Ok, so this video blew up way beyond what I thought it would, and I really appreciate all the wonderful comments! You’ll notice that I’m liking nearly every comment I see, and that’s just a sign that I’ve read and appreciated it :) However, as the video continues to grow, it might get harder to keep up with hearting every comment, so if I haven’t, it’s not personal, it’s just that the amount of comments has grown past my usual amount :)
I never saw the strips with Rosalynn playing Calvin ball with him! =D That's SO GREAT! Not to mention a resolution between the two, but I feel that ALSO shows a side of a more adult character ACTUALLY acknowledging Calvin's intelligence even if its in such a weird , Avant Garde way Edit; Just bravo man...almost tearing up seeing that last panel. so much of my childhood was calvin and hobbes as well...and i believe its why i am the person i am somewhat too. unafraid to be me. cynical, sadly realizing the truth of the world, yet sometimes naively wanting to HOPE in the good of man
Following up on Calvin's parents and that raccoon story, there's another one that left a big impact on me as a kid. There's a storyline where their house gets broken into and robbed while they were out of town, and one strip was just the mom for all four panels talking to herself about how scared and vulnerable she feels. It ends with her contemplating that Calvin is lucky to have Hobbes to help him feel safe and secure.
Oh my god I love that one!! That’s kind of what I was talking about in the end where I mentioned how I didn’t even cover everything amazing about it even though I talked for 27 straight minutes haha
I also love Calivin's dad's take on it, and the comic showed both parents discussing their fears and insecurities about the situation openly. The parents had excellent communication in the comics. My favorite statement was when Calvin's Dad said, "When I was Calvin's age, I assumed adults would always know what to do in a situation like this, but it never occurred to me they might not know how." It hits harder when you become an adult.
My personal favorite line in that strip is "I don't know if I'd have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I'd known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed." That one line describes the feeling of growing up perfectly. You think you'll know everything when you grow up, only to realize that you just have to take a leap and hope for the best.
"Mom says nobody would steal Hobbes because he's not valuable. But he's valuable to me" I haven't read my C&H collection in a decade and I can still quote panels like that.
Honestly, I think my favorite character in the C&H comics has to be Calvin's Dad. Hobbes might be a good compliment to Calvin's imagination, but his Dad is the perfect foil in every way possible. He always responds to Calvin's outlandish remarks with the perfect witty comeback, essentially poking holes in Calvin's childlike wonder and showing him how little he really understands the outside world. Going off what Bill Watterson said, if Calvin is meant to be a representation of his struggles and complaints, then Calvin's Dad is meant to be his own personal response to those struggles (not to mention that his dad is designed to look like Bill.) Certainly when I was a kid, I found Calvin super relatable, but as an adult, I relate even more heavily to his Dad. That being said, the comic also had a huge impact on my life as well. Whenever I try to draw goofy or exaggerated expressions, I always think back to how expressive the characters were. Such striking poses and excelling compositions that told you everything without saying a word. I'm glad that there will never be a Calvin and Hobbes TV show, but it would have had some serious standards to look up to. But more importantly than its artistic influence, its philosophy about human nature and the absurdity of the universe is something I always hold dear. Since no one else has named it, I hereby nominate the name "Wattersonian" philosophy. Some of my favorite lines are: "Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." "That's one of the remarkable things about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse." "Life could be worse, Calvin." "Life could be a lot better, too!"
I’ve actually never thought about Calvin’s dad that way before. He and Calvin’s mom have always been really interesting to me, but I haven’t thought of the dad in such a way that he’s a self-insert for Watterson himself. Similarly to many other characters in the strip, I feel that Calvin’s Dad is an amalgamation of many personas from Watterson’ life that he uses to explore various subjects in whatever way he seems to wish, since Calvin’s dad often gives Calvin false info for the sake of a laugh.
I loved his dad's explanations for Calvin's questions. "Wow, that's not what Mom said at ALL! She must be totally off her rocker!" "Well, we men are better at abstract thought than women, go tell her that."
Calvin and Hobbes is the the reason I looked forward to the Sunday paper. I still remember when I found out the strip was being discontinued. I was sad to see it leave but now know it’s what made it timeless. Calvin and Hobbes left us wanting more, and will be remembered as one of the best written and illustrated comics of all time
As a kid you relate to Calvin. Like Calvin, we were egotistical as kids. As an adult, you relate to Hobbes since he’s more than just a stuffed animal, he’s like a voice of reason to Calvin. This truly is a masterpiece of a comic strip!
I read _Calvin & Hobbes_ in it's original run and half-thought that Watterson had cameras in my house and was just translating my shitty life experiences as an undiagnosed autistic kid into hilarious comic strip form. C&H is so accurate to what my actual childhood was like (my parents looked EXACTLY like Calvin's) that the only things that *DIDN'T* match are 1) hills for my red wagon (yes I had one but never used it) to roll down 2) Calvin's vocabulary being much better than mine @ 6yo, and 3) not having enough snow to make sculptures. Otherwise, I can go through each strip and find an analog for a real-life incident (or 2 or 3 or more) that happened to me. The series is basically my unofficial biography.
As a kid who grew up on Calvin and Hobbes seeing a creator break down the true greatness of the comic is such a treat. I hope both the video and the comic strip get the love it deserves!
It is definitely the greatest comic of all time. I fell in love with it immediately back in 1985 when it first came out. I was 14 at the time. Less than 4 years later, in 1989, I went in the Army. My mom would cut the strip out every single day and send them to me in batches every few weeks. This included when I was in basic training, as well as 1990-1991 when I was in Saudi Arabia and Iraq for the Gulf War. My buddy in the Army and I made a pact to get them tattooed on us, and we did. He got Spaceman Spiff, I got Calvin & Hobbes. But I'm working on expanding mine into much, much more.
I know you commented about this dislike for the algorithm, but without it, I would have never seen this masterpiece. I love the fact that you make sure to never villainize a comic or art creator, because you knew that even though some may be producing a 'consistent thing' it doesn't mean that they are doing their job worthlessly, or that they are a miserable person who shouldn't even make more comics. I love how this video, along with the calvin and hobbes, teaches that there is always deeper emotions, always deeper meanings, that everybody deserves a redemption. I actually had a tear in my eye at the end. This was amazing.
These comics literally made my childhood. I remember my parents told me that my older brother would read our Calvin and Hobbes books and laugh at the silly images before he could read, and I bet if I asked them they would tell me that I did too. Thanks for taking me back to that time even if it was just for half an hour.
I have the comprehensive box set of Calvin & Hobbes. Every few years I have an irresistible urge to re-read it, and it never disappoints. Huh, looks like it’s about time for another read.
What a fantastic deconstruction of the series! I love how you touched on how anti-profit Calvin and Hobbes is by nature, not just cause of Watterson’s intentions
I feel like it's fine to profit off of a story or something you made, and C&H set a standard. You can market and profit so much the original work feels oversaturated and soulless (As Garfield feels to be nowadays) while Calvin and Hobbes didn't make any money from products other than the collections themselves. I think the balance is somewhere in the middle, but it's interesting to see how C&H is willing to stand against what was and still is sadly all too common where the ones making the work don't realize the effect excess commercialization has on their art.
Loved the video. What Waterson could do with a just few brush strokes has never been matched. The coolest, most futuristic comic art ever, combined with the best comic writing ever. His ability to understand people, culture, ethics, art, and history and project it through the eyes of a psychedelically creative child mind, while layering multiple narratives for readers of all stages of human development, makes me think how amazing it would be to discuss art with him. I wish he did more interviews and wasn't so secretive, but maybe he already said everything he wanted to say. I remember enjoying Garfield as a child. I think Garfield was (perhaps accidently) profound in some ways. One thing I've learned over the years is that no matter how commercially motivated something is, no matter how vapid or pandering it is, nothing gets globally popular without something profoundly meaningful hidden between the cracks. This has to be true, because if it were not, corporations would be able to create successful global brands on demand. But instead, it's always been the illusive realm of random chance and rare magicians. Jim Davis may have sold out, but I don't think he pretended to be something he was not (although I never dug into his philosophy at all, so I could be wrong). I briefly had a popular comic and I remember refusing to monetize it, because Bill Waterson never did, and I saw that as the ultimate artistic purity. But as I was staving to death, watching millions of views coming in every day, I remember Randall from XKCD responding to one of my journal posts, saying that he always greatly admired Waterson, but he thought selling merchandise did not actually go against Waterson's philosophy. He said his refusal to sell merch was more about not cheapening the magic of Hobbes' reality and not about not making large sums of money from art. At the time I thought he was justifying shameless profit and I was convinced if I stuck to my values that everything would come together magically somehow. Looking back, it's plain to see I was stuck in a transition point between the old way and the new way of art. The old way required institutional approval and book deals. Being in newspapers was the dream. The new way is individual based communities. The so-called "creator economy". Money is no longer seen as corrupting, but as compressed appreciation which can be used to expand your artistic vision and make the world suck less. Randall was actually a visionary and one of the first to catch on to this. Integrity is about protecting your values, not about copying the values of great artists. How else could progress be made? One thing I got wrong (among many), a thing that most cynical artists get wrong, is the idea that financial success comes from selling out. I am now thinking the true source of financial success is giving away something amazing. Once you've earned the appreciation of others, you can choose to sell things for money, or not. The problem is, historically, there's always been the slimiest people who attach themselves to successful artists, because artists are usually horrible business people. The endless juxtapositions of popular art and exploitive business people has formed a connection in our minds that doesn't need to be there. However, the new and growing ability for artists to more easily sell things themselves has been eroding away at that perception. I think a lot of artists spend too much time (including myself, in the past) resenting successful artists, and never enough time going deep, really deep, diving into the depths of their vision and spending unreasonable absurd amounts of time thinking about their art, to bring something truly original and amazing into the world. We see someone hit it big with something we feel we could easily do ourselves, and think why them and not me? We focus on their lucky breaks and assume that's all that success is. I think the real reason there's so many examples of people getting lucky and so few examples of great art is, there's just so few people even trying to create great art. Also, many times there is a lot of hard work happening in secret, that we don't see, that amplifies luck. I think there's a subtle subconscious global despair permeating the art world right now, because on some level we know that if AI doesn't destroy civilization, we will soon have tools that will make the grunt-work so easy, that any massive efforts spent on grunt-work now, will seem like an absurd waste of time looking back. We can see hints of this with AI image generation and the way it makes visual artists feel. If civilization survives, we are about to enter an unparalleled explosion of art, bad art and amazing art. I could go on, but I've rambled too much and doubt anyone will make it this far. These topics have been heavily on my mind and this video trigged a mini-thought dump, and I'm curious what you think, if anyone reads this. I don't know any creators in my personal life, so I never get to hear feedback on opinions like these.
