The Calvin & Hobbes Page at Craig's

Letters from Calvin & Hobbes Fans...

If you would like to add your own thoughts about Calvin and Hobbes.

E-mail them to me and I'll post them here with the others.

Age: 75

Heard on last night's news that Calvin and Hobbes will be no more after December 31, 1995!. I am SAD about that!!! The real reason I buy the newspaper is to see how my friend "Calvin" is doing - the rest of the paper news depresses me - except to read about the rising and setting of the sun. Sometime ago I wrote to say "Calvin" and my grandson Michael James, age 6 1/2 could be twins. It is true, especially now they are both in school. It will be interesting to see how you bring this sincere stimulating, laugh provoking comic to a much too early end. Please let us know of your future work. God Bless you.

This is not a plea, a supplication; this is a command from the American People. Mr. Bill Watterson get thee back to the drawing board. "Jurassic Park" would have been a poor second if you had put your imagination and artistry plus the help of "Spaceman Spiff" into "Calvin the Movie."

Oh, no! We can't lose the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes." It explores the image of microcosm of the little work of man epitomizing the great world. The comic personae of ingenue characterization portrayed by a juvenile and his disdainful talking tiger extolling virtues of lofty and earthly excellence will be sorely missed. Because the gifted author, Bill Watterson, as not bowed to the "money changers at the temple," the merchants of greed, in not surrendering his convictions to the mass production and rampant commercialization of a creation dedicated to higher standards of idealism, we will be depraved, and will miss "Calvin and Hobbes" daily reminder of a democratic literary independence and champion of individualism. Don't leave us, Bill Watterson. Even if the strip is featured just once a week, without compromise, it would be an inspiration of humanistic metaphor and fill a void of philosophical emptiness already pervasive and being replaced by mechanistic metaphor. Hopefully, Calvin's attitude about "girls making good so exhibits" will change.
To all "Calvin and Hobbes" groupies like myself, write to Lee Salem, editorial director of Universal Press Syndicate in Kansas City, and demand the return of the idealistic and inventive creation of intellectual and mythical seriocomedy. Let's all do something right for a change.

From: Mike

Hi! My name is Michael. You can call me Mike for short. I am a big fan of your books. I read the ad in the paper. I was pretty sad, but I got over it. Oh, I was wondering if I could take over but I would need instructions to draw the characters. IF you say yes, Calvin and Hobbes will continue but it will be a little different. If you say No than you don't even know what will happen. Bye!

PS Please give me an answer and please write back.

I am so sorry Calvin and Hobbes will be no more, for me to have a smile every morning. I will miss them very much. I just loved the expressions. It made my day. I can only hope to see at least the re runs. Yes? Bless you for whatever you do in the future. Stay in good health.

I'm a senior citizen - the first thing I look for in my newspaper is Calvin. Don't take him away from me. Calvin is everyone's little boy.

This letter came from the Calvin and Hobbes Enthusiasts Club:

I like you comic strip a lot. I don't think it is getting any worse. In fact I think there even funnier than before. Maybe you should take a vacation. Or just write the Sunday ones. You are depriving people of happiness by quitting. The world will miss Calvin and Hobbes and so will you. Calvin and Hobbes is the best comic strip in the paper. Please don't quit.

Sincerely,
Emme, Calvin and Hobbes Enthusiasts Club

This 6 year olds pleas...
Please don't stop drawing Calvin and Hobbs because my brother has a book ov yor Comec streps he likes yor Comec streps too, so please don't stop!

From a 77 year old reader in California:

I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am that the Calvin and Hobbes comic is being "shut down". I also must tell you that I am pleased for you, that you will seek fulfillment in a new adventure! Good Luck! I wish you the best and thank you for the many years of superb enjoyment Calvin and Hobbes has provided.
I am a grandfather of 77 years and have 14 grandchildren. I see some of Calvin in all of them.

From 11 year old Corey in Colorado:

My name is Corey. I have been reading your comics about Calvin and Hobbes for a number of years. I thank they are very funny and they reminds me of one of my friends named Sean. When I heard you were retiring I was very sad. But it got me thinking and an idea hit me. And that is what I'm writing to you about. What if, for your last comic in the newspaper, you had Calvin grown up and married (to Susie Derkins of course) with kids. He has one kid who is just like Calvin when he was young and they find Hobbes tucked away in the attic and Calvin's some sees Hobbes like Calvin used to and they run off and go sledding or something. It is just an idea though but it would be an honor if you published it. Thank you for your time.

10 year old James writes:

I understand how you feel about quitting but could you only draw comics on Fridays and Sundays or just Fridays? Or you could just take the comics out of some comic books you have written. but if you don't want to do that, I will try to give you some ideas: you could have Calvin in art class or music class. But if you are too tired could you only draw a comic once every week. But please don't quit my friends and I thank Calvin and Hobbes is the best comic of all time. You started writing Calvin and Hobbes the year I was born. They have been together for ten years now and I am ten now too. When my dad told me you were quitting, I cried. When my friend Nick heard he said, "NO! NO! NO! NO!" and then said it's the best comic. I can't believe he's going to quit! But if you need some more time, you can draw a strip only every forth night. I hope you don't quit because then the comics would not be worth reading! Calvin and Hobbes is the gold of the comic world. Please don't stop drawing Calvin and Hobbes.

