The truth about Peeing Calvin

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  • Опубліковано 4 бер 2023
  • Peeing Calvin is a travesty. But it's also a choice.
    More info and sources at bottom.
    Find me elsewhere:
    Instagram: / philedwardsinc
    Twitter: / philedwardsinc
    Patreon: / philedwardsinc
    Where I get my music (Free trial affiliate link):
    share.epidemicsound.com/olkrqv
    My camera, as of February 2022 (affiliate link):
    amzn.to/3HDcWVz
    My main lens: amzn.to/3IteXEK
    My main light: amzn.to/3pjO0M8
    My main light accessory: amzn.to/3M6eL0j
    Calvin and Hobbes box set (yes it's an affiliate link, listen, I left out the Patreon plug in the video but I'm no Bill Watterson).
    amzn.to/3ZyhhTm
    Main book I read - Looking for Calvin and Hobbes by Nevin Martell
    amzn.to/3KWJKhd
    To be honest, I think you have to be a superfan to really dig this book. At points, I was like, OK, I understand why Bill thought cartoonists were too boring to merit obsession. But I don't mean that as a dig on the book - it is well-researched by a clear fan and if you love C+H you'll love it.
    My article:
    triviahappy.com/articles/the-...
    Crypto Calvins (barf): opensea.io/CryptoCalvinOfficial
    Amazing Kenyon speech: web.mit.edu/jmorzins/www/C-H-s...
    I left out so many great parts of this.
    A Watterson speech on the syndication issue:
    www.heinzinsufenkl.net/vv/watt...
    Interview at The Comics Journal:
    www.tcj.com/the-bill-watterso...
    Later, highly coveted, Mental Floss interview:
    www.mentalfloss.com/article/5...
    Lots of Creative Commons photos in this one:
    www.flickr.com/photos/cluefre...
    www.flickr.com/photos/rexroof...
    www.flickr.com/photos/awisema...
    www.flickr.com/photos/jackszw...
    www.flickr.com/photos/chapsti...
    www.flickr.com/photos/unsures...
    www.flickr.com/photos/thebris...
    www.flickr.com/photos/whitnul...
    www.flickr.com/photos/rexroof...
    www.flickr.com/photos/brianto...
    www.flickr.com/photos/ckaiser...

КОМЕНТАРІ • 3,6 тис.

  • @MaydupNem
    @MaydupNem Рік тому +7099

    Bill Watterson casually dropping one of the greatest comic strips of all time, refusing to compromise his art for any amount of money, going out on his own terms after just ten years, and never being seen again is one of the coolest character arcs I've ever seen

    • @Scanch12
      @Scanch12 Рік тому +252

      He’s finally got a new book coming out actually!

    • @wet-read
      @wet-read Рік тому +94

      I have MASSIVE respect for Watterson!

    • @fishdude666ify
      @fishdude666ify Рік тому +25

      Word.

    • @ChrisIndellicati
      @ChrisIndellicati Рік тому +38

      FUCKING LEGEND

    • @nonow1353
      @nonow1353 Рік тому +34

      ​@@Scanch12 when what where?!?!

  • @jollyjohnthepirate3168
    @jollyjohnthepirate3168 Рік тому +2038

    The rule of the strip was Hobbs only became real when Calvin was alone with him. If anyone else was in a cartoon square with Calvin Hobbs was drawn as a stuffed tiger.
    In one strip Calvin and Hobbs decide to run away. His parents are horrified and desperately go looking for him. They both keep calling his name. Then his mom calls out Hobbs. She smiles and looks embarrassed. They found him asleep in the backyard. It just shows you the level of genius Watterson has.

    • @niksatt4843
      @niksatt4843 Рік тому +152

      He should had at least gone for stuffed tigers kids would had loved it and he could had used the money for charity or something but still I respect his decision.

    • @eine_v
      @eine_v Рік тому +29

      @@niksatt4843 omg you're right that would have been lovely

    • @Cythil
      @Cythil Рік тому +205

      But the magic of it is, that any stuffed tiger could be Hobbs. 😊

    • @pepsiman7453
      @pepsiman7453 Рік тому +84

      That scene was very sweet and funny, they're so used to seeing Hobbs as part of the family too despite them seeing him as just a doll, they know he means a lot to Calvin

    • @abigailsanchez4663
      @abigailsanchez4663 Рік тому +22

      ​@@niksatt4843 I have a tiger plush that reminds me of Hobbes stuffed animal while calvin was with any other person, I called him Hobbes just because of him

  • @kalisederoche
    @kalisederoche Рік тому +329

    even as a kid i was like “thats not really calvin. he wouldnt do that” lmao

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Рік тому +17

      It was out of character, but the stuff the creator actually turned down would not have crossed that li…
      Oh, who am I kidding… say it with me:
      *The Simpsons* already did it!

    • @felixftw4702
      @felixftw4702 5 місяців тому

      he might not have done it but i can easily imagine him doing it. he was so full of hatred and anger

    • @marcussmith4913
      @marcussmith4913 3 місяці тому

      lol what? he wouldnt do that? he totally would have you not read the comic?

    • @dejus_e
      @dejus_e 3 місяці тому

      @@marcussmith4913he wouldn’t pee on stuff like that with an angry face

  • @zoex4722
    @zoex4722 Рік тому +595

    When my mother beat breast cancer after years of fighting, she had a diagonal scar on her back. She tattooed calvin and hobbes on their sled, sledding down the scar. A way to turn something that hurt into something that healed, and both had an intense impact on her

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +90

      wow- that's pretty amazing

    • @juliettedemaso7588
      @juliettedemaso7588 Рік тому +28

      So many of us (GenX especially) associate Calvin with our dads; myself included. Your mother’s story is just awesome. How much more iron balls is her use of Calvin.. ❤

    • @lillian8589
      @lillian8589 Рік тому +10

      Your mom is a Queen ❤

    • @TheHSIHP
      @TheHSIHP Рік тому +7

      Beautiful

    • @patrickporter6536
      @patrickporter6536 8 місяців тому +3

      Bless her, that's courage!

  • @jsjsfilms
    @jsjsfilms Рік тому +3182

    I love how he says "Calvin is too sweet to even throw the water balloon on Hobbes" when really Calvin just doesn't want to get mauled.

    • @cjitaya
      @cjitaya Рік тому +503

      Yes, but Hobbes was really a function of Calvin's imagination. So in the end, it was Calvin who chose not to water balloon his imaginary friend. In many ways, Hobbes was Calvin's internal moral compass.

    • @krewgarr
      @krewgarr Рік тому +98

      @@cjitaya You nailed it.

    • @henrycagigas8437
      @henrycagigas8437 Рік тому +58

      Internal self preservation compass

    • @CyberSonic72
      @CyberSonic72 Рік тому +85

      "Too sweet" while in the next panel he looks big mad about choosing not to do it😂
      That face tho lol as if he's thinking "How did I ever get to become such a softie?"

    • @localscissors4036
      @localscissors4036 Рік тому +40

      Agreed. “Too sweet” my foot. Calvin would’ve 100% thrown that if Hobbes didn’t have claws

  • @blatherskitenoir
    @blatherskitenoir Рік тому +2643

    It was weird to go back and read Calvin and Hobbes as an adult. Because you notice his parents more and realize they're pretty unique themselves and where Calvin gets it from. His dad is very crunchy granola-y, always against "the man" and wanting to ride his bike instead of drive, and he makes up stories like Calvin does. His mom is very smart and sensitive, knows a bunch about counter-culture and most things Calvin asks about. She's a bit of a happy loner, and she unintentionally messes stuff up like Calvin does, like her cooking.

    • @f1uc1k1y1o1u
      @f1uc1k1y1o1u Рік тому +163

      His dad's hilariously hellacious bicycle trips made for excellent issues. Funnier even when he would return back as a wreck and Calvin would laugh at him... his father was often stubborn sometimes.