Firstly, I’m glad to see that this video inspired your profound commentary! I think that every point you make is right on the spot, and I do think it’s a rather simple take to try and apply bill watterson’s philosophy to modern, online art forms. That’s why I emphasize the word “try” when I explain that I want to try to be like him. You can’t make money these days without monetizing your videos, and as much as I respect Dunkey and Joel Haver and all those other UA-camrs I mentioned, they’ve all done sponsorships and merch drops and whatnot, simply because it’s necessary to survive, and because the way they’ve done their sponsored content has been consistent with their brand. Haver specifically talks about not wanting to use the auto-generated script companies give you and believes that artists should be given more agency over how they present their sponsorship, which is what he did when he was sponsored by Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3. Either way, I had a fear when posting this video that people would find my take, and by extension watterson’s philosophy, to be fairly privileged and naive, due to the necessity of artists to survive in the capitalist world of the internet, but I feel as if that’s not what people have taken out of it. I appreciate deeply what you have to say because you’re one of the first people to touch on the nuances of that point and it’s refreshing to engage with someone about it.
@@ultimateeick2910 Thanks! I agree that the more control the creator has over the ad, the better it will be. Smart businesses are catching on to this. I also think creators will get more creative about ways to join forces with quality "brands" they vibe with. I also think the perception of money itself will continue to change as more things get open sourced and less corruption is able to leach off producers. Without some form of money, we're back to barter, which makes most trades impossible. The problem with money is, whoever prints it and moves it, is guaranteed to become corrupt. But making money by giving value is not just acceptable, it's absolutely a noble thing. If someone voluntarily gives you money, you must have given them something even more valuable. Just like, if someone voluntarily gives you their time, by watching your video for example, it must have been the most valuable thing for them to do, at that time. And time is quite valuable. Rock on.
Very well done! I was an adult when Calvin and Hobbes began. I grew up on Pogo. Bloom County came later, and then Calvin and Hobbes. The two I remember most fondly are the first and the last.
I tried to read _Bloom County_ back in the day but it never made sense to me. Same with _Doonesbury._ I just didn't have the frame of reference for it.
OMG, Pogo. Wonderfully wise and literate. And funny. Very different from Calvin, but very similar in the fact that the commentary on the absurdities of our society was delivered by characters that were themselves absurd, so that the commentary was itself colored by their quirks and personalities. I'd have to go back and re-read some of the Pogo content, to more deeply examine the sense that there was a lot of commonality between the two strips. Hadn't thought of Pogo in a while...
In my teen and college years, this comic strip was something to really look forward to each day in the newspaper. I had grown up enjoying Schulz's charming "Peanuts" and a couple of other strips that were better than most, but C&H came along and was something impressive and marvelous, often extremely hilarious or sometimes profound and touching. I wish I had a copy of the rare legit wall calendar featuring our mischievous boy and his toy tiger pal. Once Watterson chose not to market the characters, all we had were the books (and also the three treasury collections of them). I completely understand his reasoning behind such a big and controversial decision. Controlling one's original characters is something priceless, I imagine.
When I was a kid, I loved this strip. In fact, I still do now. One that always sticks out in my head is where his mom catches him hammering nails into the table, and she asks him “What on earth do you think you’re doing?” And he responds “Is this some sort of trick question or what?”. I also remember one where he yells “Surely you concede I deserve it!” but to find out the context of that one, I’d have to get out The Complete Calvin And Hobbes, and look through all 4 books, which as a young adult who doesn’t leave his couch too often, I don’t have the energy to do that. But great video! Edit: Just got to 3:16, yeah, found the strip. Still very funny.
As someone who got the complete box set, I can confirm that Calvin and Hobbes is pure art. Going back to the comparison between Davis and Watterson, a similar case could be made about Illumination Entertainment and other studios that have artistic integrity, at least, before now, in Financial Success vs. Artistic Integrity.
This strip was awesome to me when I was younger. My granddaddy used to read it to me and we’d have a lot of fun voice acting the characters. I realize how much more there is to this strip now, and it makes me love it even more.
Calvin and Hobbes still manages to be so relevant with its social commentary and critiques of the artistic world. It was a surprise going back and rereading the strip last year and realizing how much ofnit is still relevant. Either Waterson has created something timeless or people really haven't changed since the 80s.
I read Calvin and Hobbes as a kid and now that I’m rereading it I see where a lot of my worldviews come from. I’m glad I had the chance to make it a huge part of my childhood in the early 21st century fr. I coulda been just another kid raised on propagandized children’s TV
Calvin and Hobbes is one of those great written masterpieces that will always be successful, simply because those of us who grew up with it will show it to our kids and them to their kids. Garfield may still be "going strong", but it could never hope to capture my hype the way that Bill Watterson collaborating on Pearls Before Swine did.
I can tell That you’re a fellow “I learned how to read from Calvin and Hobbes” chad. There’s just the way we all speak that gives it away. Great video.
I've never read a single strip of Peanuts. Of course, I know the characters, I've seen the movies, and at one point I would have told you who my favorite character was (Woodstock). The only Garfield strips I've ever read were ones shown to me by friends to say "Look at how unimaginative this all is!" I've never seen a single piece of Calvin and Hobbes merchandise. Not a poster, not an article of clothing, not even a TV show or an animation because none of those exist. But it's the comic I know best. The comic that I keep re-reading without ever having to be reminded of its existence by some piece of cloth or sticky paper. Because it doesn't NEED any of that. It stands alone as one of the greatest comics and remains in the collective consciousness all without having a single piece of official merchandise. That's why it'll always be the best.
The sweetest strip I have ever read is when Calvin asks his father to come outside to play, the father points at all the papers in front of him so Calvin goes out into the snowy garden alone. The father pauses and goes out to join him in a joyous greet. They spend the day bomnding together and it ends with the father kissing Calvin on the head as Clavin is going off to bed and the father can get back to his paperwork. I cannnot imagine any other comic strip bringing such pathos into parenthood.
This was/is an absolutly amazing video. I cant think of many things from my youth that inspire such nostalgia and feelings. Funny thing, Im actually pretty sure its that dreaded algorythem that actually brought you and your work to my attention. Ive recently been searching C&H for tatoo ideas and here you are poping up on my youtube. Thanks so much for this obviously heartfelt and brilliantly thoughtful look back :)
My jaw dropped when I saw the lack of subs to this channel And the crazy low views is just baffling. Best of luck you definitely deserve a lot more attention
Most comic strips were as enduring as a cheese doodle. A quick gag and done. Calvin & Hobbes was so different. It was something to be slowly chewed upon and savored. It was artisan craftwork in a world geared towards mass-production.
Calvin & Hobbes is the greatest comic strip every published. I love your presentation, and especially want to complement you on the selection of quality music to backdrop your narration. Excellently done!
This was an excellent deep dive into the world of Calvin and Hobbes. Thank you Ultimateeick for creating a well thought of and produced video and for taking me down memory lane. I’m ashamed to say that it’s been far too long since I’ve cracked open one of my collections to visit with Calvin and Hobbes. I was a teenager when this strip hit the stands and it would be the first thing I would read whenever I picked up a newspaper. And when the collections came out, I bought as many as I could afford. Calvin’s never-ending imagination lures you in the moment you read the first panel. Bill Watterson, two things; 1) If you’ve seen this video, please reach out to this creator with some appreciation and if you have already, Thank you. 2) I understand the reasoning as to why you didn’t license your work but, it would’ve been nice to hold something tangible in my hands, aside from the books, to reflect on how visionary a world of Calvin and Hobbes you created and for that I’m forever grateful.