From: a reader in Kentucky:

I was greatly saddened to learn of your decision to retire from the comic strip business. There is no doubt in my minds that you are a genius and it is manifested in you ability to create such characters as Calving and Hobbes. No other has captured life in a character as you have in Calvin: one can read it in the words and see the life expressed on his face, and the tiger's as well!
You are blessed with talent and have blessed us in turn with Calvin and Hobbes. I have "The Essential..., The Authoritative..., and The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes" as well as other books, and I value them immensely! I'm only sorry I missed out on those few and special T-shirts I've seen fans wear. I would have paid dearly for one.
I hope you find happiness and joy in your life, as you have certainly given delight and joy to readers like me. And, I hope we hear more from Calvin and Hobbes and from you.
I was a little worried about you since I was reminded that another genius in our time, mark Twain, became more cynical and saw less humor as he got older and experienced life's tragedies and grim realities. So, God bless you, Mr. Watterson.

YOUR NUMBER 1 FAN

Mornings will never be the same after December: Not so many chuckles, not so much absolute delight in Calvin's philosophy as in the enclosed strip, which has promoted me to let you know how much all of you will be missed.
I wish you well in you "retirement" but allow myself the dream of a return of those two imps in the near future, after you have rested, simply because (I hope) that imagination of yours is so unique and so strong that you will not be able to suppress it. A dream, I know.

Most sincerely, goodbye, good luck, and goo health.

I read in the Los Angles Times yesterday (and heard on the news a few days ago) that as of the end of year, Calvin and Hobbes will be no longer. I just wanted to let you know how sad that news is - in this sometimes crazy world, Calvin and Hobbes is an incredibly bright spot, the reason for opening the funnies page each day! I and my family and friends could never tire of or get "to much" of Calvin and Hobbes...In fact, your is the only comic strip I have framed and hanging in my hallway. You and your boy and tiger will be missed immensely.

Best wishes in future endeavors.

From: Brandon(10 year old Canadian reader)

I am ten years old and I am very sad about Calvin and Hobbes is going to leave comics forever. But I have some ideas that might keep you going: They could get some friends, Calvin could get a sibling, he could get older, they could get a investigator club. Calvin could get some stuffed animals that would come alive or he could get a living Spaceman Spiff toy.

Signed, Brandon

From: Steven

Thank you for all the books. I really enjoy reading Calvin & Hobbes. Hobbes is my favorite character. I like the strips about "Scientific Progress Goes Boink." I'm sad to see you are retiring Calvin and Hobbes. Are you sad about it, too? And I love you.

With good wishes,
Signed Steven

From: Minnelle

My heart is broken! I felt as if a favorite friend had died when I read in today's Dallas Morning News that Calvin and Hobbes last appearance would be this coming Sunday, December 31st. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about Calvin's subtle but profound antics with his stuffed tiger and imaginary friend, Hobbes. I just had to write and tell you that your comic strip is a classic, the best in the world, which I hate to see become extinct. I understand how you can be fed up with the stressful and grinding daily newspaper deadlines and the amount of space that papers now devote to comics, and my sympathy goes out to you. But, please consider just taking a sabbatical for now. Why? Because the world needs Calvin and Hobbes, and your spectacularly wonderful characterization of them. God bless you! I will miss your ingenious talent, and my heart will be heavy as I personally grieve for Calvin and Hobbes!

Most sincerely,
Minnelle

From: Bob
Re: To the WORLD'S GREATEST CARTOONIST! EVER!!

Please, Bill, say it isn't so!
I am 55 years old, and I cried when I read the terrible news. I am old enough to have read most of the great comics in past years. I have also been an avid reader of comic's books - from Disney to the Super Heroes (Superman, etc.) from the beginning of many of them. Furthermore, I always read the Sunday Funnies and daily comics; they help keep me human! I cry even now as I think of losing Calvin and Hobbes. They are the greatest, most wonderful comics I've ever read - and I thank you for them with all my heart. I will always treasure the books you've produced. God bless you. I got your address in 1996 Who's Who in American - where you'll also find my name.

Love (Is not too strong a word here),
Bob

I'm really sorry you'll no longer be giving the country Calvin and Hobbes. I can honestly say yours is the only cartoon I look forward to reading it was/is intelligent, clever and extremely well drawn. I've never seen anyone else capable of achieving expressions as you have on Calvin. Thank you for giving us this classic cartoon and my best regards to Calving and Hobbes and everyone else in the strip because for me they are real and I'll miss them.

I really loved what you did to Calvin and Hobbes. They may appear to some people as mere characters found in their dailies but as far as I am concerned this pair has given us our daily dosage of the world's irony, frustrations, wonders and human meaning than we are able to realize simply by sitting behind a huge desk, in a classroom or in our luxury cars. They are the reflections of our lost childhood and our abrupt entry into adulthood. Thank you very much for a job well done.