    • @a.katherinesuetterlin3028
      @a.katherinesuetterlin3028 Рік тому +185

      Calvin's mom was also incredibly inventive at getting Calvin to eat something she'd cooked by calling it something it wasn't, but being so straightfaced about it, he would take her seriously and actually sit and gobble up his serving...then his own dad would actually end up being the one not wanting to eat what she cooked. And she's sitting there facepalming the whole thing. 🤣

    • @USAReject
      @USAReject Рік тому +10

      what does “crunchy granola-y” mean exactly

    • @a.katherinesuetterlin3028
      @a.katherinesuetterlin3028 Рік тому +100

      @@USAReject It's a term often used to describe people who are rebels in regards to:
      1) diet (very health conscious to the point of eating granola/muesli for breakfast instead of the typical American breakfast. This was the root of the adjective "crunchy-granola" to describe an overall hippie-minded person starting back in the 70s.)
      2) Modes of transportation (they'd rather walk or bike to save the planet and humanity than constantly drive and pollute the air)
      In general, Calvin's dad is very much a character into which Bill Watterson likely poured his own rebel-against-the-system nature. Because if Watterson himself rejected the idea of turning Calvin and Hobbes into a merch machine, he was very likely that sort to rebel against the system in other ways.
      Some of us do need that level of merch-centered money to not just survive, but fund other dreams we have. Others want that money just because they used to be poor and they refuse to live that way again, but they still give back generously. Still others want that merch money because they're genuinely greedy and have no intentions of being philanthropic. I would imagine the syndicates being in this third group. Why else would they pressure Bill as they did to create merch surrounding Calvin and Hobbes?
      But being that crunchy-granola rebel that he likely was, he stood by his principles. Gotta give him credit for that, 100%. 😁

    • @USAReject
      @USAReject Рік тому +43

      @@a.katherinesuetterlin3028 very informative answer, thank you. i had never heard ‘crunchy granola’ to describe anyone before and had no clue it was a real adjective. i appreciate the response

  • @Mewted
    @Mewted Рік тому +370

    Watterson is as legit as an artist can be. He gave his soul and said... whatever, do what you want... I'll have no part in it. In the face of commercialism and profit, he just did what he wanted to express, then moved on. Mad respect and one of the greatest strips that has ever existed. Imagination is the true heart of life.

  • @BrokeredHeart
    @BrokeredHeart Рік тому +113

    My grandfather was a fan and collector of all things Calvin and Hobbes. The night after he passed, we stayed at the house with my grandma, and I fell asleep in his room with the C&H comic on my chest. I inherited his entire collection of comics after he died, and read them still to this day. It brings back fond memories I have of my Papa and the sense of humor we shared through reading them together. I never understood the whole thing with Calvin peeing on things in the back of truck windows, as I knew how much Watterson treasured his characters, so I know he would never willingly go along with it, let alone draw that specific pose. I never really associate that image with the real comics though. It's antithetical to the values Bill Watterson had in those strips, so I can see why maybe he thought the fight wasn't worth the exhaustive litigation. Why would Watterson go out of his way to punish someone like he's the Walt Disney Corporation? It doesn't seem to suit him, so I'm glad he never did license the character, and his true fans make a point of not replicating his art work for merchandising purposes in order to avoid corrupting the comics. I usually find it very telling when you see them in a car window or on a rear bumper - the person sitting in that driver's seat isn't really a fan of the comics, and therefore not a adherent of the same curiosity, imagination, values, or morality as Calvin represents. You see that sticker, you can avoid them in the parking lot.

    • @martykitson3442
      @martykitson3442 Рік тому +3

      I definitely had to like 👍 this comment, had a neighbor with the sticker in the back window of his GMC you, can guess which one, but now I get why it just seemed out of character for me to put a similar one on my Ford I just couldn't do it

    • @GladiusOstentis
      @GladiusOstentis 11 місяців тому +4

      Before I knew about Bill Watterson refusing to sell out, I bought a Spaceman Spiff sticker. It was just Calvin's head with him wearing the Spaceman Spiff goggles and he was either sticking out his tongue blowing a raspberry or he was clenching his teeth. I don't remember if it ever made it onto my car back then.

    • @h8GW
      @h8GW 11 місяців тому +4

      As an Aspie, I might not be able to pick up all the social cues that an otherwise charismatic person I meet might actually be deranged, so I'm grateful for Peeing Calvin to give me a dummy's guide of people to steer clear of.

  • @dungeontortoise2432
    @dungeontortoise2432 Рік тому +709

    In one of the book collections, Bill Watterson mentions that one of the reasons he didn’t “sell out” is because Hobbes exists in a very mystical space where the reader is unsure whether he is a doll, a living thing, or both. Selling out would give toy manufacturers the power to decide for him, and for the readers. Imagination is a magical thing and it’s clear Bill Watterson treasured it.

    • @misterlau5246
      @misterlau5246 Рік тому +42

      Means he didn't want others to mess with his creation. Not always a question of money it is.
      By licensing, they could destroy his vision like, with his PERMISSION

    • @Jiji-the-cat5425
      @Jiji-the-cat5425 Рік тому +66

      I also love that Watterson intentionally made it really difficult to tell whether Hobbes was real or not. There are strips where Hobbes did things that would've been pretty much impossible for Calvin to do in his place, but also strips where Calvins parents straight up say he's playing pretend with his doll. It's up to the reader to decide. We don't even really know where Hobbes comes from, the first strip is Calvin catching him in his tiger trap, but we don't know if doll Hobbes was a gift from his parents/relatives or if he's a mystical living tiger.

    • @misterlau5246
      @misterlau5246 Рік тому +10

      @@Jiji-the-cat5425 first times I read those on newspaper, the tiger doll didn't appear. When it did appear, I realised it's a doll + imagination and it's ok.

    • @AC-xf6sw
      @AC-xf6sw Рік тому +12

      Yeah...that part. I think I just found MY nerds.

    • @brianstratton8767
      @brianstratton8767 Рік тому +4

      ​@@misterlau5246 Yep, I read it for a while & Hobbes was always a standup guy then suddenly he became a real armload:/

  • @HolotapeDeepCuts
    @HolotapeDeepCuts Рік тому +289

    The fact that Peeing Calvin came out of Florida is the most unsurprising thing I've ever learned. Nothing has ever made more sense.

    • @BG-yz7hh
      @BG-yz7hh Рік тому +7

      Was just thinking that when I watched this

    • @omcara1
      @omcara1 Рік тому +3

      Thank you we like it that way.

    • @seanfalconer7182
      @seanfalconer7182 Рік тому +4

      Florida Man strikes again 🤣

    • @Donleecartoons
      @Donleecartoons Рік тому +7

      The only good reason to go to Florida is to attempt to leave the planet.

    • @cishets-is-a-scum
      @cishets-is-a-scum Рік тому

      Why?

  • @KidFresh71
    @KidFresh71 Рік тому +187

    It's difficult to convey just how popular Calvin & Hobbes was, during my freshman year at college (1989). Imagine the mass appeal of Mickey Mouse or Garfield, but without the skewing too young / corniness factor. Quite simply: everyone loved the comic, and no one didn't. At the very worst, you were neutral about Calvin & Hobbes. It's the only comic strip I've read all the way through, along with The Far Side, Peanuts, and admittedly Garfield (hey, I was in 5th grade, sue me).

    • @nickl2854
      @nickl2854 Рік тому +12

      As a child of the early 2000s, I am pleased to report that these comics also stuck around for our age group. Tons of dudes I know grew up checking out Calvin and Hobbes books from the library.

    • @queencharlene
      @queencharlene Рік тому +6

      don't worry, we all had a garfield pase in fifth grade. the difference between Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield is though, that when you go back and read the comics as an adult, Calvin and Hobbes is still hilarious and charming, but Garfield just eaves you scratching your head as to why child you ever thought it was funny in the first place.

    • @gremloid
      @gremloid Рік тому +8

      I've been going through my garfield phase for about 2 years now and im in 11th lol, nothing to be ashamed of, even if post-1999 garfield sucks

    • @cubonefan3
      @cubonefan3 Рік тому +5

      C&H is not the “only” strip you’ve read if you have also read 3 other strips all the way through….

    • @liebebryanify
      @liebebryanify Рік тому

      We're the same.

  • @daddyyahweh9328
    @daddyyahweh9328 Рік тому +84

    My parents were really strict on me growing up, so I was shocked when my dad bought me that 'holy grail' of calvin comics for Christmas. I was really struggling with understanding why school was school, getting in trouble for being loud (especially as a girl), and overall being a crazy child. Well, my dad said those comics were his young adulthood, so he wanted me to read them in my childhood. I loved those comics and would read them over and over again, and they actually helped me do better in school. I learned it was okay to just be a kid, both the positives and the negatives. Sure, I had to accept the consequences of my actions, but it was okay I did those actions at all. I still love reading them as an adult now, and I keep them pristine either for if I have a kid, or if I find a kid who needs to be told its okay to be a kid.
    Thats why I love Calvin and Hobbes, and its why I have such huge respect for Bill Watterson. I have mixed feelings still about the Decal, but learning Watterson's response and integrity just makes me respect him as an artist even more.
    This was a great video essay, I'm glad I watched it.

    • @marcussmith4913
      @marcussmith4913 3 місяці тому

      so your parents being strict on you... did you turn into a little phsyco as an adult because they where so strict?