First time I'm seeing anything of yours, and I share most of everything you had to say. You also present a snapshot of an influential piece of pop culture as a GRADUATE LEVEL PRESENTATION and I am deeply impressed. Screw the algorithm and create the work you care about. This is excellent.
Calvin and Hobbes is absolutely timeless. It was funny and thoughtful in the 80's, it's funny and thoughtful now, it will be funny and thoughtful a hundred years from now. That's an achievement that cannot be measured in money, only in the influence it's still bringing to bear. ^_^ Great video, sir, very well done, indeed! Keep up the good work! ^_^
I discovered Calvin and Hobbes back in 1986. I bought the first book. I read it to my five kids, four of whom were young boys. I threw out the TV when their father departed for greener pastures, and my children entertained themselves making forts in the woods, staging battles with aliens beings, building a real raft to explore the deep pond at the end of our street. They collected polliwogs in my stereo cover, polished rocks in a tumbler, hiked with mom along the trails collecting thimble berries, or blackberry picking. Examining the local tide pools in Summer, visiting the local aquatic hands on museum in the community, jumping off of the pier into bone chilling water, and sledding down the town's deserted streets after dark were terrific fun. The highlight of their week was the Friday afternoon visit to the local library. Always one or two of the books checked out were new Calvin and Hobbs editions. Their grandma delighted in the comic books as much as I did and my kids. When I brought home an orange and white kitten, my number two son named him Hobbs. We never took to Garfield or other not clever comic characters. The only other comedic genius for us was Gary Larson with his Far Side books. My sons introduced Calvin and Hobbs to their own kids. I still own three of the books and find them as relevant today as I did 40 tears ago. Timeless themes, humor, philosophic questions, and authenticity has given them a place in our family history. Bill Waterson has earned my deep respect for his artistic integrity. My boys exemplified Calvins personality in many ways. I always comparing their quirky imaginative escapades to Watersons creation. Someday I may write a book about raising four highly imaginative creative sons. My daughter is also an independent thinker,marching to her own drum. I'd like to think Bill Waterson' body of work contributed to that. ( besides ousting the TV from the home, and a love of reading.) Thank you Mr. Waterson for providing fodder for young, curious minds to learn to think, as well as my own delight in your perspectives and sly humor. The absurdities of life can only be met with wry wit.
I always thought of Calvin as having the personality of a cat trapped in a human existence and Hobbes vice versa. They are in many ways a mirror image of each other; same but opposite.
Have you seen the fan documentary "Dear, Mr. Watterson"? It's such a delight. This most-recent weekend, my boyfriend visited me. After we watched the episode 'Copycat' of Bluey, I told him it reminded me of a similar Calvin & Hobbes story. I got out my gigantic, entire collection books after looking up which date the comic was printed & read it to him. My most-favorite line of Calvin's from this entire series is "What a stupid world." I created my UA-cam channel in 2006, the 2nd year of its existence. I have seen everything in that time. To watch things increasingly get worse really hurts, especially because I can't do anything about it. I feel the first thing to happen that started these disasters we're currently tolerating was when Google purchased UA-cam. It's not right, dudes. This is UA-cam, not CoperateTube. Where children's cartoon reviews are removed while actual crimes against humanity are left untouched. Just horrid, horrid films that shouldn't exist. It's disgusting & heartbreaking.
I don’t know how this video can have 63,000 views yet your channel only 1400 subscribers. Your beautiful essay has earned my subscription. I am thankful for the glitch in the algorithm that delivered this video to me. I look forward to similar well thought out and well-built videos like this one in the future. Thank you!
I remember reading Calvin and Hobbes for the first time when I was little. I picked up a little book off the floor in my grandparents’ room which was I want to say the There’s Treasure Everywhere compilation of comics. I read it through and loved it. My grandpa then told me there were more and gave me the first big volume of the three he has up in his closet. And I loved them. I never thought Hobbes was a stuffed animal. I thought Calvin was just a special kid who could see this magic tiger even though his parents couldn’t. Now I’m almost 21 and I look back on those comics and will always reread them as often as possible.
My dad collected the books but had gotten rid of them before I was around except for the Lazy Sundays book. Me and my siblings found it as a kid and stated reading it. We loved them. We’d buy each other the other volumes for birthdays and Christmas, and we completely restored the collection. So many great family memories in those awesome comics!
100% agreed. I found this comic by accident when I was 14 years old, during the strip's first year. Nobody told me it was good. I saw it, and I eagerly looked for newspapers and thumbed until I found Calvin & Hobbes. I was always bummed out if it wasn't there. Huge influence on me.
Thanks for this terrific video essay about the triumph of a true artist, showcasing his great heart and moral fortitude. It took me ages to get through this because I had to stop and read every panel. Reading C&H with my son every night was a huge highlight for both of us (later came The Hobbit and LOTR). We were in fits of laughter on many nights ("this is you - aggle, aggle, aggle").
When Calvin and Hobbes came along, I was a full blown adult. And I loved it from the get go. My favorite strips were the snowman sculptures. My two favorites then and now are C&H, and Bloom County (and it's spinoffs). And I gotta admit, that last strip mad em shed a tear, because it hurt. It was like losing a best friend.
It made me sad when Waterman stopped. I always read Calvin and Hobbs always a highlight of the day. It is a shame that it couldn't go on but I do understand. I did purchase the Hardback Collection that I keep on my desk. I hope to share these with my Grandchildren when they get a little older. Thank you for your hard work as those of us that knew Calvin all would I think agree with you that will always be the greatest. I salute you Bill Waterson may you some day show the world what you have been doing all these years peace be with you.
Calvin and Hobbes is one of my favorite comics ever. Tied with Homestuck, probably, but for different reasons. Calvin and Hobbes hit me at an influential point of my life, just like Homestuck did, and what really hits me about C&H is the absurd nature of it. It's full of silliness and craziness, imagination and the mundane, and to a degree it's just representative of Life. I always wanted to be like Calvin when I was a kid. Big-mouthed, witty, always in the right (at least in his own head), and with a best friend to occasionally keep him in check. Someone who speaks their mind but always knows in the corner of their mind that, hey, it's not THAT serious.
Oh, I miss Calvin and Hobbes. Beginning at age three, my oldest son became obsessed with this, and we had to replace his worn out books a few times. We also got him a stuffed tiger which was Hobbes to him and which his brother kept burying out in the woods. We replaced Hobbes a couples times, too.
Thank you for making this video. This was my favourite comic when i was a child and it never moved from that spot. As i've grown up, the distance to all other comics has grown and grown. There is nothing like Calvin & Hobbes. As i live in sweden there is many strips that never made it over here but hopefully one day i can read all collections at least.
As a kid I loved finding Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield books at this local used books fair every year and i really loved both of them but there was something a bit more magical about finding a Calvin and Hobbes book. After grabbing up all the initial stock I wouldn’t get them all too often while every year I could find probably a half dozen Garfield books but there always felt like there was more meat to a Calvin and Hobbes compilation with a creative name and cover art than a numbered basic Garfield volume. At some point I think I gave away my Garfield books but I held on to the Calvin and Hobbes collections and as an adult I can now see why. I really appreciated this video that really gave context and depth to how I felt as a kid and how I still feel today
Calvin and Hobbes also taught me how to read. When I didn't understand a word I'd ask my mom, and she'd hand me a dictionary. If I had more questions she helped and explained the context I'd missed. I have a plethora of old books that keep me entertained when I'm in the mood, and I hope my nephews enjoy the box set I bought for them
I'm not sure how I wasa brought to this video, but over the course of it, I happened to come to the same conclusions on the comic's impact on me. Thanks... for reminding me.
Up in my room I have a calvin and hobbes book. I revisit every once in a while. no matter how i felt, good or bad or great or terrible, I can't remember a time whre it didn't make me smile. Thankyou for helping me realize this =]
I miss this comic so much it almost hurts, and I've felt that way ever since the day he announced he was retiring the strip. A small part of me has wished he had kept it going, but the majority understands that all good things must come to an end, before they become a parody of themselves and are just going through the motions creatively. I've learned as I've gotten older that it's best to just enjoy the things you enjoy, and when they're no longer around, find something else. Trying to constantly resurrect these things is to ultimately just pervert everything that made them enjoyable in the first place. They'll always pale in comparison, and never scratch that itch again. Just cherish the memories, maybe revisit them if you're able, but ultimately move on to other things.
