T-shirt #122: Calvin and Hobbes.jpg)
I am not supposed to have a Calvin and Hobbes T-shirt. Apologies to Bill Watterson. Also, thank yous to my friends Neil and Yvette Southwell who sent me this shirt from Malaysia, where American legal restrictions were not a problem.
Back in the 1990s, before the Internet was so easily accessible (hey, kids, we had to "dial" into it and it tied up the phone line) and before everything and more was actually available ON the Internet, commerce crawled along at a much slower pace. Back then, Bill Watterson's lock down on merchandising for his comic strip Calvin and Hobbes, which is the single GREATEST COMIC STRIP EVER MADE, was much more effective. Despite my greatest respect for Mr. Watterson and his choices, I still wanted a T-shirt when my friends reported seeing knock offs in Malaysia and offered to send me one. I did not wear the shirt too often as I felt intense guilt for circumventing Watterson's wishes about merchandising. Now, knock-off merchandising, such as the image of Calvin urinating on a Ford logo, are ubiquitous. AND if you Google "Calvin and Hobbes T-shirts," many delightful choices display on your screen. Times have changed. Time for owning another C&H shirt or six? PERHAPS.
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Calvin and Hobbes has brought me great joy. Thank you, Mr. Watterson. You made my life richer because of your fantastic art and stories.RANKINGS OF BEST COMIC STRIPS - CALVIN AND HOBBES WINS
There is little dispute (or there should be little dispute) that Calvin and Hobbes is the greatest comic strip ever created. A few sites do not have it as number one. I found one stupid site that did not have Calvin and Hobbes in the top ten. In fact, I would argue that it is one of the very best entertainment works ever created in any medium or genre! (But such is an argument for another time.)
As you know -- or you may not know but are learning right now -- I am not one for ultimate or absolute statements. I have a lot of love, and I like to spread it around. But I have no hesitation in proclaiming that Calvin and Hobbes is far and away, above and beyond, infinitely THE GREATEST COMIC STRIP EVER MADE.
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| Back of today's shirt |
Though the following link is missing GET FUZZY, which is current and should place in a top ten, this is good one, and for the most part, I agree
IANTHECOOL - TOP TEN COMIC STRIPS
These are also good rankings though not my favorites from what I have found online.
HELIOPHON: Why Calvin and Hobbes is one of the best comic strips ever
SABOTAGE TIMES: CALVIN AND HOBBES - THE GREATEST COMIC STRIP OF ALL TIME!
BY FAN VOTE: Rankopedia - Best Comic Strip Ever
Want to vote? Try RANKER. It requires no log in and the ads are not very intrusive.
Check out these links and the trailer:
DOCUMENTARY!! - NEWS ARTICLE AT FANBOY
THE DOCUMENTARY WEBSITE: Dear Mr. Watterson
I am very excited about this documentary. A film devoted to the love of Calvin and Hobbes? Really? And I thought I was excited when I kicked in to the Kickstarters for the WeAreBatman movie, the Amazing Randi movie, and the Veronica Mars movie.
Dear Mr. Watterson Trailer
It was a sad day (Nov. 9th 1995) when Watterson announced that he was ending the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip at the end of that year. Like so many fans, I felt a HUGE sense of loss. I was a devoted DAILY follower. Every day I would grab the paper to read my favorite strip. If I did not grab the paper for a couple of days, the newspapers MUST remain accessible so I could catch up. When I went on vacation, the comic pages had to be saved. When I was in Europe, I had massive withdrawal and could not believe that no one published the American strips.Calvin and Hobbes was a part of my daily life and brought me great joy and comfort.
And yet, I understood Watterson's decision. His explanation (find it on the Wiki about him HERE) was succinct and clear. He did not want to "run it into the ground." I get it. I was sad. I am sad. But I get it. There are ten years of daily strips collected in books. It's enough.Watterson is intensely private. He has declined many opportunities for interviews and biographies. He did speak to the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 2010, and again the remarks are on the Wiki page (see previous link) in which he explained a bit further. He does not regret ending the strrip when he did, and after much thought, neither do I.
And yet, a documentary about the strip will surely be AWESOME. As one of the earliest Kickstarters, the film Dear Mr. Watterson promises to be wonderful (if the trailer is any indication). It will premiere in November of 2013. I am counting the days.
Last comment on merchandising, and then I am going to present some of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes strips (more Watterson and less me today). It sounds like a great idea to have a Calvin and Hobbes Christmas show on TV, Calvin and Hobbes stuffed toys, stickers, play sets, polo shirts, pajamas, bed sheets, limited edition statues, book ends, lamps, waste baskets, refrigerator magnets, and so on. And yet, my love for the strip may be diminished. For the most part, despite knock offs, the strip exists just as the strip: the art and the story.
It exists JUST as Watterson intended it.
This is as it should be.
MY ALL-TIME TOP THREE FAVORITE CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS
NUMBER ONE - NAILS IN THE COFFEE TABLE
NUMBER TWO - THE TOASTER
NUMBER THREE - THE RECORD (LP)
OTHER FAVOURITE CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS
Surely, if I re-read all my Calvin and Hobbes books (which I may do before the documentary premiere in November) , I would probably have other choices. I like a lot of "Calvin the Bold" sequences. There was also the break-in story and the raccoon story; both of which were excellent. I loved the sequence in which Calvin transformed himself into a Tiger. There's Stupendous Man and Spaceman Spiff. So many great ones.
There's omissions here simply because I am not loading up several hundred strips. But these were among the best I found skimming current online resources. Enjoy.
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PERFECT strip to end with today...
FOR MORE CALVIN AND HOBBES- 25 GREAT CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS
- 10 BEST CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS
The preceding link also has a short film inspired by Calvin and Hobbes and some other goodies.
- 10 GREAT CALVIN AND HOBBES STRIPS
- WHEN WE FIRST MET - CAST OF CALVIN AND HOBBES
- chris tower - 1307.21 - 9:38
Dude, you nailed it. I didn't choose to be created, but to be here for C&H and thirtysomething eases the bitterness.
ReplyDeleteThanks, dude. Great perspective. None of us chose to be created, but surely our lives are all richer because of C&H. I realize I have left the books in boxes or on unexamined shelves too long.
ReplyDeleteI now have one on my coffee table, especially since Liesel confessed to never having read it.