    • @daddyyahweh9328
      @daddyyahweh9328 3 місяці тому

      @@marcussmith4913
      *psycho
      *were

    • @loveseat-honey
      @loveseat-honey 3 місяці тому

      @@marcussmith4913having tight rules doesn’t make a psycho, abuse and/or mental illness does

    • @marcussmith4913
      @marcussmith4913 3 місяці тому

      I think you missunderstand... a phsyco meaning did you act out and become a trouble maker. Look for ways to break the rules. A wild kid@@loveseat-honey

  • @thomasgebert6119
    @thomasgebert6119 Рік тому +1769

    I have always really respected Waterson for his refusal to license.
    Even as a kid in the 90s, I was only vaguely aware that Garfield was a comic; I mostly knew Garfield from TV series and toys. Jim Davis was a talented enough cartoonist, but he was an absolutely *brilliant* brand manager first.
    When I discovered the Calvin and Hobbes comics as a teenager, i was sort of taken aback at how it was, you know, a comic. It didn’t feel like it was trying to sell me anything, it’s just sort of the philosophical musings of a boy and his tiger. I think he didn’t want to be part of the indirect marketing that newspaper comics had become.

    • @AngelusNielson
      @AngelusNielson Рік тому +14

      in the 80s Garfield wasn't funny.

    • @vanillaThunder171
      @vanillaThunder171 Рік тому +24

      Lasaga

    • @SantaDog81
      @SantaDog81 Рік тому +10

      Jim Davis deserves Lasagna Cat.

    • @abeartheycallFozzy
      @abeartheycallFozzy Рік тому +48

      I think Jim Davis ended up hating Garfield, just wanted to squeeze all the money he could out of it. Probably what Watterson feared.
      Now if you want funny, read Garfield Without Garfield. They republished Garfield strips with the big orange cat edited out. So its just Jim talking to hi.self.
      Actually a very surreal and darkly better comic that way.

    • @mournblade1066
      @mournblade1066 Рік тому +31

      Not me. Jim Davis created Garfield specifically for marketing purposes. Berke Breathed took his queue, and even though Bloom County was objectively superior to Garfield, he knew how to market it. Hell, Bill the Cat was a direct rip-off of Garfield, and he wasn't even shy about admitting it.

  • @MNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMN
    @MNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMNMN Рік тому +59

    I named my son Calvin (he's six months now) because of Calvin and Hobbes. Watterson's ethics coincidentally seemed to line with my own as a person. I never studied in school, but I'll be damned if I pass off another's work as my own, and vice versa. If I did a great essay and a friend asked me to write theirs, I'd tell them to go to hell. At the same time I've spent most of my 23 years alive trying to write, to cartoon, to do anything artistically fulfilling, and despite being occasionally alright, it's never been worth anything. But still, I don't care to be worth more. I'm just proud of the few smiles I've been able to give, and I would hope for nothing less for anyone else.

  • @bencushwa8902
    @bencushwa8902 Рік тому +36

    I was not expecting to get so emotional over an eleven minute UA-cam video about peeing Calvin. Brilliant work Phil, thank you.

  • @NigelMelanisticSmith
    @NigelMelanisticSmith Рік тому +1950

    I had never thought about it, but you're right on how Calvin isn't quite as bad as Bart. With how all the comic's adults react to Calvin, you'd think he was worse, but he does have a stronger moral compass for sure. Nowadays though, modern Bart has tamed down a bit from his 90s attitude, so they are arguably closer to each other nowadays.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +216

      agreed! new bart is a bit less of a sass machine

    • @Rhodare
      @Rhodare Рік тому +95

      The strip honestly had a lotta great messages and lessons. Incredibly funny too

    • @j-skullz
      @j-skullz Рік тому +186

      I related to Calvin a lot as a kid growing up with ADHD. He wasn't a bad kid- he was smart, funny, creative. He just didn't care for arbitrary rules or the school system which is a huge mood

    • @kaitlyn__L
      @kaitlyn__L Рік тому +20

      @@j-skullz yes!

    • @Asterite100
      @Asterite100 Рік тому +56

      I still think it's hilarious that early Bart, like I'm talkin Season 2 early, had "bitchin'" as a catchphrase. I had only recently binged early The Simpsons in its entirety and that caught me off guard.

  • @fredtaylor9792
    @fredtaylor9792 Рік тому +336

    There was a 4 year period in my young life where Calvin and Hobbes were my only friends. My parents divorced and my world fell apart. I stayed up late at night reading them. I just wish I could tell Bill Watterson thank you.

    • @larrybird6860
      @larrybird6860 Рік тому +6

      I remember when I was little I collected the comics, but on the last day of Elementary I wasn’t able to go to school, so the teacher gave away all my comics.

    • @JCTBomb
      @JCTBomb Рік тому +3

      😭💙

    • @swisswildpicsswp3095
      @swisswildpicsswp3095 Рік тому +1

      I feel you, man. These comics also helped me a lot in my childhood. Now I can't read them without crying, which is a shame.

  • @Stormith
    @Stormith Рік тому +19

    There’s nothing I respect more than people who stick by their principles in the face of massive temptation. Money poisons people and for everything good it brings, it brings as much bad. Calvin & Hobbes is a beloved part of my childhood and now I realize just how much that was kept pure on purpose, and as a humble consumer I am very thankful for Waterson’s work and lasting impact.

  • @jonothanthrace1530
    @jonothanthrace1530 Рік тому +16

    Bill Watterson deserves more credit than I think he gets for choosing to draw a comic that let him not only draw a kid having a philosophical discussion with essentially himself, but also extremely detailed dinosaurs and alien landscapes.

  • @laurendoe168
    @laurendoe168 Рік тому +817

    It's not that Calvin was too sweet to throw the water balloon... it's the fact that Hobbes made him realize the consequences of throwing it were too dire (despite the fact that Hobbes was also a figment of his imagination).

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +91

      he says life's too short!

    • @laurendoe168
      @laurendoe168 Рік тому

      @@PhilEdwardsInc Yes... to die so young :D

    • @joelpartee594
      @joelpartee594 Рік тому +178

      @@PhilEdwardsInc No, he says "As if life's not short enough already," The clear threat is that Calvin's life could be made even shorter by an angry wet tiger.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +76

      @@joelpartee594 See I read it as, life's too short to waste on such pointless violence.

    • @Thalatash
      @Thalatash Рік тому +92

      @@PhilEdwardsInc I really like your interpretation, but it's a bit of a running gag where Calvin would think he's sneaking up on Hobbes with a water balloon until Hobbes reveals that he knows exactly what Calvin is doing. Hobbes then threatens Calvin in some way, implying that if he did throw the water balloon it would be his, "last day on Earth" or something like that.
      Also, "pointless violence" for a water balloon is a bit much, no? Maybe your neighborhood played different than we did, but water balloons were probably the least violent thing we did. The point was, they cooled you off on hot summer days. Great video, though!

  • @RugsterClaps
    @RugsterClaps Рік тому +491

    My older brother had a ton of these comics hidden in his room. I constantly snuck in to read these, and it was always worth him getting angry at me for it. 20 years later and he just named his first son Calvin. These comics were an introduction to so much humor, curiosity, wit, and deep thought for me

    • @jonathandorozowsky4005
      @jonathandorozowsky4005 Рік тому +30

      My first boy is named after Calvin as well. He's five now and it's amazing to watch and listen to him when he plays with his toys. He makes sound effects and narrates stories, becoming hyper focused to the point where he simply will not respond if you call him. His mom and I call it "spaceman spiffing." I honestly don't remember ever having that strong of an imagination, or what it feels like to be a little boy, but I love experiencing it vicariously through my sons.

    • @RugsterClaps
      @RugsterClaps Рік тому +10

      @@jonathandorozowsky4005 Congrats on the little guy! you have my brothers name haha. that's really awesome. watching little ones play and use their imagination is such a great thing to watch. my son is 10 now and its such a crazy thing to see him beginning to behave like a little adult from time to time. I completely agree. its hard to even remember when there was a time we could entertain ourselves with our imaginations. Having kids really gets you in touch with the child you grew up from and in many ways forgot about. Children are an amazing gift. Bless you and your family my friend

    • @Viscte
      @Viscte Рік тому +1

      Your older brother was an asshole. I hope he's better now

    • @RugsterClaps
      @RugsterClaps Рік тому +5

      @@Viscte hes worse now lol but thanks anyways

  • @primabellas6856
    @primabellas6856 Рік тому +11

    I love Calvin & Hobbes. My dad (who passed away in 2008) used to buy me the books and we'd sit in the living room reading them together. Those books have a special place in my home and I think of my dad whenever I see them. I loved the comic so much I got two cats. I named the tabby Hobbes and the other one I named Calvin. I guess I'm one of those next level fans. 😊

  • @EBThisThat
    @EBThisThat Рік тому +35

    Being a massive fan of the funnies, I find this absolutely impressive how he didn’t license his art and honestly I’m inspired by that.