I basically learned english (not textbook sentences) as a second language by reading C&H and remember how often I struggled to realy grasp the philosophical discussions and even some of the simple punchlines. Today, I am reading it to my son, fully aware that he will revisit the strips, comprehend more and more every time and it will continue to edicate and entertain him on so many levels. A true masterpiece by a very deliberate creator. Thanks for this video. Liked, subscribed and shared
when i was a kid my parents wondered if there were cameras in our house, because i did many of the shenanigans of calvin before even reading the comic, i really feel strongly about calvin and hobbes and vagabond, i think that their message is similar i really do love them deeply
This is easily one of the best videos i watched this whole year, i only remembered of Calcin and Hobbes as a fun comic series that i got to read in school, but you really opened my mind and made me reflect about many things, i am trying to become an artist myself, so someone like Bill Watterson is fascinating to me, and i will definely look up to him as i try to give colors to my own white space. You didn't got a new subscriber, you EARNED a new subscriber.
9:30-9:37 You bringing this up just made me realize something. Calvin and Hobbes helped me when it talked about subjects I could never comprehend as a kid and helped me learn to just keep reading as a kid and piece together what it meant as they talked about a subject that I didn’t know about more and more. Today whenever I have heard of something but don’t remember it much and someone brings it up in conversation, I tell the person to continue as if I understood and by the end of the conversation I either remember it or have a basic understanding of what it is and can offer my opinion based on what information I just obtained.
Dude! Great music! Calvin and Hobbes managed to remain fresh and original throughout the series and that was Waterson's genius. Calvin was a bit of all of us; childhood is not for the weak!
I love how well Calvin and Hobbes holds together as I’ve grown up. We had every anthology when I was a kid and I read them over and over. I read the strip in a new light now because I’m a mom raising my own little boy. My husband and I joke about there’s an appropriate C&H strip for most of the ridiculous things are kid gets up to. Honestly, it’s a little mind blowing to me that Watterson was able to capture the parents so well without being one himself. The strip really is an absolute masterpiece.
Fantastic video Like yourself I was raised on Calvin and Hobbes, its been a fixture in my life ever since i could remember and shaped me into the person I am today. C&H transcends the medium of comic strip- its art. God bless Bill Watterson.
Thank you for this video! Calvin & Hobbes was a must-read for me every day for its entire run! I love the way you explained everything i loved about this strip. It was insightful, and really brought me back to everything i enjoyed about reading it every day. You go, Bill Watterson!! Thank you, so much!
I’ve always loved Calvin and Hobbes. My mom and dad liked them too, we even named our current cat(s) after them (lost Calvin a few years ago but we still have Hobbes) I was very young when the strip ended in 1995 so I was only 5. How I was introduced is that my family got one of the books containing the comics, I think it was the first one or at least one that had a lot of the early strips in it. I read that I ton as a kid even through the cover would eventually fall off (it might have happened even before I started reading it). I also think I got some of the other books but I got rid of them. One year for Christmas I got a four-collection set of books containing ALL of the Calvin and Hobbes strips, it has the dates they were originally released. I have read all four a lot and its one of my favorite books. I can’t fully say why Calvin and Hobbes works so well. The one thing I fully respect about Bill Watterson was that when he felt the end for Calvin and Hobbes has come he ended it. think of many many examples of shows that have gone on for too long, either ending on a sour note/ disappointing note or have lost their initial audience due to lack interest often stemming from the show’s poor performance due to boredom of seeing the same thing over and over again. Often causes the show to implement a variety of strategies to win back the audience which usually only work for a short period of time, if they even work at all. I also like that he didn’t really want to merchandise his creation, don’t get me wrong there’s noting wrong with that (I loved Garfield and thing related to him)but I respect that he wanted his creations to simply be a comic strip and nothing else. (so yeah all those peeing Calvin stickers you see on bumper stickers, just know they are probably made WITHOUT his consent).
early 80s garfield strip collections were pure gold to children because while insipid to adults they were simple and revelatory to children. i genuinely enjoyed those strips and although i quickly outgrew them, they hold a special place in my heart and represented a pivotal piece of my development as a reader, an enjoyer of comics, and a human.
I read the entire collection to my kids through around 3 times. Starting before they could read. It was the greatest present I have ever received. Our dog was named Calvin. The way it affected their creativity is astounding. Calvin and Hobbes is a masterpiece.
How am I just finding this today? My God, what an amazing video essay on a truly wonderful comic strip! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! Very insightful!
Ya know, Ive had a strangely unique experience with Calvin and Hobbes. The last strip was the first one I ever saw, so to me, it truly was a moment of beginnings and adventures to come.
Absolutely fantastic video. I teared up when you showed the final strip. I read the books as a kid and love them so much. Every time a new book collection showed up at Costco, my Mom would always buy it for me. Next time I see her, I need to thank her for that. Videos like these make me realize how much of an impact the comic had on me. I need to go find my old books, now.
I’m a peanuts enthusiast through and through, but I can’t help but feel immense respect for Calvin and Hobbes (and by extension ol watterson…), truly a masterful comic strip. Lovely video :-)
This was an amazing video, super informative and helpful to my understanding of the comic. I am busy making a cosplay of Hobbes for Comic Con and I understand him and his relationship with Clavin a lot better after watching this. Thank you
My favorite comic was the one where Colvin wrote a poem about aliens coming to Earth to drain our seas and suck up all our air. The quip at the end where Hobbes says that it’s too believable really sticks with me.
This video was spectacular. I owned every C&H book since I was 10 and now at 33 I still have them. I went to my box of childhood belongings in my basement and got out a C&H book to read tonight because of this video. Thanks for making it
The only thing you got wrong is when you said that C&H was never 'syndicated.' Look in the copyright printing on the comics and books and you'll see it says 'Universal Press Syndicate.' You wouldn't know about C&H today if they weren't syndicated. What you mean to say is the show was never licensed for merchandise. LICENSED is the word, not SYNDICATED. As you may recall from that 10th anniversary book, there's a whole section dedicated to licensing and the last line, if I'm not mistaken, is after he tells the story of the fights he and the SYNDICATE used to have (because as he said no corporation says no to trainloads of money without an argument), he says, because they wanted to stay in business with him and didn't think another artist could write/draw the strip as well as him, they gave him, in his next contract negotiation, the licensing rights back and, as he said, "I will not license Calvin & Hobbes." That aside, great video!
I love the series of Calvin and School Picture Day. Susie begins by thinking Calvin is silly to put Crisco in his hair and ends by wishing she had some Crisco. It gets even better when he draws on his chest and wants a picture of it. 😆
This is a fantastic video! I was a Garfield fan for a few years before I discovered C&H by accident. It’s now been my favorite strip for decades and I still have my old, worn out collection books, plus the 10th anniversary. I got the new Complete Collection books this past Christmas, and it was like visiting old friends. There will never be a another strip like it, and I’m happy to find people making new videos about it!
Absolutely nailed it friend. I just recently came across all my old Calvin & Hobbes books I grew up reading, and it’s been hard to put them down. Like you said, I see a lot of myself in them too. Loved everything you had to say!
Thanks for this. I have loved Calvin and Hobbes since they first showed up. One of the terms Watterson used which has now been adopted is “transmogrifier”
I was very lucky to see Bill Watterson originals panels that were show at the 2015 Angoulême comics festival were a great tribute was made. It was fantastic
Ok, so this video blew up way beyond what I thought it would, and I really appreciate all the wonderful comments! You’ll notice that I’m liking nearly every comment I see, and that’s just a sign that I’ve read and appreciated it :) However, as the video continues to grow, it might get harder to keep up with hearting every comment, so if I haven’t, it’s not personal, it’s just that the amount of comments has grown past my usual amount :)
I never saw the strips with Rosalynn playing Calvin ball with him! =D That's SO GREAT! Not to mention a resolution between the two, but I feel that ALSO shows a side of a more adult character ACTUALLY acknowledging Calvin's intelligence even if its in such a weird , Avant Garde way
Edit; Just bravo man...almost tearing up seeing that last panel. so much of my childhood was calvin and hobbes as well...and i believe its why i am the person i am somewhat too. unafraid to be me. cynical, sadly realizing the truth of the world, yet sometimes naively wanting to HOPE in the good of man
Well, you did a good job. You deserve it.
Have you read Chesterton? Wonderful video, brother, subscribed and expecting more content that is just as great.
This video is not even close to done blowing up. Not. Even.
There's so much to discuss with Calvin and Hobbs. I think that would please Bill Watterson to know how much of a impact it had on everyone.
Following up on Calvin's parents and that raccoon story, there's another one that left a big impact on me as a kid. There's a storyline where their house gets broken into and robbed while they were out of town, and one strip was just the mom for all four panels talking to herself about how scared and vulnerable she feels. It ends with her contemplating that Calvin is lucky to have Hobbes to help him feel safe and secure.
Oh my god I love that one!! That’s kind of what I was talking about in the end where I mentioned how I didn’t even cover everything amazing about it even though I talked for 27 straight minutes haha
I also love Calivin's dad's take on it, and the comic showed both parents discussing their fears and insecurities about the situation openly. The parents had excellent communication in the comics. My favorite statement was when Calvin's Dad said, "When I was Calvin's age, I assumed adults would always know what to do in a situation like this, but it never occurred to me they might not know how." It hits harder when you become an adult.
