The power of imagination, and other parenting lessons from Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin And Hobbes have some enduring greatness to them. Perhaps this is a result of Bill Waterson's background in political philosophy, but the comics express some deep truth of American culture. Seeing this reminded me of this essay from a few years back (the cartoons haven't changed much in the intervening years): https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/weekly-standard/calvin-an...

For fans of both Calvin and Frank Herbert's Dune, I give you Calvin & Muad'Dib:

https://calvinanddune.tumblr.com/

Personally, and this is just me, I stopped reading this article the second the author said that the comic was too inappropriate for their child and that it could deserve an R-rating for how snowmen are treated. That might be the single most ridiculous thing I've ever read in my life.

I don't know what they were going to go on to say, and the fact that they were writing an article about this in the paper implies that they're clearly a big fan of the comic, but I just couldn't read past that sentence.

In my house, I have to emphasize: Calvin is not a role model. Except for snowmen, that is ok.

The kids have read and reread the box set, so I feel like something is going ok with the whole knowledge transfer thing.

My son is not old enough to read it yet, so I've been reading it to him, and it's the only thing he wants to read for bedtime story now.

I read them fairly regularly even as a teenager so I was old enough to understand most of the jokes the first time I read them. But every so often I see one that I understand in a new light now that I'm a parent myself, in particular, the ones from Calvin's parent's point of view. And of course, some of the mild political commentary, and also the commentary on Waterson's own constant fights with Universal Press Syndicate over merchandising rights (or really his categoriacal refusal to do so) and the fight with newspapers for more space so that he didn't have to constrain the drawings to the rigid formats they demanded for easier editing.

I read the collection titled "Calvin and Hobbes: The Sunday Pages 1985-1995" in which Waterson discusses the context of these strips at length, as well as his artistic process. I highly recommend that one to anyone who is a fan.

OT: I clicked on the author's link and found it is suspended. Any idea why? https://twitter.com/mollypascal

I'm a huge fan of Calvin and Hobbes. It isn't necessarily a kids comic, with a lot of the jokes being subtle enough to go over a kid's head, but adults would still find them funny.

Here're some strips that a six-year-old would barely understand:

https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/blog/12-times-calvin-and...

There are just a few Writers that mean anything to me in the comics world. But I'd put Bill Watterson along with Don Rosa and Carl Barks right on the first place. (yeah, real tight and cozy!)

(on a completely different tone, and out of curiosity, James O'Barr would be in a close second place with The Crow... I leave the third place to Allan Moore or any other anyone sees more fit)

Calvin & Hobbes are for teenagers like Dilbert is for white/blue collared grown ups.

Hobbes is an imaginary friend, an alter ego, a conscience, and a physical toy. It seems weird to make him a divide between parents and children. And saying "Hobbes is real to Calvin" is a meaningless platitude.

Calvin and Hobbes is a great comic, but I will never understand the level of hero worship Bill Watterson enjoys on the internet. People pour over his work like religious texts, looking for new lessons and ways to apply his wisdom. It's a bit weird, frankly.