  • @30AndHatingIt
    @30AndHatingIt Рік тому +824

    Calvin and Hobbes were like religious texts to me. Looking back, I now see that growing up as an only child in a semi-rural area… I WAS Calvin. I had to have an overactive imagination because of being somewhat isolated by a lack of siblings and friends living kind of far away. It’s no wonder those comics spoke to me. Even the back woods where Calvin rides off on his sled looked like mine. I recently visited home and smiled when I walked back there…

    • @vibaj16
      @vibaj16 Рік тому +18

      Same, though I wasn't an only child. Every year we'd visit my grandmother during the summer for a month, and she had Calvin and Hobbes comics that I'd read.

    • @kellywalker1664
      @kellywalker1664 Рік тому +2

      Your word "religious" is well chosen, as both names of C & H were based off of key religious historical figures.

    • @higler.
      @higler. Рік тому +2

      Same! I was just an only child with a pet cat and a massive imagination and those comics really spoke to me.

  • @edwardx4979
    @edwardx4979 Рік тому +15

    I didn't know about Calvin and Hobbes until after high school. No one told me about it but I discovered them one day by reading the newspaper comics, and I knew it was special. Besides the humor, I get it and Calvin and Hobbes have always held a special place in my heart. I remember hearing rumors about how Watterson was going to retire and reading the last strip and it actually messed with the feels and put a smile to my face. Good times...

  • @Memes.10106
    @Memes.10106 Рік тому +4

    This is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. And it's about a peeing cartoon character.
    This is amazing work.

  • @meggastar1
    @meggastar1 Рік тому +677

    My mom met Bill Waterson at the Ohio State University at a large event held there to honor cartoonists. He drew a lovely picture of Calvin and Hobbes in a wheelbarrow rolling down a hill, on a linen napkin for her, which she kept and adored. Bill was a private person, and was quite clear in not wishing his creation to become a highly monetized, commercialized product.

    • @aidencool69
      @aidencool69 Рік тому +4

      only in ohio 😳 😂😅

    • @elipticalecliptic481
      @elipticalecliptic481 Рік тому +3

      I want to be him frankly

    • @darkstarmoonshadow8892
      @darkstarmoonshadow8892 Рік тому

      😲 WOW

    • @drrenwtfrick
      @drrenwtfrick Рік тому +8

      ​@@aidencool69stop.

    • @aidencool69
      @aidencool69 Рік тому +4

      @@drrenwtfrick nicest person in Ohio!! 😂😂😂😂 ohio 😂😂😂😂 only in ohio!! 😂😂😂 made in ohio swag like ohio 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

  • @dylanrieck6671
    @dylanrieck6671 Рік тому +271

    I'm not surprised that the man who was able to express so much pure humanity in a comic strip about a boy and a stuffed tiger is also a man of great personal integrity.

    • @himals92
      @himals92 Рік тому +4

      Indeed...I carried his strip into the Wilds of India and met Hobbes.

    • @mineduck3050
      @mineduck3050 Рік тому +4

      We were lucky to have him as a teacher.

    • @krewgarr
      @krewgarr Рік тому +4

      This comment absolutely WINS.

  • @MichaelRichardson36
    @MichaelRichardson36 Рік тому +726

    That final panel "let's go exploring!" is the best ending because I love to imagine Calvin still out there with his old pal Hobbes having all kinds of adventures. Calvin to me is the embodiment of the adventure-seeking inner child that lives on in us all.

    • @kevinclick9026
      @kevinclick9026 Рік тому +28

      I read that one in the hospital on Sunday morning the day my wonderful son "Kaya" was born...still brings me to tears. Best comic strip ever!

    • @SewardWriter
      @SewardWriter Рік тому +5

      ​@@kevinclick9026 Aww! You have a little Calvin! 💖

    • @dash_r_media
      @dash_r_media Рік тому +9

      I've always been a sucker for sad endings, and back when C&H was still an active strip, I thought it would end with a slightly older Calvin looking at Hobbes and only seeing a stuffed toy there

    • @MichaelRichardson36
      @MichaelRichardson36 Рік тому +8

      That would be a sad but impactful ending; a testament to the loss of childhood imagination and innocence in becoming an adult.

    • @30AndHatingIt
      @30AndHatingIt Рік тому +7

      With him walking up, hugging him and saying “I still love you”? Break open the tissues. But no thanks, the world is already so full of sad sh**. No need to infect escapism.

  • @Awesomemay
    @Awesomemay Рік тому +5

    such a great video!! you managed to make an otherwise simple topic really interesting and entertaining

  • @greytheo2009
    @greytheo2009 Рік тому +7

    This was so great. Loving this comic as a kid and growing up to find a deeper meaning behind it. And the way the story was told so good.

  • @NickSquaredTV
    @NickSquaredTV Рік тому +205

    Fun fact about Bill Watterson- when he was a student at Kenyon College, he painted a complete replica of the Sistine Chapel ceiling on his dorm ceiling…and then repainted it white at the end of the spring semester.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +61

      that anecdote was so moving - if anyone else wants to read it, it's linked in the kenyon commencement speech in the description of this video

    • @samroberts7404
      @samroberts7404 Рік тому +22

      @@PhilEdwardsInc thanks for linking the speech. Reading it makes it seem like Matt Groening is the sliding doors Bill Waterson, the Simpsons now compared to 25-30 years ago (Christ saying that makes me feel old) is exactly what Bill described as his reasons for not "selling out".

    • @wesleywyndam-pryce5305
      @wesleywyndam-pryce5305 Рік тому +10

      @@samroberts7404 saying this Simpsons sold out ignores that it started as a counter culture show. it then became the culture. once it became the culture it could no longer be the counter culture.

    • @johnbrewington2539
      @johnbrewington2539 Рік тому

      @@wesleywyndam-pryce5305 “today’s revolutionary is tomorrow’s conservative”

    • @samroberts7404
      @samroberts7404 Рік тому +1

      @@wesleywyndam-pryce5305 by that arguement are you saying that something that is part of the culture can't sell out? Just for reference though, I was specifically referring to the way that Bill Watterson described the compromising of vision that follows from it, the writing by committee and toning everything down into a family friendly, easily digestible format that stops asking questions that is inevitable when something stops being art and starts being a commodity.

  • @VoIcanoman
    @VoIcanoman Рік тому +520

    I think the best thing about Calvin & Hobbes by far was the complexity of Calvin's mind. He could be evil, or thoughtful. Chaos incarnate or incredibly methodical. His worldview ranged from simplistic to complex (like with all of the philosophical discussions he had with Hobbes, paying homage to the minds after which the two characters were named). He was about as real a child as you could get from a pen and paper, and that's what made him relatable. That's why we all loved the strip so much. Because he reminded us of our childhoods.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +58

      I definitely understand him more now that I have an (equally volatile) kid.

    • @johndemeritt3460
      @johndemeritt3460 Рік тому +8

      My wife and I were Corgi Companions for sixteen years. Looking at this retrospective, I now realize that Calvin was as close to a human Corgi as we may ever see.
      And that one HECK of a compliment!

    • @bikecaptain8015
      @bikecaptain8015 Рік тому +11

      Or, if you were a neurodivergent child of the time, he didn't remind you of anything but you. And he made you know that no matter how many called you lazy or crazy or weird over things about yourself that felt innate or very difficult to control, somewhere out there somebody got it. And they were helping others get it too by putting this wonderful, almost insidious thing in the paper.

    • @dr.a006
      @dr.a006 Рік тому +1

      Definitely an expansive, profound vocabulary for a kid!😅

    • @rcschmidt668
      @rcschmidt668 Рік тому

      One Calvin & Hobbes that I remember as a fitting end was a grown up Calvin watching his kid find Hobbes and start playing.

  • @lukebarber9511
    @lukebarber9511 Рік тому +4

    3:20 I always thought he didn't throw the water balloon at Hobbes because of Hobbes' implied threat, not because he was too nice to do so...

  • @josefnocera4414
    @josefnocera4414 Рік тому +5

    I love these kind of videos about small things you’ve noticed all your life. Everything has a history and it just takes one person interested enough to find out about it and tell the story. Nicely done!

  • @nuclearduck13
    @nuclearduck13 Рік тому +357

    My dad raised us on Calvin and Hobbes. He bought every collection he could find, and was elated when we got him more. Our bedtime stories were almost always Calvin and Hobbes, and when we reached the end of the collection, we'd start again. There are few panels I haven't seen dozens of times, so the first time we saw a decal of Calvin peeing on something, we knew it was a knock-off.