My personal favorite line in that strip is "I don't know if I'd have been in such a hurry to reach adulthood if I'd known the whole thing was going to be ad-libbed." That one line describes the feeling of growing up perfectly. You think you'll know everything when you grow up, only to realize that you just have to take a leap and hope for the best.
"Mom says nobody would steal Hobbes because he's not valuable.
But he's valuable to me"
I haven't read my C&H collection in a decade and I can still quote panels like that.
My home is my castle, but does it have to be a fortress?
Honestly, I think my favorite character in the C&H comics has to be Calvin's Dad. Hobbes might be a good compliment to Calvin's imagination, but his Dad is the perfect foil in every way possible. He always responds to Calvin's outlandish remarks with the perfect witty comeback, essentially poking holes in Calvin's childlike wonder and showing him how little he really understands the outside world. Going off what Bill Watterson said, if Calvin is meant to be a representation of his struggles and complaints, then Calvin's Dad is meant to be his own personal response to those struggles (not to mention that his dad is designed to look like Bill.) Certainly when I was a kid, I found Calvin super relatable, but as an adult, I relate even more heavily to his Dad.
That being said, the comic also had a huge impact on my life as well. Whenever I try to draw goofy or exaggerated expressions, I always think back to how expressive the characters were. Such striking poses and excelling compositions that told you everything without saying a word. I'm glad that there will never be a Calvin and Hobbes TV show, but it would have had some serious standards to look up to. But more importantly than its artistic influence, its philosophy about human nature and the absurdity of the universe is something I always hold dear. Since no one else has named it, I hereby nominate the name "Wattersonian" philosophy.
Some of my favorite lines are:
"Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us."
"That's one of the remarkable things about life. It's never so bad that it can't get worse."
"Life could be worse, Calvin." "Life could be a lot better, too!"
I’ve actually never thought about Calvin’s dad that way before. He and Calvin’s mom have always been really interesting to me, but I haven’t thought of the dad in such a way that he’s a self-insert for Watterson himself. Similarly to many other characters in the strip, I feel that Calvin’s Dad is an amalgamation of many personas from Watterson’ life that he uses to explore various subjects in whatever way he seems to wish, since Calvin’s dad often gives Calvin false info for the sake of a laugh.
@@ultimateeick2910 153 subs after 3 years? Hey pal, I feel you. I am in the same boat. Your ''Watterson-ing'' is commendable
I loved his dad's explanations for Calvin's questions. "Wow, that's not what Mom said at ALL! She must be totally off her rocker!" "Well, we men are better at abstract thought than women, go tell her that."
one of my favorite calvin quotes is "when you look into infinity you realize that there are more important things than what people do all day"
"There would be more kindness in the world if people didn't take it as an invitation to walk all over you."
- Calvin's mom
Calvin and Hobbes is the the reason I looked forward to the Sunday paper. I still remember when I found out the strip was being discontinued. I was sad to see it leave but now know it’s what made it timeless. Calvin and Hobbes left us wanting more, and will be remembered as one of the best written and illustrated comics of all time
You should get the book collections!
As a kid you relate to Calvin. Like Calvin, we were egotistical as kids.
As an adult, you relate to Hobbes since he’s more than just a stuffed animal, he’s like a voice of reason to Calvin.
This truly is a masterpiece of a comic strip!
I read _Calvin & Hobbes_ in it's original run and half-thought that Watterson had cameras in my house and was just translating my shitty life experiences as an undiagnosed autistic kid into hilarious comic strip form. C&H is so accurate to what my actual childhood was like (my parents looked EXACTLY like Calvin's) that the only things that *DIDN'T* match are 1) hills for my red wagon (yes I had one but never used it) to roll down 2) Calvin's vocabulary being much better than mine @ 6yo, and 3) not having enough snow to make sculptures.
Otherwise, I can go through each strip and find an analog for a real-life incident (or 2 or 3 or more) that happened to me. The series is basically my unofficial biography.
Great Minds Think alike
Noodle incident.
As a kid who grew up on Calvin and Hobbes seeing a creator break down the true greatness of the comic is such a treat. I hope both the video and the comic strip get the love it deserves!
It is definitely the greatest comic of all time. I fell in love with it immediately back in 1985 when it first came out. I was 14 at the time. Less than 4 years later, in 1989, I went in the Army. My mom would cut the strip out every single day and send them to me in batches every few weeks. This included when I was in basic training, as well as 1990-1991 when I was in Saudi Arabia and Iraq for the Gulf War. My buddy in the Army and I made a pact to get them tattooed on us, and we did. He got Spaceman Spiff, I got Calvin & Hobbes. But I'm working on expanding mine into much, much more.
I know you commented about this dislike for the algorithm, but without it, I would have never seen this masterpiece. I love the fact that you make sure to never villainize a comic or art creator, because you knew that even though some may be producing a 'consistent thing' it doesn't mean that they are doing their job worthlessly, or that they are a miserable person who shouldn't even make more comics. I love how this video, along with the calvin and hobbes, teaches that there is always deeper emotions, always deeper meanings, that everybody deserves a redemption. I actually had a tear in my eye at the end. This was amazing.
The fact that Calvin & Hobbes only lasted 10 years is simultaneously one of the saddest tragedies and one of the holiest blessings.
These comics literally made my childhood. I remember my parents told me that my older brother would read our Calvin and Hobbes books and laugh at the silly images before he could read, and I bet if I asked them they would tell me that I did too. Thanks for taking me back to that time even if it was just for half an hour.
I have the comprehensive box set of Calvin & Hobbes. Every few years I have an irresistible urge to re-read it, and it never disappoints. Huh, looks like it’s about time for another read.
What a fantastic deconstruction of the series! I love how you touched on how anti-profit Calvin and Hobbes is by nature, not just cause of Watterson’s intentions
I feel like it's fine to profit off of a story or something you made, and C&H set a standard. You can market and profit so much the original work feels oversaturated and soulless (As Garfield feels to be nowadays) while Calvin and Hobbes didn't make any money from products other than the collections themselves. I think the balance is somewhere in the middle, but it's interesting to see how C&H is willing to stand against what was and still is sadly all too common where the ones making the work don't realize the effect excess commercialization has on their art.
Loved the video. What Waterson could do with a just few brush strokes has never been matched. The coolest, most futuristic comic art ever, combined with the best comic writing ever. His ability to understand people, culture, ethics, art, and history and project it through the eyes of a psychedelically creative child mind, while layering multiple narratives for readers of all stages of human development, makes me think how amazing it would be to discuss art with him. I wish he did more interviews and wasn't so secretive, but maybe he already said everything he wanted to say.
I remember enjoying Garfield as a child. I think Garfield was (perhaps accidently) profound in some ways. One thing I've learned over the years is that no matter how commercially motivated something is, no matter how vapid or pandering it is, nothing gets globally popular without something profoundly meaningful hidden between the cracks. This has to be true, because if it were not, corporations would be able to create successful global brands on demand. But instead, it's always been the illusive realm of random chance and rare magicians. Jim Davis may have sold out, but I don't think he pretended to be something he was not (although I never dug into his philosophy at all, so I could be wrong).
I briefly had a popular comic and I remember refusing to monetize it, because Bill Waterson never did, and I saw that as the ultimate artistic purity. But as I was staving to death, watching millions of views coming in every day, I remember Randall from XKCD responding to one of my journal posts, saying that he always greatly admired Waterson, but he thought selling merchandise did not actually go against Waterson's philosophy. He said his refusal to sell merch was more about not cheapening the magic of Hobbes' reality and not about not making large sums of money from art. At the time I thought he was justifying shameless profit and I was convinced if I stuck to my values that everything would come together magically somehow. Looking back, it's plain to see I was stuck in a transition point between the old way and the new way of art. The old way required institutional approval and book deals. Being in newspapers was the dream. The new way is individual based communities. The so-called "creator economy". Money is no longer seen as corrupting, but as compressed appreciation which can be used to expand your artistic vision and make the world suck less. Randall was actually a visionary and one of the first to catch on to this. Integrity is about protecting your values, not about copying the values of great artists. How else could progress be made?
One thing I got wrong (among many), a thing that most cynical artists get wrong, is the idea that financial success comes from selling out. I am now thinking the true source of financial success is giving away something amazing. Once you've earned the appreciation of others, you can choose to sell things for money, or not. The problem is, historically, there's always been the slimiest people who attach themselves to successful artists, because artists are usually horrible business people. The endless juxtapositions of popular art and exploitive business people has formed a connection in our minds that doesn't need to be there. However, the new and growing ability for artists to more easily sell things themselves has been eroding away at that perception. I think a lot of artists spend too much time (including myself, in the past) resenting successful artists, and never enough time going deep, really deep, diving into the depths of their vision and spending unreasonable absurd amounts of time thinking about their art, to bring something truly original and amazing into the world. We see someone hit it big with something we feel we could easily do ourselves, and think why them and not me? We focus on their lucky breaks and assume that's all that success is. I think the real reason there's so many examples of people getting lucky and so few examples of great art is, there's just so few people even trying to create great art. Also, many times there is a lot of hard work happening in secret, that we don't see, that amplifies luck.
