Calvin and Hobbes dancing IMG

A Tribute to Calvin and Hobbes

(An essay Jeff Manson wrote after reading the last Calvin and Hobbes comic strip.)

     Today, the last day of 1995, we all searched for the comics section of our newspaper. As we found it, we skipped over the New Years jokes in the other comic strips, passing by Garfield and the ever-declining Peanuts. We turned to Calvin and Hobbes, to read the final composition of Bill Watterson's career. It's not an extra-long strip today as some of us expected. There are no vibrant colors to celebrate the years of one of the most successful comic strips in history. And it doesn't have a depressing feel; it's very optimistic.

     "The world looks brand-new," Hobbes says, after he and his 6-year-old friend discover the snowfall of the previous night. "A new year...a fresh, clean start!" Calvin responds. "It's like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on!" says Hobbes; "A day full of possibilities!" answers Calvin.

     Bill has done a good job of keeping Calvin and his tiger's lives going, by making it seem as though their lives go on, just without us seeing them. "It's a magical world ol' buddy... let's go exploring!" And Calvin and Hobbes depart on their sled, leaving us in the real world dumbfounded; not being able to contemplate the fact that they're gone.

     Calvin is a friend to many of us; and so is Hobbes. We'll always remember Space Man Spiff and the old cardboard box used as a Time Machine, Transmogrifier, and Duplicator. We'll never forget the club G.R.O.S.S. (Get Rid Of Slimy girlS) and dictator-for-life's constant plans to snowball or water balloon Susie Derkins.

    Calvin and Hobbes live within us all, and our memories of them will always be held within numerous C&H; Collections and Treasuries that sit on our book shelf, waiting to be looked through again. But our obnoxious, imaginative friend and his wise stuffed tiger have died from the Sunday funnies page, and the daily 3-frame strip we have grown to love.

     But as we leave Calvin and Hobbes behind, we go on exploring, but can never forget our experiences in Watterson's world cold enough for snow, yet warm enough for swimming. Reading Calvin and Hobbes has helped us all, psychologically. Like Calvin's dad says: "It builds character."

This essay was quoted several times in an article about Calvin and Hobbes in the May issue of Honk, a University of Southern Queensland Student Association publication in Australia.

- "Why, Bill? Why?"

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