    • @toywazoo
      @toywazoo Рік тому +4

      Knock off or not, it's everywhere!

  • @sockonarock
    @sockonarock Рік тому +289

    “I don’t need to compromise my principles, because they don’t have the slightest bearing on what happens to me anyway.” is a perfect encapsulation of Watterson’s perspective.
    Great conclusion to this video!

    • @shigekax
      @shigekax Рік тому +11

      I don't quite understand what he meant by that : is it that either way, selling out or not, it would be the same ? Or that he is perfectly fine with his current way of life ?
      None of these feel coherent with what i understood

    • @joelpartee594
      @joelpartee594 Рік тому +51

      @@shigekax I suspect that he is fine with his current way of life, but I don't think that's really the point. He certainly is not saying that selling out or not really is the same, although it might look the same to the outside world. I would paraphrase it as "I can control my actions and choices, but I cannot control what is done by others to me and my work. Therefor, I make choices based on my ideals, not based on the outcome I want to achieve. That gives me the peace of mind that comes from knowing I did the right thing." Does that make more sense?

    • @shigekax
      @shigekax Рік тому +8

      @@joelpartee594 it does ! Thanks

    • @rahn45
      @rahn45 Рік тому +3

      @@shigekax Watterson combined both the visuals and the written word together much better than most, which were mostly talking heads. It's way easier to understand about refusing to compromise when you put it in the context of the comic strip itself: Calvin will always be dragged into bath or bed no matter his protestations or the cleverness of the logic he used. With that in mind why compromise who you are as a person?
      At the end of the day you have to live with yourself, so best not to do stuff that you end up hating yourself for; especially if you're going to be end up in place you don't want to be either way.

    • @wesleywyndam-pryce5305
      @wesleywyndam-pryce5305 Рік тому +1

      @@shigekax he doesn't have the power to control what happens to the IP he made, regardless of his principles his work would continue to be used without consent.
      wether or not that panel is actually a comment on this subject is surely unknown though.

  • @oofy404
    @oofy404 Рік тому +6

    I have always loved Calvin and Hobbes. I would always get sucked in, read for hours, and loose all sight of our world. I wished I was Calvin, having a pet tiger, tree house, and infinite time to explore. Looking back, I kinda was in a way.
    I skipped preschool. My parents brought me to playgrounds and museums instead. This even continued into kindergarten, where we would go exploring on the weekends or after school. I was also an oddball, like Calvin. I saw things other people would never dream of, and I was always weird. Hell, my favorite tv show at that age was Futurama.
    Calvin helped me realize these things, and has helped with so much more. He was my childhood, and a cartoon idol I could and still can relate to on a personal level.

  • @LimegreenSnowstorm
    @LimegreenSnowstorm Рік тому +8

    Wasn’t expecting a video about peeing Calvin to end on such an inspirational note. This was a pleasant breach of expectation!

  • @JourneyTraveler
    @JourneyTraveler Рік тому +153

    “I didn’t like the idea of using this hard-won precious job to peddle a bunch of trinkets”
    Really succinct Watterson quote from the complete collection that could not sum it up any better.

  • @jacoblockwood4034
    @jacoblockwood4034 Рік тому +618

    I have no idea how you managed to turn a video about Calvin taking a piss into a motivational message but you have easily earned my subscription

  • @Willpower-74205
    @Willpower-74205 Рік тому +9

    Calvin and Hobbes was one of those things that got me through grade school and high school after that. Funny, insightful, and thought-provoking in a way that few other media dared to explore. BTW, when I saw your pic, I honestly at first thought you were Gary Oldman. Amazing resemblance! 😎👍

  • @talkntrash
    @talkntrash Рік тому +3

    Growing up, my teacher had every book and loved to share them. I read almost all of them. What a great run down memory lane...

  • @ktburger659
    @ktburger659 Рік тому +512

    One of the things I like about nerd culture is that we can wear t-shirts to identify each other’s interests to start a conversation. But if someone is bearing a Calvin and Hobbes item, you know it is unlicensed and therefore against the wishes their creator and the spirit of the comic. So it’s hard to identify the fans (although it’s easy to identify non-fans from the peeing sticker.) Because of this, Calvin and Hobbes remains an introverted experience that happens to us individually when we read the comic - at least for me. In that way, it keeps a bit of special magic because so many other intellectual properties are not consumed this way and are widely picked apart and discussed ad nauseam.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +58

      this is true!

    • @bradarmstrong3952
      @bradarmstrong3952 Рік тому +54

      Perhaps this is part of what is behind the creator's decision here ...

    • @ObsessiveGeek
      @ObsessiveGeek Рік тому +24

      You could always wear a red shirt with thin black stripes to signify your allegiance to C&H, though I guess the best way to find other fans is to simply talk about your love of the comic strip.
      Luckily the internet makes it easier to discuss subjects and find those mutual interests for those of us who live mostly in our imaginations.

    • @clonegeek3317
      @clonegeek3317 Рік тому +6

      Its fine to wear a bootleg Calvin and Hobbes shirt.

    • @jenniferw7928
      @jenniferw7928 Рік тому +67

      I think bootleg shirts and Hobbes plushies are fine, but the peeing stickers are so mean spirited it's antithetical to the Calvin and Hobbs spirit. When I see them, I've always thought to myself 'There goes someone who'd hate Calvin and Hobbes if they ever actually read it.' Maybe I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.

  • @JaykPuten
    @JaykPuten Рік тому +1000

    And in making this video, Phil cemented his transmogrifier setting to the "peeing Calvin historian" forever
    But you'll always be the UA-cam explorer of random stuff I was unaware of, of the mundane, of the overlooked little things in life
    You go Phil!

    • @mfultimate
      @mfultimate Рік тому +9

      to me he'll always be the guy who talked about the architecture of the midwest furfest hotel

    • @FoxMacLeod2501
      @FoxMacLeod2501 Рік тому +1

      _Hell_ yes!

  • @sueparras6028
    @sueparras6028 Рік тому +4

    Calvin and Hobbes was one of my favorite comics as a young adult. So funny. Broke my heart when they quit printing it. ❤😅😅

  • @MementoVivas
    @MementoVivas Рік тому +5

    As someone that grew up on Calvin and Hobbes it's sweet to see so many other people interested in it and actively interacting

  • @clievah
    @clievah Рік тому +156

    I remember when I was 8 sick with pneumonia, my dad gave me one of his old Calvin and Hobbes books to read and I was instantly absorbed for the week I was sick. Somehow Watterson's work was able to transport you to another world so effortlessly and is partly the reason I do art today. I always knew that the calvin stickers weren't Bill's, but I'm glad he never caved, even when syndicators visited his house. Great video as always Phil!

    • @yayo4056
      @yayo4056 Рік тому +2

      Very similar story with my mom

  • @keesvdb
    @keesvdb Рік тому +140

    growing up in the early 00s I felt like Calvin. i had a huge stuffed sheep i would take everywhere and my only requirements was to be home before dark so i spent so many hours just exploring nature with my sheep. I related to so much of it and it is so amazing that there is no licensed merchandise. it would feel less true, less relatable. I miss those days of just sitting in the middle of nowhere close enough to home to get back just creating worlds with my sheep, no cares about anything

    • @sanachanto
      @sanachanto Рік тому +6

      If I may ask, what was your sheep’s name?

    • @MarkBonneaux
      @MarkBonneaux Рік тому +4

      The one thing I wish he'd licensed besides the books and calendars is a Hobbes plush. Not for the money or anti counterfeiting but just so the kids who wanted their own could have an authentic one to love and take on adventures.

    • @aclstudios
      @aclstudios Рік тому +7

      @@MarkBonneaux I think that would defeat his intention and reality though. Kids can just find any old no-brand plush, give it a name, and make up a personality for it. In a way, they have their own "Hobbes", and no 2 will be the same.

    • @dand3953
      @dand3953 Рік тому

      God, I hope you didn't grow up to be a politician.

    • @jnnx
      @jnnx Рік тому +2

      @@MarkBonneaux But you could have one any time you liked, you just had to have used your imagination. . .

  • @thelostone6981
    @thelostone6981 Рік тому +3

    Late to this, but the ending brought a tear to this aging man’s eye. I won’t go into details, but I have been estranged from family and friends because of having principles…so, well done!

  • @djcjfxyz5351
    @djcjfxyz5351 Рік тому +1

    This video was so passionate and well researched, however what stood out the most in the end was the meaningful message... It truly made me cry.. I really need that reminder tonight, that my box doesn't have to be limited to what's expected, I can be an Explorer too, there's always another way.. often we forget to look beyond our predetermined box..
    Thank you for presenting Walter's story, using your own passionate creativity as an outlet.