Paul Vincent Opinaldo

From: Michael Yount

I don't remember the first time I read Calvin and Hobbes. I was only two years old when Calvin and Hobbes was first published on November 18, 1985, but I don't think my local newspaper carried it anyway. But I do remember my first C&H book, Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons. I got it sometime around third grade. I read it. I loved it. Then came Something Under the Bed is Drooling. In fact, I own most of the books, except Lazy Sunday, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, and maybe a few others. Well, I did own HPJC... but when I moved in in March '95, it got in a box with some weird oil thing that leaked all over the place. The binding was destroyed, and I was devastated. That's how much I love C&H. (My parents had promised me to replace HPJC but they STILL haven't. Yeesh, it's only $12!) Then, I heard somewhere (I don't remember where) that on December 31, 1995, C&H would be gone for good. I didn't believe it. I thought to myself, This isn't happening. It's not true. I read the newspaper on January 1, 1996. I immediately flipped to the comics page. No C&H. In its place, Gil Thorp! I was devastated, in much the same way that I was when I found that my copy of HPJC was destroyed. But this was on a much larger scale. It was as if one of my parents, my close family or friends, or even my dog had died. When I die, I'll have all my earthly possesions put in a time capsule, my C&H books being first and foremost. I wonder what future archaeologists would think of it?...

From: pfaris

Calvin and Hobbes has been my favorite comic since my old best friend showed it to me for the first time. I remeber that day well, I was at his house fooling around with the computer when all of a sudden he showed me a treasury book of Calvin and Hobbes. I took it and read it, all the while laughing when Calvin did something funny or feeling sad when something went wrong and Calvin got sad. Calvin and Hobbes are also a part of me, sometimes i think about them and feel sad that they are gone. But at the same time i remember all the good times they gave me, all the good laughs, all the good crys. To me they are more then a comic strip they are a force that helps me in life, whn im feeling down. They maybe gone from paper, but they are still alive in my heart. I will always love them. Calvin and Hobbes are exactly like my bestfriend and I. Or maybe we are like them. I am like Calvin, easily excited, very persistant, and maybe a pest at times but deep down i am caring and good. My best friend is like Hobbes, he is there to comfort me when i am sad, help me when i am in trouble, and help me live life. I wish every one could be like Hobbes; knd, gentle, caring, loving and down right good nature. I think that the last Calvin and Hobbes was there to comfort all of us out there, who love Calvins wittyness and Hobbes comfort. He was also trying to get out a point that he is starting clean in life, like a clean sheet of paper. that could mean that he is starting a new comic, or maybe he is going to spend more time with his family, in any event i doubt he will ever start Calvin and Hobbes. And that is all i have to say about that.

From: Brad McPherson

I am in disbeleif that Bill has written the last Calvin and Hobbes comic ever. I have been a loyal Reader of C&H since the beginning. When ever I was sad or depressed and there was no one aroung to comfort me I always could pick up one of my C&H treasuries and I had a friend. I would escape into Calvin's world and forget the world around me. Now that C&H is gone I feel as though I have lost a best friend. There is something missing from me and I cannot quite explain what it is. I thank Bill Watersson for all the years of pleasure he gave me in those little daily strips. They made me more happy than most things I have received in life. In tribute to Calvin and Hobbes I am getting a tattoo of them both so they can always remain with me and remind of all the years of joy that they brought me. Thank you.

From: Gail Peterson

Thanks for the chance to read other mourners' thoughts on the end of what was clearly much more than just a "comic strip." I too found myself crying as I read the last strip, knowing I wouldn't be allowed to share the further adventures of my favorite paper-and-ink characters since Pogo and Albert and Churchy and the rest of that gang. Calvin often reminded me of our son, especially when he devoted vast effort to avoiding actual research for homework or avoiding cleaning his room, or found himself under attack by his vegetables.... Many thanks to Bill Watterson for enriching our lives with a boy and his stuffed tiger.

From: George F. Gaffney

Somehow I still can't believe there's no more C&H. Since January 1st, I refused to even glance at the comic that replaced the late, great, Calvin and Hobbes. i bought the new collection book, There's treasure Everywhere, today. Finished reading it in 1 sitting. Took nearly 3 hours, but that's fine. Although I'm only 13 and have been reading the comic for a few years, it's certainly grown on me. It's by far my favorite comic EVER. It seems sometimes that Bill Watterson was Writing about me specifically. And sometimes I wished I could be more like Calvin. Always a funny retort, never at a loss of words, ever-cool adventures(i.e. the transmogrifier, the duplicator, Tracer Bullet, Stupendous Man, Spaceman Spiff, the infamous wagon...), and a best friend that none of us could ever have. when reading Calvin and Hobbes, there's truly Treasure Everywhere.

