was written yesterday, but it's 30 years old.
https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1992/05/05
It looks like it was written yesterday, but it's 30 years old.
Also, shortly after he retired Bill Watterson ate at my dad’s restaurant. My dad recognized his name on the check, and told him how much of a fan I was. Bill then drew Calvin on a napkin for me. And... I can’t find that sketch! Each time I visit my parents I spend half the visit digging through boxes for it.
Kids are not stupid and you don't need to insulate them from everything that isn't 100% happy, fluffy and wonderful. As a former kid who had loving parents and loved C&H, the only message I remember taking from the strip in this regard was that parents are people too and that things I do might annoy them.
I mean, I loved it, too, growing up. I still think it’s great. But some things ring differently as an adult with a kid. And I can wait a bit to expose my kid to that.
Sure it varied a lot. But I learned quickly that I had to really certain kinds of jokes.
His parents regularly debate whose choice it was to have a kid, and despite the exceptional strip shared by another reply to me, for the most part his dad seems happier working than being with Calvin. I definitely didn’t notice or care about this dynamic when I read these as a kid. And I don’t think my daughter will notice or care. But she’s only 3, and I’m cool with sheltering her a bit.
Personally, C&H probably kept me alive as a teenager. When I was questioning the point of it all, Calvin’s sense of wonder and fearlessness injected some happiness into me, and I wished so hard that I could have been more like him growing up. I read a lot of it with my kids when they were very small, and then let them alone with it as they started reading on their own. They embraced the methods of Calvinball, which melts my heart when I watch them play. To them Calvin’s parents are silly in their worrying about worthless stuff like “washing”. If you didn’t notice certain things while reading it as a kid, chances are your child won’t either; that’s one of the marvels of this strip, like the best art it speaks in different ways to different people at different stages of their lives.
In the Anniversary collection, Watterson notes things like “this is basically an exact quote from my dad.” (For example, in the strip where good dad says they should put the Christmas tree in the garage and not decorate it.) So I don’t think they are totally divorced from each other.
One day we'll let her read our first edition color hardcover boxed set. But she probably should start acting a little less like Calvin first.
We read a ton of Get Fuzzy right now. And she’s turning into Bucky. Yesterday while doing yard work she said to me, “hey Pinky, put me in the hammock.”
And the commentary - https://www.zenpencils.com/comic/128-bill-watterson-a-cartoo...
https://twitter.com/calvinandhobbes For this it says born on November 18, 1985 :)
:(
If only you knew Hobbes....
I thought it was great but took me back to 30 years ago when magazines in the mail were the thing. I think I prefer the modern situation where at least you can go to sites like HN which are relatively non commercially biased. Back then there wasn't so much unbiased stuff available - maybe BBC programs and library books.
It might be for the best that he retired near what everyone felt was a peak. Had he kept going, he could have even ended up like certain other long-running comic strips where the polemic takes over and the humor is an afterthought.
Yes, literary criticism often focuses on highly specialized concerns and not everyone is interested in e.g. queer perspectives, but can't we be happy that it exists for those who do want to read it?
An alternative or additional interpretation of his "curmudgeonliness" would be these are intended to tie into his bigger theme of critiquing those who gate-keep "high art". It's been a long time since I read any of these, but I do remember his biggest bone to pick wasn't with abstract art or anything in particular, but with the perception that comics / "graphic novels" could never be considered "high art". So, having his kid scribble some nonsense and call it "high art" is a bit of a middle-finger to art critics who relegate his work to the "funny papers"
As bizarre as this sounds, I actually do think there are legitimate criticisms of the mid-century abstract art movement -- notably, the CIA's involvement. However, that is pretty off-topic here and I highly doubt that Watterson has ever made a reference to this!
Edit: I'm not necessarily even disagreeing you, I think all of this can be true at once
One thing that he never did, was license his IP, so every "pissing Calvin" is a ripoff.
https://www.theonion.com/peeing-calvin-decals-now-recognized...
Let people have their opinions and interpretations, even if you don't agree.