  • @andrewkaye2108
    @andrewkaye2108 Рік тому +163

    I have nothing but respect for Watterson.
    Calvin and Hobbes always makes me smile and remember, for a brief period of time, as a child, when I had stuffed animals that I played with.
    Some of the things Calvin did, I remember doing too. Calvin and Hobbes brings out the kids in all of us.
    A deep bow to you Mr. Watterson, thank you for not going for the truckloads of money.

  • @prof_Camargo
    @prof_Camargo Рік тому +144

    Some International trivia:
    In Mexico, peeing Calvin just pees, it doesn't have the peeing on something component.
    Usually you can see it on public transportation or older cars, indicating that the driver doesn't really care about their driving or the speed limit.
    Great video!

    • @TheNinToaster
      @TheNinToaster Рік тому +53

      major part of my childhood was getting stuck in highway traffic on our way to DF and seeing like myriads of Calvin pissers, i found so strangely hilarious how we had like pure Calvin and his evil twin Pisswin

    • @lisahoshowsky4251
      @lisahoshowsky4251 Рік тому +18

      I find in Canada too he’s rarely peeing on something, he’s just peeing on someone’s rear window🤷‍♀️ I think I’ve seen a few where there’s maybe a logo, and I can’t say I’ve ever seen ones where it’s just a word, and definitely not enough for me to pick up on a trend like there seems to be in the US.
      Edit: I will say thinking about it maybe I’ve seen one or two with Trudeau as the target (our Prime Minister)

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +27

      Pisswin lol

    • @TheNinToaster
      @TheNinToaster Рік тому +8

      @@lisahoshowsky4251 yeah, having moved to canada from mexico 10 yrs ago, it almost feels weird that pisswin is pissing on anything, it's such an american thing, almost on par with apple pie and the flag

    • @ObsessiveGeek
      @ObsessiveGeek Рік тому +3

      Same here (UK) I’m far more familiar without any additional context since the act itself is symbolically of defiance, it does seem peeing Calvin has come to represent similar moral values Bill was so admit in maintaining.

  • @jasonboehringer4583
    @jasonboehringer4583 Рік тому +1

    As soon as you started taping the box together I started sobbing. Calvin and Hobbes raised me and as a kid I had a box too!

  • @ModestNeophyte
    @ModestNeophyte 11 місяців тому

    Thank you for this cozy video. I was able to watch this during a frustrating time and caught myself being thankful for the distraction

  • @mdhindley
    @mdhindley Рік тому +754

    Peeing Calvin has bothered me for decades. I always related to Calvin, and always felt that he wouldn't behave in that was. Calvin was never a mean kid, he wasn't a troublemaker. He was scatterbrained and aloof, but nothing mean. I've always hated that the character has been associated with it. Thanks for making this video.

    • @sceptre1067
      @sceptre1067 Рік тому +33

      agree. this and other Calvin rip off stickers bother me too… both from a the “ripping off the art” p.o.v. and yeah Calvin wasn’t that sort of kid.

    • @keesvdb
      @keesvdb Рік тому +7

      agreed, I dont like it but i feel its better then licenced merch so whenever I see him on anything you can gauntee that its a knock off.

    • @screwyourhandle
      @screwyourhandle Рік тому +26

      I remember being constantly perplexed by these decals when I was a very young kid. I was familiar with the comics and I thought "that looks like Calvin, but it doesn't make sense that he would pee on stuff, so maybe it's not him?"

    • @douglaspantz
      @douglaspantz Рік тому +13

      “he wasn’t a troublemaker” Well, I wouldn’t exactly say Calvin was a harbinger of stability, but yeah, the people that made this definitely made it without respect for the character/watterson

    • @Glitch-Gremlin
      @Glitch-Gremlin Рік тому +8

      Do you cry yourself to sleep over it if you see it while driving? lol

  • @ericwiddison7523
    @ericwiddison7523 Рік тому +289

    Thank you for this. I knew, from the first time I saw these in 1996 (on pickup trucks, with other brands as the targets), that they couldn't possibly be legit and licensed. They've always made me sad, in part because they were such a betrayal of everything that Calvin was and stood for.

    • @Hojeun
      @Hojeun Рік тому +16

      Same here, I always disliked that depiction of Calvin peeing ever since I was young. Because, it just didn't feel like Calvin at all. It's like someone rubbing dirt on your favorite character.

    • @AlannaCoca_
      @AlannaCoca_ Рік тому +15

      Same!!
      I just commented that I think every Calvin and Hobbes fan should print out a bunch of business cards that say: "Only thieves and vandals have made money on Calvin and Hobbes merchandise" ~ Bill Watterson
      and put it under the windshield wiper of every vehicle with the peeing Calvin.

    • @oldfag_adventures
      @oldfag_adventures Рік тому +7

      same thing with american flag punisher stickers

    • @chaoswatcher2215
      @chaoswatcher2215 Рік тому +1

      @@Hojeun bro i read all the comics, it's totally something calvin would do

    • @teelakovacs208
      @teelakovacs208 Рік тому +1

      This was all happening while we also had the ubiquitous 'co-ed naked' sport tshirts assaulting our retinas. 'Mean people suck' stickers were our only pacifist rebuttal! Because, it was the 90's
      Sad to learn how Watterson held fast to his convictions and retained his characters moral compass on his own terms, but couldn't stop the presses on those lame stickers. Great video, loved your box set to explorer too!

  • @wooly_thyme
    @wooly_thyme Рік тому +96

    It also inspired a lot of other artists to make the C&H merchandise they wanted to see without the fear of litigation. I can't tell you how many patterns for Hobbes plushies I've seen from sewing to crochet to knitting, most of them free for others to try for themselves. And in them, some discover a new 'hobbey' or even a livelihood.

  • @protastudios
    @protastudios Рік тому +17

    Holy fuck this video was incredible. I'm from spain and used to read Calvin and Hobbes in the newspaper when I was a kid, but haven't really checked it out more because it was replaced by garfield (sigh). I have the complete works of Quino (the author behind Mafalda) and also have some comic collections from other great comic artists. It always feels so incredible to be able to read someone's life as comic strips, and specially to read that last strip. It always makes me want to cry because of how beautiful they tend to be and what they represent. I can see that I've really missed out on Calvin and Hobbs and can't wait to get my hands on that complete works collection.

  • @HeleneLogan
    @HeleneLogan Рік тому +5

    I just watched a few of your videos, and appreciate your nuanced and entertaining approach. This specific video is wonderful--and I just want to mention that Bill Watterson is an incredible artist, who helped redefine the medium, harkening back to what had been the norm on the comics page for a time: large panels with superb artwork and sweeping storylines. He was the gold standard in illustration technique, along with being a stand up fellow. Thank you for this. Subscribed.

  • @Kholdstare52
    @Kholdstare52 Рік тому +66

    I've known Bill hated those decals since I was a kid reading the comic collections in the 90's. Any real C&H fan knows peeing "Calvin" is not the real Calvin, and whoever has those stickers likely never read the strip.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +19

      it's kinda crazy though - you talk to more casual fans and they really don't know about it. pretty awful!

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Рік тому

      @@PhilEdwardsInc maybe they didn’t grow up where it was common to see them.

  • @saintinnluvsew8813
    @saintinnluvsew8813 Рік тому +145

    I’m 44 and recently became the proud owner of all the Calvin and Hobbes collection books that had come out when I was a child after a very productive trip to a local garage sale. During a particular rainy weekend I sat down with my new treasures, a cup of coffee, a finely spun joint, and got to reading. It made me so happy to not only remember a bunch of the stories but also discover a heap of tales I had never known prior! It was such a fun read as I was having such an amazing time I found myself sad when it was over but had two big take away from the experience. The first being that during the stories I could remember I felt as if I was transported back in time in a time machine because it brought back so many feelings, emotions, and memories from when I was a kid and experiencing these strips for the first time, I felt as if I was right there on my tummy lying in bed with my knees bent so as to not dirty my blanket with my sneakers reading the Sunday Times comic strips, in color, and having a blast!!! The second was that not only was the writing so good and amazing but the artwork was another level of out of this world as I felt as though most of the stories could have been told with minimal speech balloons cluttering up the scenery! I mean the guy was so good at his craft he would draw these, i don’t know what to call them, but they would be a few lines and a squiggle to represent a certain sound effect and they looked so expressive you didn’t need to have an onomatopoeia present to know what he was going for! The guy is that good. All in all my biggest “get” from reading these again would probably still be the same as it was all those years ago and that would be, I still wish I could have a friendship as strong as the one shared by these two, Calvin and Hobbes, they laughed together, cried together, plot together, loved one another and even sometime be mad with each other but at the end of the day when all is said and done they still had each other. I know ones a cartoon character and the others an imaginary tiger, but if I can still believe after all these years that that friendship is real then I guess there’s hope still!!! If ya made it this far so do you! ❤😜😜😜

    • @dand3953
      @dand3953 Рік тому

      Onomatopoeia. New stuff (to me) every day.