From: Jacqui
Re: Hobbes and Calvin (my preferred order)

This is really wierd timing. It's 25th March and I hadn't heard of Bill's decision to stop the strip until today. I don't read the Daily Express (where they appear in the UK) and was just thinking it must be time for another book to appear. Oddly, I've been writing an essay on C&H for the last 6 weeks, as part of my A level Media Studies project (pre-university exams, normally taken at 18 - I'm 24 - got distracted on the way to college by cartoon strips and other decadent things! Now I'm having another go!). For the exam, we have to produce artefacts on a media theme and I chose to "produce" (in virtual form, not reality) a Calvin and Hobbes film, and therefore drew up publicity posters, a storyboard, script and so on. Then I had to write about it. In writing the essay I began to assess why I loved C&H so much, and came to some interesting conclusions.

When I met Calvin, I was 14 or 15, and had a little brother of 5 or so. I could remember what it was like at 6 - I had a pretty similar childhood to Calvin - even down to the imaginary friend (mine was some sort of anthropoid alien I recall) - and obviously I could see my kid brother doing the same things. I think I may have seriously warped his childhood, as I definitely fed him Calvin information and lines and there's GOT to be some knockon effect from that!!!!! He went through a phase of the Private Eye soliloquies - Captain Bullseye, the cool space captain who solved mysteries in a deadpan comic way - and had a few goes at torching the place - a flamethrower would have been his favourite Christmas present! (and mine, if the truth be told...)

Now, it's 1996, Calvin and Hobbes have gone exploring - why do I feel there's shades of Captain Oates in that - "I am going for a walk - I may be some time"???? I am informally a step mother to a 7 year old, and I can see Calvin in her, as well. Bill says in 10th Anniversary that he has no kids. He is either a genius at observation or remembers as well as I do what it is like. My uncle pulled the "world turned colour around 1960" trick on me and I believed him, it worked on Helen last year, as well. Kids are open to that sort of thing. The characterisation in C&H is a dream - I like the uncle, although I take Bill's point about what else to do with him. Couldn't Calvin have visited him, though?? I like the idea of Calvin in somewhere new - scared, but with Hobbes to back him up. He'd have been a nightmare first time flyer, or maybe in a foreign country???? (If Calvin ever visits Britain...)

How can this just end???? It means so much to so many people. When I went for university interviews last month, the one I liked (and have accepted) had Calvin on the walls of the teaching rooms. How can you not like a place like that??? Maybe my imaginary film should be made reality: note - I have script and material all ready if any one (Bill???) wants to take this up!!!! It's called "Revenge of the Babysat" after my favourite book and theme, and covers a few of the major items in Calvin's life - the aliens, camping, snow goons, school and parents.

My favourite strips - the mutant snowmen eg the saluting line as Dad goes to work, the fleeing masses, the anatomically correct snowman.
Susie's reactions to Calvin's lunch - enough said.
Dad's poll results... I often wished I could re-elect some of my family!
and the fantasy sequences - maker of worlds, Susie and Calvin play house etc.

I think the final word should be from the burglary sequence. Mom and Dad are in bed, debating the merits of being grown up... Mom says that Calvin is snuggled up next to Hobbes. She hugs Dad. the line (I don't have the book with me) is something like "I haven't got a tiger, you'll have to do". Dad just looks sad, and says "how come I have to be the grown-up - what am I going to cuddle?" THAT's how I feel now there's no C&H. When I get blue, being this big grown-up ad-libbing my way through life, I had them. What am I going to cuddle now???

From: Nicole Whaley

I'm almost 14 and I've been reading Calvin and Hobbes for 6 years, since I was about 8. I loved them right from the start because, being young, I could really relate to Calvin. I liked Hobbes a lot, too. He's so sweet and cuddly, the very epitome of friendship. Now there is a huge gaping void in my life which was once filled by Calvin and his trusting companion, Hobbes. I can speak for all C&H lovers when I say they will be missed immensly. It's hard to go on without Calvin and Hobbes in my life. But I guess it's better Bill quit now, while Calvin and Hobbes still have the very innocence and warmth that make them who they are. I love them and will miss them very much. Calvin and Hobbes forever!!!

From: Christopher DeWolfe

I am sure I am not the first one to write this but Calvin and Hobbes provided me with some of the most entertaining hours ever spent reading. They opened up a different world to me, one in which I could go to anytime I opened up a Calvin and Hobbes treasury. Calvin was the boy we all wanted to be; one who didn't have a care in the world but certainly enjoyed life to the fullest. Hobbes was the friend we all wished we had; one that would be your best pal and be there through thick and thin. I would just like to thank to Mr. Watterson for providing us with such a simple and wonderful world in which we all could associate with. Calvin and Hobbes were so much more than a cartoon; they were a dream that lives within all of us.

From: Robin

Although I am just a 6th grader living in Los Angeles I can definetly relate to the people in which were devistated at the ending of one of the world's best known friends, Calvin and Hobbes. This comic sent many messages to me, and let me experience the world through a six year olds point of view. In addition, I would just like to say that even though I do not see Calvin and Hobbes in the newspaper, I will always remember them.