I think there's a subtle subconscious global despair permeating the art world right now, because on some level we know that if AI doesn't destroy civilization, we will soon have tools that will make the grunt-work so easy, that any massive efforts spent on grunt-work now, will seem like an absurd waste of time looking back. We can see hints of this with AI image generation and the way it makes visual artists feel. If civilization survives, we are about to enter an unparalleled explosion of art, bad art and amazing art. I could go on, but I've rambled too much and doubt anyone will make it this far. These topics have been heavily on my mind and this video trigged a mini-thought dump, and I'm curious what you think, if anyone reads this. I don't know any creators in my personal life, so I never get to hear feedback on opinions like these.
Firstly, I’m glad to see that this video inspired your profound commentary! I think that every point you make is right on the spot, and I do think it’s a rather simple take to try and apply bill watterson’s philosophy to modern, online art forms. That’s why I emphasize the word “try” when I explain that I want to try to be like him.
You can’t make money these days without monetizing your videos, and as much as I respect Dunkey and Joel Haver and all those other UA-camrs I mentioned, they’ve all done sponsorships and merch drops and whatnot, simply because it’s necessary to survive, and because the way they’ve done their sponsored content has been consistent with their brand. Haver specifically talks about not wanting to use the auto-generated script companies give you and believes that artists should be given more agency over how they present their sponsorship, which is what he did when he was sponsored by Elden Ring and Baldur’s Gate 3.
Either way, I had a fear when posting this video that people would find my take, and by extension watterson’s philosophy, to be fairly privileged and naive, due to the necessity of artists to survive in the capitalist world of the internet, but I feel as if that’s not what people have taken out of it. I appreciate deeply what you have to say because you’re one of the first people to touch on the nuances of that point and it’s refreshing to engage with someone about it.
@@ultimateeick2910 Thanks! I agree that the more control the creator has over the ad, the better it will be. Smart businesses are catching on to this. I also think creators will get more creative about ways to join forces with quality "brands" they vibe with. I also think the perception of money itself will continue to change as more things get open sourced and less corruption is able to leach off producers. Without some form of money, we're back to barter, which makes most trades impossible. The problem with money is, whoever prints it and moves it, is guaranteed to become corrupt. But making money by giving value is not just acceptable, it's absolutely a noble thing. If someone voluntarily gives you money, you must have given them something even more valuable. Just like, if someone voluntarily gives you their time, by watching your video for example, it must have been the most valuable thing for them to do, at that time. And time is quite valuable. Rock on.
Very well done!
I was an adult when Calvin and Hobbes began. I grew up on Pogo. Bloom County came later, and then Calvin and Hobbes.
The two I remember most fondly are the first and the last.
I tried to read _Bloom County_ back in the day but it never made sense to me. Same with _Doonesbury._ I just didn't have the frame of reference for it.
OMG, Pogo. Wonderfully wise and literate. And funny. Very different from Calvin, but very similar in the fact that the commentary on the absurdities of our society was delivered by characters that were themselves absurd, so that the commentary was itself colored by their quirks and personalities. I'd have to go back and re-read some of the Pogo content, to more deeply examine the sense that there was a lot of commonality between the two strips.
Hadn't thought of Pogo in a while...
this guy has great production quality, you deserve to be a bigger channel, especially since you like calvin and hobbes
"Calvin & Hobbes" made me literate to this adventure called LIFE! Well done, sir! 💜
Your video really brought me to tears. Me and my friend usually listen to videos while we're working and this is one of my favorites. Thank you!
In my teen and college years, this comic strip was something to really look forward to each day in the newspaper. I had grown up enjoying Schulz's charming "Peanuts" and a couple of other strips that were better than most, but C&H came along and was something impressive and marvelous, often extremely hilarious or sometimes profound and touching.
I wish I had a copy of the rare legit wall calendar featuring our mischievous boy and his toy tiger pal. Once Watterson chose not to market the characters, all we had were the books (and also the three treasury collections of them). I completely understand his reasoning behind such a big and controversial decision. Controlling one's original characters is something priceless, I imagine.
This vid be getting 3M views calling it now
Hello fellow duck
Where are the views Lebowski?!
I’m watching this at 2:30 am
Give it time. It will.
Too bad
Calvin & Hobbes are one of the few perfect things in this world. A perfect and unadulterated piece of art
When I was a kid, I loved this strip. In fact, I still do now. One that always sticks out in my head is where his mom catches him hammering nails into the table, and she asks him “What on earth do you think you’re doing?” And he responds “Is this some sort of trick question or what?”. I also remember one where he yells “Surely you concede I deserve it!” but to find out the context of that one, I’d have to get out The Complete Calvin And Hobbes, and look through all 4 books, which as a young adult who doesn’t leave his couch too often, I don’t have the energy to do that. But great video!
Edit: Just got to 3:16, yeah, found the strip. Still very funny.
As someone who got the complete box set, I can confirm that Calvin and Hobbes is pure art.
Going back to the comparison between Davis and Watterson, a similar case could be made about Illumination Entertainment and other studios that have artistic integrity, at least, before now, in Financial Success vs. Artistic Integrity.
This strip was awesome to me when I was younger. My granddaddy used to read it to me and we’d have a lot of fun voice acting the characters.
I realize how much more there is to this strip now, and it makes me love it even more.
Calvin and Hobbes still manages to be so relevant with its social commentary and critiques of the artistic world. It was a surprise going back and rereading the strip last year and realizing how much ofnit is still relevant. Either Waterson has created something timeless or people really haven't changed since the 80s.
I read Calvin and Hobbes as a kid and now that I’m rereading it I see where a lot of my worldviews come from. I’m glad I had the chance to make it a huge part of my childhood in the early 21st century fr. I coulda been just another kid raised on propagandized children’s TV
i will always imagine calvin speaking in my dad's voice because that's who introduced me to the comics
Calvin and Hobbes is one of those great written masterpieces that will always be successful, simply because those of us who grew up with it will show it to our kids and them to their kids. Garfield may still be "going strong", but it could never hope to capture my hype the way that Bill Watterson collaborating on Pearls Before Swine did.
I can tell That you’re a fellow “I learned how to read from Calvin and Hobbes” chad. There’s just the way we all speak that gives it away. Great video.
I've never read a single strip of Peanuts. Of course, I know the characters, I've seen the movies, and at one point I would have told you who my favorite character was (Woodstock). The only Garfield strips I've ever read were ones shown to me by friends to say "Look at how unimaginative this all is!"
I've never seen a single piece of Calvin and Hobbes merchandise. Not a poster, not an article of clothing, not even a TV show or an animation because none of those exist.
But it's the comic I know best. The comic that I keep re-reading without ever having to be reminded of its existence by some piece of cloth or sticky paper. Because it doesn't NEED any of that. It stands alone as one of the greatest comics and remains in the collective consciousness all without having a single piece of official merchandise.
That's why it'll always be the best.
This was awesome, and earned my Sub. More people need to be talking about Calvin and Hobbes.
The sweetest strip I have ever read is when Calvin asks his father to come outside to play, the father points at all the papers in front of him so Calvin goes out into the snowy garden alone. The father pauses and goes out to join him in a joyous greet. They spend the day bomnding together and it ends with the father kissing Calvin on the head as Clavin is going off to bed and the father can get back to his paperwork. I cannnot imagine any other comic strip bringing such pathos into parenthood.
This was/is an absolutly amazing video. I cant think of many things from my youth that inspire such nostalgia and feelings. Funny thing, Im actually pretty sure its that dreaded algorythem that actually brought you and your work to my attention. Ive recently been searching C&H for tatoo ideas and here you are poping up on my youtube. Thanks so much for this obviously heartfelt and brilliantly thoughtful look back :)
My jaw dropped when I saw the lack of subs to this channel And the crazy low views is just baffling. Best of luck you definitely deserve a lot more attention
He'd probably get more subs if the music wasn't so loud and if he slowed down a little.
Most comic strips were as enduring as a cheese doodle. A quick gag and done. Calvin & Hobbes was so different. It was something to be slowly chewed upon and savored. It was artisan craftwork in a world geared towards mass-production.
Calvin & Hobbes is the greatest comic strip every published. I love your presentation, and especially want to complement you on the selection of quality music to backdrop your narration. Excellently done!
I can’t believe this only has ~200. Please remember me as one of your first fans.
This was an excellent deep dive into the world of Calvin and Hobbes. Thank you Ultimateeick for creating a well thought of and produced video and for taking me down memory lane. I’m ashamed to say that it’s been far too long since I’ve cracked open one of my collections to visit with Calvin and Hobbes. I was a teenager when this strip hit the stands and it would be the first thing I would read whenever I picked up a newspaper. And when the collections came out, I bought as many as I could afford. Calvin’s never-ending imagination lures you in the moment you read the first panel.