    • @saintinnluvsew8813
      @saintinnluvsew8813 Рік тому

      @@dand3953 did I spell it wrong?

    • @dand3953
      @dand3953 Рік тому +1

      @@saintinnluvsew8813 Oh, no, not at all! I looked it up. It just seems so much like a BS word, but totally legit.
      I do wonder however what caused you to be exposed to it? It descriptively seems more like the kind of specialist noun used by a professional for professional purposes.
      I don't come across somebody using such a relatively obscure technical term in such an appropriately precise way.

    • @jnnx
      @jnnx Рік тому +1

      @@dand3953 I learned it in high school. . .

    • @saintinnluvsew8813
      @saintinnluvsew8813 Рік тому

      @@dand3953 it was in a song from when I was a kid, then of course the old school Batman show was loaded with them and I’m also a lifelong comic book. Collector so I’ve always known what it meant.

  • @BlakeWelch-lc1gd
    @BlakeWelch-lc1gd Рік тому +1

    The end was really impactful. Idk why it just gave me a nice sense of proudness. Thank you

  • @christianevangelista
    @christianevangelista Рік тому +2

    Began reading Calvin and Hobbes when I was in 2nd grade. Our teacher had a class library with one of the compilation books. It was probably the most fundamental books of my childhood. It made me realize how fast my childhood was going by at the time and how I should just enjoy the small moments. It changed the way I saw the world. Even with peeing Calvin, my love and perception of the comics never changed.

  • @RoxyLegs
    @RoxyLegs Рік тому +97

    You got me in tears, thank you. I adore Calvin and Hobbs. I remember fighting with my brother weekly to be the first to the pull out comic section from the Sunday paper. I can't bear to get rid of my tattered books because the comics have been lovingly read by my siblings and kids. I never thought the peeing Calvin was ever associated with his creator; to know that Bill Watterson did see this "homage" and knew it would cheapen the entire brand to take on that fight- I adore him even more!!

  • @ChristianBehnke
    @ChristianBehnke Рік тому +248

    Calvin & Hobbes made me laugh and love adventure as a child. Reading it again as an adult (and parent) gave me a different view of their world and our own, and it was no less amazing. ❤

  • @B3ACHYY
    @B3ACHYY Рік тому +3

    My dad grew up with Calvin and Hobbes and got me into it. I had like a whole Calvin and Hobbes phase when I was younger. I’m 13 now and have the collectors books and many of the newspapers that had the comic strips.

  • @jessquinn6106
    @jessquinn6106 8 місяців тому

    I am so glad I saw this. Not only does this video explain a lot but it also helps me understand myself and the route I took with my own art.

  • @christianokami2220
    @christianokami2220 Рік тому +56

    Especially when contrasted against Garfield’s creator, his decision to hold his integrity against such pressure is inspiring and adds another layer of respect.
    Fun fact, I learned to read via my dad reading Calvin & Hobbes to me.

    • @jmodified
      @jmodified Рік тому

      With Garfield, the merch is the whole point - the comic strip is just an advertisement for it.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Рік тому

      @@jmodified that wasn’t how it started. The merchandise and multimedia adaptations came later and eventually overshadowed the comic strip. Part of that is because newspapers themselves are struggling to compete with new technology. If they suddenly discontinued the strip tomorrow, what would replace it? Probably not something that would last as long or make anywhere near as much cultural impact as newspaper comics of the past.

  • @jaredgup6537
    @jaredgup6537 Рік тому +85

    Never knew that you wrote the article on Calvin peeing on things. I'm still calling you the Pentagon man because that's how I discovered the channel.
    But it's rather interesting to see how when I really think about it I've never seen Calvin do such a crass thing despite it being a "Calvin" thing to do. He always occupied that space of being rude, yet so thoughtful in tact and his actions. Watterson truly is a great cartoonist.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +30

      hahah pentagon man might be better than peeing calvin man.

  • @soulogy
    @soulogy Рік тому +4

    I've seen this decal a lot on people's cars before, but never actually peeing on something in particular, just that it was a character peeing…
    I always thought it was dumb, and I also never knew that it was Calvin from the Calvin and Hobbes comic, oddly it didn't strike me as looking anything similar to it.
    This was very interesting and informative, thanks for making this video 🙂👍

  • @Itgetsbetterofficial
    @Itgetsbetterofficial Рік тому +2

    3:15
    I don't think that the comic is showing calvin being "too sweet to throw the balloon"
    Hobbes says "as if life isn't short enough", showing calvin that he's both onto the trick, and implying that going through with it would make calvin's life even shorter than it already is.
    Calvin, upon being discovered, puts on a grumpy face and pockets his hands in the last panel.

  • @shironerisilk
    @shironerisilk Рік тому +49

    As a 2000s kid in Brazil, textbook writers and teachers LOVED using these comics on exercises in school. They were called ''Calvin e Haroldo''. I remember reading some on the paper as well. Mafalda, even though she was Argentinian, was more ubiquitous, but she was way more serious and also more like an omen of the oncoming pains of adulthood. Calvin and Haroldo felt smart but right at home in childhood. I even remember when I started noticing the absurdity it was to have Hobbs/Haroldo, a tiger on two feet, around, even though it felt completely right.
    I even remember seeing the peeing Calvin in the 2000s (now, not anymore) but I never associated it with the true Calvin. I guess because they have nothing to do with each other indeed. This video gave me an even bigger appreciation of this tiny joy from back then, knowing a bit more about its creator.

  • @jasonwebb5964
    @jasonwebb5964 Рік тому +178

    As a kid with ADHD there was very few things I have been able to pay attention to long enough to read. In fact I've probably only read 3 books in my 40 years on this planet. 2 of those books being Calvin and Hobbes collections. It was the only thing that could hold my attention long enough. I read those books over and over again as a kid and was heartbroken when the strip ended. I still have the collections to this day.

    • @joeybaseball7352
      @joeybaseball7352 Рік тому +1

      It's pretty generous to consider a comic book as "reading a book."

    • @jasonwebb5964
      @jasonwebb5964 Рік тому +25

      @@joeybaseball7352 I think you're missing the point. I don't read books because I can't pay attention and retain the information. What would you call a big, thick, bound collection of paper with words and pictures on them?

    • @joeybaseball7352
      @joeybaseball7352 Рік тому +1

      @@jasonwebb5964 there's this thing called reading levels. And comic books are beginner reading level. The cat in the hat is certainly a book, no doubt. And a good book. But it's also a 1st grade reading level. Not really something I would flex about on a resume.

    • @jasonwebb5964
      @jasonwebb5964 Рік тому +25

      @@joeybaseball7352 obviously you're having a little trouble comprehending what I was saying. And I don't care enough to try and explain it again.

    • @paultapping9510
      @paultapping9510 Рік тому +32

      ​​@Joey Baseball Don't gatekeep reading, you plum.
      - a Librarian.

  • @wuz2blu
    @wuz2blu Рік тому +1

    I am imagining Mr. Watterson hugging you with tears in his eyes. Mr. Edwards, you have done his legacy proud.

  • @jeff702
    @jeff702 Рік тому +2

    Seeing peeing Calvin decals on cars played a big role in sparking my interest in reading the comic once I came across it in my school library back in the 4th grade.

  • @chrisblake4198
    @chrisblake4198 Рік тому +73

    I consider myself blessed to be in middle school, high school, and in my first real job at a newspaper after flunking out of college, during the run of Calvin and Hobbes. I didn't see every strip the day it came out, but I saw about 80% of them and it changed my outlook on the world. I got to cherish it, and be there for the end, and see the next day how our paper chose to leave his spot blank to honor it.
    Sure, Watterson could have made a deal and every kid in America would have had or wanted a Hobbes plushie, perfect in every detail. But he didn't, and that meant the entire run of the strip somehow remained fresh and new like untracked snow, yet to be turned into mutant snowmen or used in snowball fights against *gasp* girls. It didn't just stand out from Peanuts and Garfield and every other strip on the page in terms of art or humor, it felt more real.
    But the fact that not every kid got a Hobbes maintained the real lesson I think he wanted them to learn- kids could find their own friend and imagine them and name them and go off on their own adventures, instead of just copying Calvin's. Everyone got their own patch of new snow.

