If you were born after 1995 or were too young that year (or too old!) to enjoy a good comic, you missed the best comic ever printed in the daily newspaper.I would even argue that it was better than anything that ever ran in comic books as well.
Calvin and Hobbes first appeared when I was 19, in 1985 and I immediately fell in love with it. Bill Watterson, creator of the strip, in my mind, created a timeless comic that is as poignant today as it was back in 1985.
Because it didn't necessarily specifically refer to world events like "Doonsbury" or "Bloom County", it can be read and enjoyed today with the same newness as if it appeared in today's daily paper.
I have included the Wiki-encyclopedia link in case you need a refresher course or want a quick background to Bluey's choice of best comic ever. Nothing comes close, not even "The Far Side".
I would have hated to be the tired spent up Dik Browne and Bill Keane's of the world, who were peddling sorry excuses for comics such as "Hagar The Horrible", "Beetle Bailey", "Nancy", "The Wizard of Id" and "Hi and Lois", "Family Circle" etc..etc.., when Calvin and Hobbes came on the scene. Watterson's comic was so far heads and shoulders above the "kids" comics it was embarassing. These other comics were so tired and old that they just ran retreads of the same bullshit every week.
"Kids, who left the cake out in the rain? (Sorry, I couldn't resist)
"Not Me""Not Me""Not Me" (as the "Not Me" ghost comes flying in the house).
That same comic continues to run in one form or another as Bill Keane's "Family Circle" continues to give me ass cancer everytime I accidently see it!
Calvin was an everyman, who anybody in the world could identify with. He wasn't good nor bad...he was human nature personified. His stuffed tiger, Hobbes, fueled his every adventure, real or imaginary and gave him an object in which he could project his hidden feelings to others and the world around him without fear of retribution, laughter or humiliation. The perfect imaginary friend to protect his own vulnerabilities.
People who know me, know that I'd probably never get a tattoo in my life. But if I was to do so, Calvin and Hobbes would be the statement I'd like to make to the world. Not dragons, barbed wire, Tay's name on my ass or "Mother".
It would be Calvin and Hobbes flying down a hill in a wagon or lying side by side in the grass or having a water balloon fight with Suzie Derkins (with Hobbes wearing his cool Jams!). Because, when it comes down to it, that's what life is about. No matter what we do, who we grow up to be, and how much money we make, it all comes down to the simple happinesses that we provide ourselves and others around us that will define our lives.
And that's why Calvin and Hobbes will always be the perfect comic for me.
"I wonder where we go when we die?" (Calvin).
"Pittsburgh?" (Hobbes).
"You mean if we're good or if we're bad?" (Calvin).
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