From: Joe Peck

I've read the comments people have posted about the ending of Calvin and Hobbes. I can't help but wonder what Calvin and Hobbes would make of it all. I picture them both with that perplexed look they usually have when trying to understand adults and the incomprehensible things we do, trying to figure out what we're all mourning about. No one's died here, folks. Calvin will always live on, and Hobbes will be right beside him to keep him company, and to keep Calvin from getting too big an ego. (We all know Hobbes has more luck with girls than Calvin ever will :-)
There couldn't have been a more fitting continuation - not ending - of Calvin and Hobbes. The strip has ended, bringing to a close our eavesdropping on their lives, but Calvin and Hobbes live on, to explore (and conquer, of course) new worlds, have new adventures, face old foes, and optimistically take on the world, in their own unique way, on their own terms, by their own rules. Long live Calvin and Hobbes!!
My all-time favorite strip told me that I wasn't only like Calvin as a kid, but I'm a living example of what Calvin will turn into as an adult.

Calvin: "Why do adults do things so slowly? You'd think the older you get, the more you'd try to cram in because you'd know you've got less time left...By the time I'm an old geezer like Dad I'll be going like crazy."
Hobbes: "Oh, great!"

Pure inspiration!!

One final note - Bill Waterson, you're a genius. Thanks for many wonderful moments, sharp insights, and for reminding us all not to take it too seriously. Good luck to you and happy adventures!

From: Tom Kasper

I was six years old when Calvin and Hobbes entered my life. It was Sunday in Giebelschat( a small town just outside of Frankfurt, Germay. My dad was in the Army. We've lived almost everywhere.) I picked up the Sunday comics to look at all of the pretty pictures.(I wasn't very good at reading!) On the second page was a strip of a small, yellow-haired boy. He had a tiger with him at his side with whom he carried on long conversations with. The talking included a lot of big words that I wasn't able to comprehend at that time, so like any other six year old kid, I threw down the paper and went to play with my toys. A few years later, when I could finally read, I took another shot at the comic. It was Spaceman Spiff. It was love at first sight.
Now I'm sixteen years old. I've grown up with Calvin and his feroiciously furry pal. I can recall years and years of anxiously waiting for Sunday to arrive, of getting mad if my mom threw the funnies away before I could read them, of trying my hardest to draw Calvin and coming up with something that looked more like an etching made by Picasso. Calvin is one of my family in some sort of bizarre way and the fateful day (December 31, 1995) when it all came to an end felt like my closest brother had died.
Its been one of my dreams to meet Watterson. Well since thats never going to happen I guess I get on with my life. Every good thing must come to an end I guess. Too bad it had to be Calvin.

From: Barney Broomer

My name is Barney and I live in Rotterdam, I own a big digital studio here and have a lot on my mind. Almost no private life and always working. Thinking about the issues of life I "ll sometimes get stocked. Thats the moment to pull back, take a warm cup of tea and read one of those comic books of Calvin and Hobbes. It's therapy!!! It's about life , it's funny, I love it. What more can I say? I like to thank Mr. Waterson for all those good years( and upcoming) !!!!!

From: Gina M. Napolitan

I think the first time I read Calvin and Hobbes was when I was ten years old. My friend had all the books and I constantly tried to grab them, see what they were, and just pour over them for a bit. She would always keep them from me, until one day I looked through them while she was out of the room. I wanted the book for myself. When I went home I asked for the book. A while later, I got it. Been hooked since, I suppose. It was really Calvin's bizzare antics that drew me in at first, but then I noticed Hobbes. Wow, he was what I always strived to be. I could relate to him. Always overpowered by his friends will, never thought to be real, quiet, largely overlooked. I loved his philosophies. There were real, I could apply them to my life. I frequently wish I more like Hobbes, strange as it sounds. When I heard about the strip's cease in publication, I was severely hurt. But then when I thought about it, it was a good idea. Kind of a 'Leave them wanting more' thing. It is good in the sense it helps you savour the strip more, appreciate it more. I miss the book profusely...and I have a strange gut feeling it will be back soon.

From: Jacob Churosh

Just got the newest C&H book There's Treasure Everywhere. Good to know that one year and more after the demise of the duo in the funny papers they still live on in the books. I don't know whether to curse Bill Watterson for ending the strip, or thank him for making me laugh. Viva Calvin and Hobbes!!!!!!!!

From: Carly Kokas

I cannot ever remember passing up Calvin and Hobbes each day when I would open up my newspaper. When I moved to Pennsylvania three years ago to begin college, it was to my disappointment to see that Calvin and Hobbes was not run in my local paper.As often as I could, I would make a trip to the store to search for the paper that ran the strip. When I was told by a friend that I would no longer be seeing Calvin each day, I was crushed. There were days when the strip was my only relief and opportunity to smile. Two months ago, I made a decision. My second tatoo was going to be of Calvin in his honor. So now, for the rest of my life and throughout my career as a Special Education teacher, I will be carrying a picture of Calvin on my lower back. I don't think I will ever regret that decision. So does that qualify me as a true Calvin and Hobbes fan. You bet.