    • @PhilEdwardsInc
      @PhilEdwardsInc  Рік тому +14

      well said

    • @ellenmarch3095
      @ellenmarch3095 Рік тому +9

      This. Poetic. ❤️

    • @chesschicken1698
      @chesschicken1698 Рік тому

      wow I never thought of it that way, I like what you mean by not copying Calvin's imagination. Watterson has a great quote: "leave the party early" and that means to me that he said what he wanted to say and he wasn't trying to milk it until it was dry. When you read the strip and you haven't been bombarded with merchandise, you are seeing it with less noise.

  • @snidelywhiplash
    @snidelywhiplash Рік тому +60

    I never expected to be in tears by the end of a video about Peeing Calvin, but here I am.

  • @alesh5752
    @alesh5752 Рік тому +6

    I grew up in Mexico and my dad’s sister that i never met (R.I.P) had some of Calvin and Hobbes strips in her room and i used to read them a lot, I became a fan of them but the interesting part is that peeing Calvin also appeared in Mexico but because it wasn’t that famous people “transformed” it, now you can find it with horns and bald and completely red as skin (like a devil) with the names like “el diablillo” (lil devil) or “el malcriado” (non-parented?) i always found it funny cause i knew who he was

    • @kennnnny
      @kennnnny Рік тому +1

      “El Malcriado” is better translated to “the naughty boy”. ‘Criado’ literally means ‘raised’, so ‘malcriado’ is ‘poorly raised’, indicating constant bad behavior from the kid in question (and also bad parenting, which is ironic)
      I hope you still have that collection lying around somewhere, it’s a good way to remember her even if you dont have any memories of her. :)

  • @Sombistur
    @Sombistur Рік тому

    This was a nostalgic treat, thank you. Subscribed

  • @MerrimanDevonshire
    @MerrimanDevonshire Рік тому +62

    What Bill brought to Calvin & Hobbies through his actions is a level of reputation/integrity/mystique that more than a few prominent cartoonists, or their estates, would kill for. ❤

  • @peterk7931
    @peterk7931 Рік тому +16

    I shouldn't have been surprised that a video about a crude, pirated bumper sticker became a meditation on integrity and purity of art.

  • @epoch-smog
    @epoch-smog Рік тому

    I found this video is passing and I've always wondered little things like this. I don't know where I stand generationally but do know I grew up in a weird bubble so I never knew of these things first hand. Thank you sincerely for a video like this where it's itched a curiosity that no one has seemed to been able to answer to me before

  • @asmrtpop2676
    @asmrtpop2676 11 місяців тому

    Read your article forever ago so I’m glad the algorithm found this video’s way to me! Really amazingly done. I got a little lost at the very end though.

  • @AnalogDave
    @AnalogDave Рік тому +112

    When I was a child, I really loved these books. Also I remember seeing the Transmog-rifier so that brought back great memories. You gotta love Bill Watterson not commercializing his art. Its so rare to see that. It reminds me the opposite of that. The widow of the "gone in 60 seconds" movie creator would sue anyone and anything that named anything "Eleanor". One automotive youtuber lost his car and all the videos associated with it because he put Eleanor in the video title. Recently Caroll Shelby's trust sued her and won so that people can name a car Eleanor and not worry of a lawsuit.

    • @HANKTHEDANKEST
      @HANKTHEDANKEST Рік тому +13

      Even in the afterlife, Carroll Shelby is a total gigachad.

  • @nirellediamond
    @nirellediamond Рік тому +43

    I'm one of those die hard fans that you're talking about. I have that MASSIVELY heavy complete collection and no matter how much it weighs, I have moved it with me year after year and it has survived many belonging purges because it brings me so much joy.
    And I still have every single one that I bought as a kid at the Scholastic Book Fairs, though they definitely look their age haha.
    Thank you for this, from the bottom of my tiger-loving heart 💜

  • @claudiahurtado4253
    @claudiahurtado4253 Рік тому

    This video ended up so inspirational I shed a few tears, I've always been curious of the comic strips. But this vid completely won me over on Calvin and Hobbs.

  • @hullinstruments
    @hullinstruments Рік тому

    Thank you so much for leaving the last 20 seconds or so if the video blank.
    A lot of very impactful and profound messages always have a call-to-action or advertisement at the end.
    Although I I'm sure you could have gained subscribers and attention by having one... I'm really glad you didn't put a call to action after that great and thoughtful wrap up

  • @desmond1751
    @desmond1751 Рік тому +19

    I can’t believe a video with the words “peeing Calvin” in the title got me so emotional at the end
    Any video that can do that is undoubtedly a work of art

  • @sdeeter
    @sdeeter Рік тому +63

    This is one of the most amazing, heartfelt videos I’ve ever watched. My young life and early 20’s were absolutely shaped by Schulz and Watterson. Those characters helped to define me. From reading second hand Peanuts paperbacks by dim closet light in 1971 to the Essential Calvin and Hobbes of the early 90’s, their Pureness of message and sheer comic joy have made a rapidly aging man very happy through the years.

  • @joestrike8537
    @joestrike8537 Рік тому +1

    I was half expecting Phil to come out of that cardboard box in a tiger suit...Interesting bit of C&H trivia: to the best of my knowledge that transmogrifier story arc was the ONLY time the strip's continuity continued from the daily strips onto the Sunday page, which were usually self-contained stories unrelated to the daily continuity.

  • @gregoryagogo
    @gregoryagogo Рік тому +1

    In the Army from 1987-1989, I had the pleasure of reading Calvin & Hobbes every day in the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Was a highlight of every day! I was a big fan and bought some of the book compilations as well...

  • @ss0luu
    @ss0luu Рік тому +15

    I remember an article someone wrote where they interviewed Bill Watterson. They asked him why he quit when C&H was arguably in its prime. I forgot the exact words but he responded with something like "It's better to leave early while still liked than stay around long enough to be hated." The man is right. That peeing Calvin is around makes me wonder if he may've stayed a smidge too long. Frankly, I loved this work, and I still read C&H comics when life brings me down. Such a pure-hearted kid.
    Mr. Watterson is the one hero I'd love to meet in real life some day and just tell him thanks for the comics and the perspectives. As a kid who never had any real friends growing up and every day was a different kind of bad day, having C&H around really made my childhood easier to cope with.

  • @noireisbest6786
    @noireisbest6786 Рік тому +31

    What I kinda like is how Watterson avoided the trap of controlling what other artists do. History has too many artists who not just "sell out" by making a ton of money but actively working towards crushing expression that made them well off in the first place by doing things like lobbying for stricter copyright or destroying free fan works. "Buying in" totally means, at least in my opinion, way more than just making some cash off your work.
    Of course, the whole peeing Calvin thing is really weird and tasteless.

    • @NitwitsWorld
      @NitwitsWorld Рік тому

      Too be fair? I haven't seen nick copyright NSFW art of Garfield so we haven't hit that dark future yet

    • @Cnichal
      @Cnichal Рік тому

      @@NitwitsWorld … There is Garfield porn, icydk

    • @NitwitsWorld
      @NitwitsWorld Рік тому

      @@Cnichal yup oof

  • @justicebinder6544
    @justicebinder6544 Рік тому +2

    I was born in 97, after Calvin and Hobbes ended, but my dad had lots of the books and I’d read those all the time as a kid. Very much a classic of my childhood

  • @cjsdizzy
    @cjsdizzy Рік тому

    this was beautiful. thanks for making it

  • @JustWhyFFS
    @JustWhyFFS Рік тому +14

    I forgot as a kid, I owned the giant paperback omnibus of all the strips.... I used to think "peeing Calvin" was funny. Gave me a giggle seeing it. After watching this though I remembered, as the creator said, that's not how Calvin would have acted. Mid-way between Charlie Brown and Bart Simpson was a perfect description. An imaginary kid with a heart of gold, that got up to a little mischief.... "Peeing Calvin" kinda pisses me off now (pun intended)

    • @clonegeek3317
      @clonegeek3317 Рік тому

      Looking for the peeing Calvin decal would be a fun road trip game

  • @bolognacow
    @bolognacow Рік тому +28

    Calvin and Hobbes touched my heart when I was a young and dumb teen. That heart was a tough place to get to at the time.

  • @bamboolaceway
    @bamboolaceway Рік тому +3

    I loved this and it reminds me a bit of Dr. Seuss. I heard years ago that while Dr. Seuss was alive, he refused to license any of his characters because he didn't want any children to end up having classmates who had Cat in the Hat, while they couldn't afford one, etc. Very classy of the man.

    • @Attmay
      @Attmay Рік тому

      The executors of his estate are the exact opposite.

    • @bamboolaceway
      @bamboolaceway Рік тому

      @@Attmay I know. It's so sad. Anything for a buck, right?

  • @adityamendiratta3664
    @adityamendiratta3664 4 місяці тому

    Fantastic video; this channel is so underrated!