It's A Magical World: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection [Paperback]

I wont go into detail as to the actual strips as there are far too many to review. Suffice it to say that once you delve into the innocent, yet highly complicated world of the troubled youngster and his stuffed toy tiger, you will never (and I truly mean NEVER) look back. It is at once hilariously funny and heartbreakingly poignant. This is due to the way Bill Waterson creates his characters. While this is pure fantasy, the sort that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, it is also uncompromisingly real and from the angry attitude of the little boy lost, at odds with a confusing and paradoxical world, to the frayed tethers of his parents who have been beaten by that same cruel world it creates pathos in the reader as the experiences are similar to our own. Calvin defies any kind of conformity whilst sticking to his own special brand of comformist, almost totalitarian regime of pelting Susie Derkins with 'slush balls', spending all his weekends torn between watching endless violent cartoons and sledging or making the most grotesque but interesting snow sculptures ever created. Calvin is a product of capitalism and the post-50's era America of disenchantment coupled with luxury. He has no work ethic but is the busiest little boy on the planet, always thinking up fantasies and schemes. Just take the strip in Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat where he is derided by his father and sent to his room in disgrace. He then looks out of the window onto a barren, yet somehow beautiful landscape where the only 'normal' object is his house. Waterson instils the beauty and awe of otherness, of the sad adage that everything beautiful is far away, the grass is always greener on the other side. The worlds in Calvin's mind remind all of us daydreamers out there that it is essential to human nature to wonder and feel awe, to even feel insignificant. One strip comes to mind where Calvin stands in the forefront of a starry night and screams 'I am significant!' following it up with a humble aside, 'screamed the dust speck.' It is philosophy like this that rises Waterson above many other cartoon strip illustrators and writers. Calvin & Hobbes is more about life, the human condition and philosophy than it is about a little kid misbehaving. It is intelligent yet funny. It runs the gamut of a multitude of emotions and makes the reader aware of their own existence and how precious it is, especially in light of the apathy that seems to pervade a lot of modern society today. Calvin is also apathetic yet holds a deeply sincere respect for life. He wishes to live it how he wants. The unsettling nature of C&H is how he is constantly foiled at every turn by a conformist society.

And that brings me on to my deep respect for Mr Waterson. He has decided to end what was the most memorable double-act in the history of cartoon-strips to avoid selling out to big corporations. That is why you will see no official merchandise of C&H. Unlike many others, he wrote about something he cared about, trying to make some sort of sense out of the chaos that is the world. It was a passion for himself and has become a passion for his fans to read.

There have been 11 proper collections of original material and I suggest you purchase them all. You will not be disappointed. If you are new to C&H, I envy you immensely. If you are already a fan, you'll know what I mean when I say that it is a magical world indeed, made more so by a little, spiky haired boy and his stuffed toy tiger disappearing into a vast white landscape, going exploring.

Calvin can make an adventure out of everything, whether it's having Susie over for an afternoon (a great day for GROSS), trying to get out of school, playing Calvinball with Rosalyn, or putting off a leaf collection project until the very last night, his antics are sure to make you laugh. The genius of the strip is that we're often laughing at ourselves. Hobbes's comments are often funny and true, and watch out for the Chewing magazine strips. They hit a little too close to home.

This strip got better as it went along, and there is some classic stuff here. It's a little bitter sweet reading the last few knowing it's the end. And I still want to know what the noodles incident was.

While there are some strips out there I enjoy, I still miss this great strip. If you somehow managed to miss it, pick up any book today. It's guaranteed to have you laughing in no time.

Other characters include two marvelous one-eyed aliens, Galaxoid and Nebular, who buy the earth from Calvin for 50 leaves, but when it snows, claim they were overcharged, and demand that Calvin bring the planet up to code, and Calvin's musings on whether there is an Evil Santa, who gives to the bad girls and boys "the dangerous, annoying, and corrupting toys your parents won't allow", and best of all, when he decides to be a Suburban Post-Modernist artist, and claims that "art isn't about ideas, it's about style".

Hobbes is my favorite cartoon animal, drawn as a stuffed toy when seen from non-Calvin eyes, but a wise and playfull being in Calvin's magical world. There's a lot of love between them, and the hug on the back cover of this book says it all. Calvin and Hobbes will appeal to the rebel in us all, provide numerous laughs, and warm our hearts on cold days.