Bill Watterson, two things; 1) If you’ve seen this video, please reach out to this creator with some appreciation and if you have already, Thank you. 2) I understand the reasoning as to why you didn’t license your work but, it would’ve been nice to hold something tangible in my hands, aside from the books, to reflect on how visionary a world of Calvin and Hobbes you created and for that I’m forever grateful.
Calvin and Hobbes is amazing. I’ve read every comic like 100 times. Nice video!!!
First time I'm seeing anything of yours, and I share most of everything you had to say. You also present a snapshot of an influential piece of pop culture as a GRADUATE LEVEL PRESENTATION and I am deeply impressed. Screw the algorithm and create the work you care about. This is excellent.
Calvin and Hobbes is absolutely timeless. It was funny and thoughtful in the 80's, it's funny and thoughtful now, it will be funny and thoughtful a hundred years from now. That's an achievement that cannot be measured in money, only in the influence it's still bringing to bear. ^_^ Great video, sir, very well done, indeed! Keep up the good work! ^_^
Our family had a theory that the comic strip "Zits" was an older version of Calvin. I love Calvin & Hobbes so much.
I discovered Calvin and Hobbes back in 1986. I bought the first book. I read it to my five kids, four of whom were young boys. I threw out the TV when their father departed for greener pastures, and my children entertained themselves making forts in the woods, staging battles with aliens beings, building a real raft to explore the deep pond at the end of our street. They collected polliwogs in my stereo cover, polished rocks in a tumbler, hiked with mom along the trails collecting thimble berries, or blackberry picking. Examining the local tide pools in Summer, visiting the local aquatic hands on museum in the community, jumping off of the pier into bone chilling water, and sledding down the town's deserted streets after dark were terrific fun. The highlight of their week was the Friday afternoon visit to the local library. Always one or two of the books checked out were new Calvin and Hobbs editions. Their grandma delighted in the comic books as much as I did and my kids. When I brought home an orange and white kitten, my number two son named him Hobbs. We never took to Garfield or other not clever comic characters. The only other comedic genius for us was Gary Larson with his Far Side books. My sons introduced Calvin and Hobbs to their own kids. I still own three of the books and find them as relevant today as I did 40 tears ago. Timeless themes, humor, philosophic questions, and authenticity has given them a place in our family history. Bill Waterson has earned my deep respect for his artistic integrity. My boys exemplified Calvins personality in many ways. I always comparing their quirky imaginative escapades to Watersons creation. Someday I may write a book about raising four highly imaginative creative sons. My daughter is also an independent thinker,marching to her own drum. I'd like to think Bill Waterson' body of work contributed to that. ( besides ousting the TV from the home, and a love of reading.) Thank you Mr. Waterson for providing fodder for young, curious minds to learn to think, as well as my own delight in your perspectives and sly humor. The absurdities of life can only be met with wry wit.
I always thought of Calvin as having the personality of a cat trapped in a human existence and Hobbes vice versa. They are in many ways a mirror image of each other; same but opposite.
Damn I’ve never thought about that before that’s a really cool way of looking at it
@@ultimateeick2910 the immediate visual impression too is that of a grown man and his lil' pet
Have you seen the fan documentary "Dear, Mr. Watterson"? It's such a delight.
This most-recent weekend, my boyfriend visited me. After we watched the episode 'Copycat' of Bluey, I told him it reminded me of a similar Calvin & Hobbes story. I got out my gigantic, entire collection books after looking up which date the comic was printed & read it to him. My most-favorite line of Calvin's from this entire series is "What a stupid world."
I created my UA-cam channel in 2006, the 2nd year of its existence. I have seen everything in that time. To watch things increasingly get worse really hurts, especially because I can't do anything about it. I feel the first thing to happen that started these disasters we're currently tolerating was when Google purchased UA-cam. It's not right, dudes. This is UA-cam, not CoperateTube. Where children's cartoon reviews are removed while actual crimes against humanity are left untouched. Just horrid, horrid films that shouldn't exist. It's disgusting & heartbreaking.
I don’t know how this video can have 63,000 views yet your channel only 1400 subscribers. Your beautiful essay has earned my subscription. I am thankful for the glitch in the algorithm that delivered this video to me. I look forward to similar well thought out and well-built videos like this one in the future. Thank you!
I remember reading Calvin and Hobbes for the first time when I was little. I picked up a little book off the floor in my grandparents’ room which was I want to say the There’s Treasure Everywhere compilation of comics. I read it through and loved it. My grandpa then told me there were more and gave me the first big volume of the three he has up in his closet. And I loved them. I never thought Hobbes was a stuffed animal. I thought Calvin was just a special kid who could see this magic tiger even though his parents couldn’t. Now I’m almost 21 and I look back on those comics and will always reread them as often as possible.
My dad collected the books but had gotten rid of them before I was around except for the Lazy Sundays book. Me and my siblings found it as a kid and stated reading it. We loved them. We’d buy each other the other volumes for birthdays and Christmas, and we completely restored the collection. So many great family memories in those awesome comics!
I Liked the Episode When Calvin's Uncle Came to Visit and They Bonded.
100% agreed. I found this comic by accident when I was 14 years old, during the strip's first year. Nobody told me it was good. I saw it, and I eagerly looked for newspapers and thumbed until I found Calvin & Hobbes. I was always bummed out if it wasn't there. Huge influence on me.
Thanks for this terrific video essay about the triumph of a true artist, showcasing his great heart and moral fortitude. It took me ages to get through this because I had to stop and read every panel. Reading C&H with my son every night was a huge highlight for both of us (later came The Hobbit and LOTR). We were in fits of laughter on many nights ("this is you - aggle, aggle, aggle").
When Calvin and Hobbes came along, I was a full blown adult. And I loved it from the get go. My favorite strips were the snowman sculptures. My two favorites then and now are C&H, and Bloom County (and it's spinoffs).
And I gotta admit, that last strip mad em shed a tear, because it hurt. It was like losing a best friend.
It made me sad when Waterman stopped. I always read Calvin and Hobbs always a highlight of the day. It is a shame that it couldn't go on but I do understand. I did purchase the Hardback Collection that I keep on my desk. I hope to share these with my Grandchildren when they get a little older. Thank you for your hard work as those of us that knew Calvin all would I think agree with you that will always be the greatest. I salute you Bill Waterson may you some day show the world what you have been doing all these years peace be with you.
Calvin and Hobbes is one of my favorite comics ever. Tied with Homestuck, probably, but for different reasons.
Calvin and Hobbes hit me at an influential point of my life, just like Homestuck did, and what really hits me about C&H is the absurd nature of it. It's full of silliness and craziness, imagination and the mundane, and to a degree it's just representative of Life. I always wanted to be like Calvin when I was a kid. Big-mouthed, witty, always in the right (at least in his own head), and with a best friend to occasionally keep him in check. Someone who speaks their mind but always knows in the corner of their mind that, hey, it's not THAT serious.
Just... wow. It's been years since I read Calvin and Hobbes, but this video made me realize just how much of it I still remember.
Oh, I miss Calvin and Hobbes. Beginning at age three, my oldest son became obsessed with this, and we had to replace his worn out books a few times. We also got him a stuffed tiger which was Hobbes to him and which his brother kept burying out in the woods. We replaced Hobbes a couples times, too.
This was a fascinating and deeply personal video. I loved it very much and I'm glad you could share it. Calvin and Hobbes was a masterpiece.
Thank you for making this video.
This was my favourite comic when i was a child and it never moved from that spot.
As i've grown up, the distance to all other comics has grown and grown. There is nothing like Calvin & Hobbes.
As i live in sweden there is many strips that never made it over here but hopefully one day i can read all collections at least.
I grew up with and love Calvin & Hobbes. Without a doubt the best comic ever... I still love Garfield, too.
As a kid I loved finding Calvin and Hobbes and Garfield books at this local used books fair every year and i really loved both of them but there was something a bit more magical about finding a Calvin and Hobbes book. After grabbing up all the initial stock I wouldn’t get them all too often while every year I could find probably a half dozen Garfield books but there always felt like there was more meat to a Calvin and Hobbes compilation with a creative name and cover art than a numbered basic Garfield volume. At some point I think I gave away my Garfield books but I held on to the Calvin and Hobbes collections and as an adult I can now see why. I really appreciated this video that really gave context and depth to how I felt as a kid and how I still feel today
Calvin and Hobbes also taught me how to read. When I didn't understand a word I'd ask my mom, and she'd hand me a dictionary. If I had more questions she helped and explained the context I'd missed.
I have a plethora of old books that keep me entertained when I'm in the mood, and I hope my nephews enjoy the box set I bought for them
I'm not sure how I wasa brought to this video, but over the course of it, I happened to come to the same conclusions on the comic's impact on me. Thanks... for reminding me.