From: Chris Price

The end of an era is come upon us. Calvin was the litte kid in everyone because we knew that if we ever did what he did, our parents would kill us. So our outlet was Calvin. Who else could run the family car in a ditch? Or perhaps the time he ran away to the Yukon. The babysitters (we know there was more because his mother would spend hours on the phone until someone gave in, usually the money-hungry Roslyn) felt the fury of millions of repressed children around the world. We couldn't do it, so Calvin agian was the outlet.

HOBBES made the story. He was the voice of reason and cause of troubles. I admired him. My favorite quote was "first we must solve for Y, as in Y do we care?" when he helped Calvin with his math.

They will live on forever in my heart. I hope he will live forever in the hearts of millions because the legacy of Calvin and Hobbes must be known to future generations.

From: Victor Bogado da Silva Lins

I think is sad that Calvin and Hobbes ended, but as 'Q' said once "All good things must come to an end".
I sincerly agree with that sentence. There has been a lot of things, good things, that didn't came to an end in the rigth time and they simply became "out-dated" (I don't know if you are following my line of thought here).

I do think that is better to stop now when things are well then wait till it "MUST" die of "old-age".
Since the author thought this is a good time to stop I cannot disagree with him. Maybe Bill thoght that he was begging to get repetitive or he lack of ideas. Who knows what he'll make next? Maybe something even more genius than C&H (I don't think that could be done, but who knows the future?).

From: Richard Hardy

My first Calvin and Hobbes book was Weirdos from Another Planet. Being ten or so when I got it, I identified with Calvin's imagination and immaturity right away. I immediately set about collecting the previous books and eagerly snapped up each new one when it came out. The Transmogrifier, the dinosaurs, the snowmen, the water balloons, the G.R.O.S.S. meetings...Calvin and Hobbes sank deep into my soul.
When I heard that it would be ending, I was shattered. The Far Side had ended less than a year ago, and now this awful news too?! Calvin and Hobbes was more than your everyday comic strip. It had insights into the human condition, it explored our desire to hold onto childhood...and most importantly, it was FUNNY, unlike most comics. The comics page would surely wither and die without it!
Early in the morning on December 31, 1995, I hopped out of bed, dashed out the front door and grabbed the newspaper. I tore it open, hunting for the comics section. Without hesitating, I opened to page two. There it was: the last one ever. I had the strip framed, and there it hangs on the wall of my room.
Bill Watterson picked a good time to end this superb comic strip. He always prided himself on artistic integrity, and he knew he needed to stop the strip while it was still strong, rather than let it decline and eventually lose its originality. Even the latest book contains some of my favorite strips ever. Whatever Watterson does next, he will have a hard time making it as consistently wonderful as Calvin and Hobbes.

From: Yves Conan

I, like many others, have enjoyed watching Calvin go through his childhood. Living every moment to the fullest. He was wiser than most everyone I know. We will all miss Calvin and his best (and only) friend, Hobbes. All I would like to tell Bill Waterson, a genius in numerous ways, is : "Thanks for all you've done, it has had a great impact on all of us. We will miss your beautiful art and wounderful ideas." I haven't known Calvin & Hobbes that long ,but it's my favorit comic and always will be.

From: Sara Page

To me "Calvin and Hobbes" was a way to escape from the troubles I faced daily. When I opened the paper on January 3, 1996 after returning from vacation I was surprised to see "B.C." in the place where I had seen "Calvin and Hobbes" everyday before. It was then brought to my attention that I would never see a new "Calvin or Hobbes" ever again. This saddened me. All I have now is the books which I hve read numerous times. I'll miss Calvin's crazy ideas and Hobbes' calmness

From: Matt Pellowski

My twin brother and I never really got along. However, when he bought Calvin and Hobbes I loved him again. That book brought us closer together and severed the tie of our enemyship. I always wanted to thank Bill for what he did for my family.

From: Paul Graham

C and H meant a lot to me. It remindes me of friends i have lost and that i have yet to gain. it made he laugh and cry. I wondered about tommorws adventer. I hopped i would get a glimps of a childhood i never had and doubt i ever shall have, and i am 14 years old. Calvin aka Spaceman Spiff aka Tracer Bullet, Susie, Mel, Mrs. Wormwood, Nameless parents, Rosalyn, Moe, nameless classmates and coach, and last but never least Hobbes, go on that adventure and never loss your childhood dreams. Bye Bill Watterson.

From: Mike McLaughlin

We have the last strip framed and hung in our rec room. It is hung somewhat low so that our grandchildren can read it. The last strip is my favorite, for what it says about life, especially for a couple of retired folks. It is also my least favorite, for we did not have a chance to say good bye. I do think that sometime in the future, in a bar on a distant planet, some traveller from Earth will catch a glimpse of a wise-cracking little solo space pilot and his sidekick, a big siberian tiger. If you are that traveller, please say Hi from us back in an earlier Milleneum.

