Week 3: The Comic Strip

For this week I read some Calvin and Hobbes. Growing up, I never got around to reading these sort of classic "newspaper funnies;" I was thrilled to have the opportunity to finally read a well known classic that has always intrigued me. This is undoubtedly one of the most popular comic strips of all time. Calvin, a young precocious little boy who's imagination runs wild, while sharing the world and adventures around him with his stuffed (imaginary) best friend Hobbes.

What's attracted me the most to this multitude of adorable comic strips, is that it's not written for kids. It's completely appropriate for children but there is so much depth and subtlety to the comic. There's a lot of culture criticism, commentary, and focus on the media and the environment. The kid is outright sweet but mischievous with an imaginary best friend. But there's a darker element to Calvin and his tiger. At times, the strip makes you wonder: is there something wrong with Calvin? Should he be receiving some kind of therapy?

I've gone through and read a lot more of Calvin and Hobbes recently, one particular story that felt unsettling to me was where Calvin begins receiving letters from an unknown writer; they come marked with a skull and crossbones and the must be decoded. And what happens is that the letters are actually coming from Calvin's own house. Which means that Hobbes wrote and sent them. Which if you recall, is impossible, because Hobbes is an imaginary tiger. And Calvin honestly does not remember writing and sending these messages to himself, which means that he probably has a serious case of multiple personalities disorder. So the question becomes: what sort of tragedy has Calvin suffered that has fractured his personality thusly? It's a troubling question, for me, at least.

Calvin and Hobbes captures a type of magic. The humor dances between many levels, brilliant visual comedy, erudite observation, poignant insight, laugh out loud slap-stick, and just feel good stuff that touches everyone who has really lived.