Most definitely some classical nostalgic throwback reminiscing down memory lane comic book reading right here Indubitably 🧐
Up in my room I have a calvin and hobbes book. I revisit every once in a while. no matter how i felt, good or bad or great or terrible, I can't remember a time whre it didn't make me smile. Thankyou for helping me realize this =]
I miss this comic so much it almost hurts, and I've felt that way ever since the day he announced he was retiring the strip. A small part of me has wished he had kept it going, but the majority understands that all good things must come to an end, before they become a parody of themselves and are just going through the motions creatively. I've learned as I've gotten older that it's best to just enjoy the things you enjoy, and when they're no longer around, find something else. Trying to constantly resurrect these things is to ultimately just pervert everything that made them enjoyable in the first place. They'll always pale in comparison, and never scratch that itch again. Just cherish the memories, maybe revisit them if you're able, but ultimately move on to other things.
I fully agree!! Love me some Calvin & Hobbs!!!
I basically learned english (not textbook sentences) as a second language by reading C&H and remember how often I struggled to realy grasp the philosophical discussions and even some of the simple punchlines. Today, I am reading it to my son, fully aware that he will revisit the strips, comprehend more and more every time and it will continue to edicate and entertain him on so many levels. A true masterpiece by a very deliberate creator. Thanks for this video. Liked, subscribed and shared
when i was a kid my parents wondered if there were cameras in our house, because i did many of the shenanigans of calvin before even reading the comic, i really feel strongly about calvin and hobbes and vagabond, i think that their message is similar i really do love them deeply
Brilliant piece of work! As a longtime Calvin fan, this is one of the best commentaries/documentaries I've ever watched. Well done!
This is easily one of the best videos i watched this whole year, i only remembered of Calcin and Hobbes as a fun comic series that i got to read in school, but you really opened my mind and made me reflect about many things, i am trying to become an artist myself, so someone like Bill Watterson is fascinating to me, and i will definely look up to him as i try to give colors to my own white space. You didn't got a new subscriber, you EARNED a new subscriber.
Thank you so much for your support!!!
9:30-9:37 You bringing this up just made me realize something.
Calvin and Hobbes helped me when it talked about subjects I could never comprehend as a kid and helped me learn to just keep reading as a kid and piece together what it meant as they talked about a subject that I didn’t know about more and more.
Today whenever I have heard of something but don’t remember it much and someone brings it up in conversation, I tell the person to continue as if I understood and by the end of the conversation I either remember it or have a basic understanding of what it is and can offer my opinion based on what information I just obtained.
The collection that introduced me to Calvin and Hobbes was Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat. Loved it ever since from 2006 to now :)
Dude! Great music!
Calvin and Hobbes managed to remain fresh and original throughout the series and that was Waterson's genius. Calvin was a bit of all of us; childhood is not for the weak!
I love how well Calvin and Hobbes holds together as I’ve grown up. We had every anthology when I was a kid and I read them over and over.
I read the strip in a new light now because I’m a mom raising my own little boy. My husband and I joke about there’s an appropriate C&H strip for most of the ridiculous things are kid gets up to. Honestly, it’s a little mind blowing to me that Watterson was able to capture the parents so well without being one himself. The strip really is an absolute masterpiece.
Fantastic video
Like yourself I was raised on Calvin and Hobbes, its been a fixture in my life ever since i could remember and shaped me into the person I am today. C&H transcends the medium of comic strip- its art. God bless Bill Watterson.
Love The Grand Budapest Hotel Soundtrack in the background!! Great topic and thought provoking points.
Thank you for this video! Calvin & Hobbes was a must-read for me every day for its entire run! I love the way you explained everything i loved about this strip. It was insightful, and really brought me back to everything i enjoyed about reading it every day. You go, Bill Watterson!! Thank you, so much!
I’ve always loved Calvin and Hobbes. My mom and dad liked them too, we even named our current cat(s) after them (lost Calvin a few years ago but we still have Hobbes) I was very young when the strip ended in 1995 so I was only 5. How I was introduced is that my family got one of the books containing the comics, I think it was the first one or at least one that had a lot of the early strips in it. I read that I ton as a kid even through the cover would eventually fall off (it might have happened even before I started reading it). I also think I got some of the other books but I got rid of them. One year for Christmas I got a four-collection set of books containing ALL of the Calvin and Hobbes strips, it has the dates they were originally released. I have read all four a lot and its one of my favorite books. I can’t fully say why Calvin and Hobbes works so well.
The one thing I fully respect about Bill Watterson was that when he felt the end for Calvin and Hobbes has come he ended it. think of many many examples of shows that have gone on for too long, either ending on a sour note/ disappointing note or have lost their initial audience due to lack interest often stemming from the show’s poor performance due to boredom of seeing the same thing over and over again. Often causes the show to implement a variety of strategies to win back the audience which usually only work for a short period of time, if they even work at all.
I also like that he didn’t really want to merchandise his creation, don’t get me wrong there’s noting wrong with that (I loved Garfield and thing related to him)but I respect that he wanted his creations to simply be a comic strip and nothing else. (so yeah all those peeing Calvin stickers you see on bumper stickers, just know they are probably made WITHOUT his consent).
This brought tears to my eyes a major part of my childhood
This was one of my favorite strips. I really miss it. I have all of the paperback anthologies in my private library.
Definitely my favorite strip of all time
early 80s garfield strip collections were pure gold to children because while insipid to adults they were simple and revelatory to children. i genuinely enjoyed those strips and although i quickly outgrew them, they hold a special place in my heart and represented a pivotal piece of my development as a reader, an enjoyer of comics, and a human.
I read the entire collection to my kids through around 3 times. Starting before they could read. It was the greatest present I have ever received. Our dog was named Calvin. The way it affected their creativity is astounding. Calvin and Hobbes is a masterpiece.
How am I just finding this today? My God, what an amazing video essay on a truly wonderful comic strip! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us! Very insightful!
Ya know, Ive had a strangely unique experience with Calvin and Hobbes. The last strip was the first one I ever saw, so to me, it truly was a moment of beginnings and adventures to come.
Absolutely fantastic video. I teared up when you showed the final strip. I read the books as a kid and love them so much. Every time a new book collection showed up at Costco, my Mom would always buy it for me. Next time I see her, I need to thank her for that. Videos like these make me realize how much of an impact the comic had on me. I need to go find my old books, now.
I’m a peanuts enthusiast through and through, but I can’t help but feel immense respect for Calvin and Hobbes (and by extension ol watterson…), truly a masterful comic strip. Lovely video :-)
This was an amazing video, super informative and helpful to my understanding of the comic. I am busy making a cosplay of Hobbes for Comic Con and I understand him and his relationship with Clavin a lot better after watching this. Thank you
My favorite comic was the one where Colvin wrote a poem about aliens coming to Earth to drain our seas and suck up all our air. The quip at the end where Hobbes says that it’s too believable really sticks with me.
This video was spectacular. I owned every C&H book since I was 10 and now at 33 I still have them. I went to my box of childhood belongings in my basement and got out a C&H book to read tonight because of this video. Thanks for making it
The only thing you got wrong is when you said that C&H was never 'syndicated.' Look in the copyright printing on the comics and books and you'll see it says 'Universal Press Syndicate.' You wouldn't know about C&H today if they weren't syndicated.
What you mean to say is the show was never licensed for merchandise. LICENSED is the word, not SYNDICATED. As you may recall from that 10th anniversary book, there's a whole section dedicated to licensing and the last line, if I'm not mistaken, is after he tells the story of the fights he and the SYNDICATE used to have (because as he said no corporation says no to trainloads of money without an argument), he says, because they wanted to stay in business with him and didn't think another artist could write/draw the strip as well as him, they gave him, in his next contract negotiation, the licensing rights back and, as he said, "I will not license Calvin & Hobbes."
That aside, great video!
I love the series of Calvin and School Picture Day. Susie begins by thinking Calvin is silly to put Crisco in his hair and ends by wishing she had some Crisco. It gets even better when he draws on his chest and wants a picture of it. 😆
I grew up with Calvin and Hobbes, have bill watersons complete works and I consider it my favourite collection of art!
Calvin and Hobbes is how I learned to read as well. Glad to see I’m not alone
Calvin and Hobbs are one of my father’s favorite comics, and mine too. Thank you for this great video essay.
This is a fantastic video! I was a Garfield fan for a few years before I discovered C&H by accident. It’s now been my favorite strip for decades and I still have my old, worn out collection books, plus the 10th anniversary. I got the new Complete Collection books this past Christmas, and it was like visiting old friends. There will never be a another strip like it, and I’m happy to find people making new videos about it!
Absolutely nailed it friend. I just recently came across all my old Calvin & Hobbes books I grew up reading, and it’s been hard to put them down. Like you said, I see a lot of myself in them too. Loved everything you had to say!
Genuinely phenomenal video. I loved Calvin and Hobbes so much growing up, easily the best strip out there
Thanks for this. I have loved Calvin and Hobbes since they first showed up. One of the terms Watterson used which has now been adopted is “transmogrifier”
I was very lucky to see Bill Watterson originals panels that were show at the 2015 Angoulême comics festival were a great tribute was made. It was fantastic