From: Hamish Gunn

I miss Calvin & Hobbes. I can no longer anoy my parents with jokes I have memorized to the letter. But at least Bill ended the strip in style. There was no answer to exactly what Hobbes was. We will never know if Calvin loved Susie. We will never know if Mrs. Wormwood will retire. And I'm glad. Bill had the guts to end the strip while it was still funny, rather than letting it drag on for years like so many other strips. He had a lot of guts to fight against shameless merchandising. And he had a lot of guts to make a strip as funny as funny, kind, and innocent as Calvin & Hobbes. C & H will live forever in our hearts.

From: Omar Yacoubi

For me, my favorite thing in Calvin & Hobbes was the way that Bill Watterson interpreted the view of a 6-year-old into terms we could all understand. Such as the Sunday strip where Calvin was "eaten" by the pile of leaves that his father had just finished raking, or the "live" green glob of food sitting in front of him at dinner. I'll really miss the strip. But I'll tell you one thing: the way B. Watterson ended his last strip, I'm thinking he'll be coming back. Hopefully...

From: Michael Holton

It seems so fuuny that im setting here very sick with the flu, But crying after finding this web site and reading every word of every link. I looked forward to seeing C&H each day. Thinking back on all the times my friends and I would laugh about something they would get into.
You know? It was a lot like losing someone in your family. "IT HURT THAT BAD" Someone that you wanted to see each day, But now their gone. You know it's going to happen sooner or later, BUT! your always looking around that corner for them to come walking up and say "were the hell have you been!"
To Bill Watterson: Thanks for the laughter & tears!!!
To Calvin & Hobbes: your memories will live with all that you have touched!!

From: Lori

Calvin & Hobbes is a way of cheering up someone.I went to the library and got books on them and could not stop!!!I only read 3 but they are still the best.I like them more than any book I ever read!!!!!!And I LLOOVVEE to read!!!So you can imagine-out of all those books I read-Calvin and Hobbes arer THE BEST!!!I think Hobbes is cool,but if Bill kept making comics-more Hobbes.They NEVER put Hobbes in every single comic like Calvin-and they BOTH have their name on the title!CALVIN AND HOBBES rocks!!!! I will never stop liking them and I hope you don't eiether.I'm putting this on t eh suggestion or input or what pople think about Calivn and Hobbes page - NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EEEEEVVVVVEEERRR STOP LIKING CALVIN AND HOBBES! THEY ROCK SO MUCH THEY-THEY-THEY JUST ROCK A LOT!

From: Zelda the Insane

It was nifty. That's the best word i can come up with. I used to look forward to arriving home, JUST to read the daily Calvin and Hobbes. I've got every regular book(the collections are basically a waste; they're just two books combined) and the 10th Anniversary. Calvin and Hobbes is probably the best comic strip I've ever seen. Most of the ones now are just bland, boring drawings about the same old stuff with the usual stereotypes, kind of like Seinfeld and some worthless formula show(you know, where there's the ditz, the smart one, etc.) Who would've thought that a kid with an over active imagination and his tiger friend(Hobbes is real. How many people's imaginary friends call them nimrods?) would become such an addiction? The last cartoon annoys me. I'm sorry, but it's true. I don't think of it as a nice way to let Calvin go off and grow up and all that. It's a just a dull way to end something. Of course, I'm insane. Maybe it's just because I'm bitter. let me say this, if I had any talent at all, I probably would've started drawing my own Calvin cartoons like the pathetic-o I am.

From: Geoff
Date: 01/01/00

5 years have passed this day without Calvin & Hobbes. A strip that was filled with wonder and awe was lost to the sands of syndication and greed. I was about 10 and was highly interested in drawing and my dad bought Revenge of the Babysat at the mall and I read it on the way home. I would finish the book and turn it over and re-read it. I read it around 20 times in a row before I went and bought another one and when I had caught up with back issues I waited for the new one to come. This book opened me to the comic page of the newspaper and to the world of comic strip art. From that day I wanted to be a comic strip artist. At 15 I sent in submissions to King only for rejection and now that I'm almost 21 I've lately have not been drawing. Yet an urning to do what I have always wanted to do calls me. I owe a lot to Watterson, he being my greatest influence. I have won awards for my comic as I have tried to become a great cartoonist, I want to fill in the void that Calvin and his friend Hobbes have left behind, but Calvin is not a corporate figure he cannot be reproduced without the creative talent of Watterson behind the paper and the pen. Though my art is simplistic it speaks highly of what can be overcome, it plays from my life, how I view the world, the characters are fragments of me, and though I use a computer to enhance it I still rough and ink it. This is the way it should be done and I believe in what Watterson says, I thank him for opening these doors and now that a new century of comic strips have opened we can only wonder what lies ahead of them. The comic will survive and maybe through the use of the internet become what Watterson has wanted the comic to be, art.

I thank Watterson.

From: Gaby R (Age 13)
Date: 11/25/01

Oh Calvin, we hardly knew ye (or perhaps we knew him too well). Since my cousins loved Calvin and Hobbes and my brother and I got there books as hand-me-downs, I have always loved the loud-mouth sixyear old (a male version of me now?) and the pouncing life-loving tiger Hobbes, Calvin's best friend. Before I learned to read, I remember looking at the pictures and imagining dialogue to go along with the humorous pictures. Then, I learned to read, and the comics were funnier than I had imagined them to be (perhaps because I don't tell good jokes but love one that's good).
       When Calvin and Hobbes ended and disappeared from newspapers, I refused to believe it (I was 7 and a bit more naive). I assumed it was only from my city's paper. I still only barely believe Calvin is gone. I still read the comics every Sunday, with hopes at the back of my mind I might see a red and black striped t-shirt, black and orange stripes, a short little brunette, or even a fat guy with hair that constantly covers his eyes, even when he's about to punch someone. Maybe one day, we'll realize the importance of a best friend, even if he is "just" a stuffed tiger; perhaps one day there'll be a holiday where all you do is sled and play in the snow; maybe one day, they'll declare CalvinBall an Olympuc sport.
       Who can forget Spaceman Spiff, Tracer Bullet, Calvin the Tiger, and all those duplicates (hoo boy, just what Calvin's parent's need, a gang of rambunctious cynical six year olds wreaking havock. They have enough trouble handling 1 Calvin, they're already outnumbered!).
       You can be sure that in the future, Calvin won't settle for being one of the crowd. Perhaps he'll still carry around his trusty old tiger for good luck. Maybe he'll marry Susie; perhaps he'll find out if monsters really exist; he mighteven find out what happened to his long lost uncle Max!
       Hobbes: a trusty old pal. Always there to do Calvin's homework, to give him an "enthusiastic" greeting when he got home from school, always trying to help Calvin out of or into a jam. Who can forget his love of tuna, how he was washed in the dryer, or his quiet musings under the apple tree (or what kind of tree is it?) with Calvin.
       Bill Watterson, you're a genius. Only a genius could capture the mind of an adult and the mind of a child, and blend them together to get Calvin and Hobbes (but who has how much of adult and child is yet to be seen). I hope that one day, I see a comic as fine as Calvin and Hobbes, a diamond in the rough.
       We all know Bill Watterson was the first to write the word "Booger" in his comics (who else?). He also wrote the first comics I ever read, and for that, I thank him. If I hadn't read his comics, who knows where I'd be today? (I'd probably end up like Moe, so I guess I'm lucky!)

From: James Sabogal
Date: 4/26/2002

I think Calvin and Hobbes is the coolest comic strip ever created I currently read c&h before I sleep every night I did a reading presentation on you and I find you a remarkable man its a shame to see you stop producing these strips c&h will always have a spot in my hart

ps Calvin and Hobbes RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUULLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

From: Carl Mills
Date: 5/02/2002

Now I have nothing better to do at work than to browse through Calvin and Hobbes. It's a wonderful feeling having to sit and deal with the general public-strike that-general village idiots of the public, and watch Calvin dream up ingenious ways to annoy everyone around him to the point of no return, yet always make me laugh while he's doing so. If there's anything we do not have enough of in the world it is good, quality comedy. Granted, there's a lot of comedy, but then you are missing the quality part.

The best thing about Calvin and Hobbes is that it's not always comedy. There's usually a comic ending, but there is a lot of thought in these strips that simplify life in many ways. Personally, I would settle for reading Calvin and Hobbes from the books than newspapers, myself. If nothing else, quit the papers. Who made the divine law that all comics must appears in papers for eternity or until retirement anyway? When your bored, gimme Calvin and Hobbes in book form, that way I don't have to just make due with one strip a day anyway.

Simply an idea and thought. I sincerely hope to see new Calvin and Hobbes on bookshelves someday. It's always enlightening to see what a 6 year old with a vocabulary that outdoes my own can think up next.

Sincerely and without reserve,

Wolfe

From: Katrina
Date: 5/22/2002

Dear Mr. Watterson,

I'm Katrina. I'm 12 years old and I home schooled.

I love your comic-strips almost as much as my mom does. I know you probably get this a lot but I wish you still made them for the newspaper. I really like writing and drawing! I like to write short stories and poems, mostly, and my drawings you will normally find on my homework.

Just wanted to say hi and I enjoy your work.

From: Nameless
Date: 2/20/2003

Mr. Watterson~ Sometimes people are appointed to perform tasks that they do
no necessarily enjoy, or are given a gift that is also a curse, but they
should use this gift or perform that task if it brings happiness to the
world of just one person, or in his case one world of a lot of people. A
small personal sacrifice if it brings happiness to so many. Don't you
think? Read your mail and listen to your fans, after 8 years they remain
loyal and still love and miss Calvin and Hobbes as much as ever. Mr.
Watterson, please continue to share your gift, we miss Calvin and Hobbes and
the simplicity and joy they once brought to our lives! Long live Calvin and
Hobbes!

Back to The Calvin & Hobbes Page at Craig's