According toCalvin and Hobbescreator Bill Watterson, there is something every one of his iconic strip’s characters have in common – that is,in some way or another, they all reflect a part of the author himself. In fact, from the way Watterson describes it, Calvin might actually be the least like him of the cast.
In a 1989 interview withThe Comics Journal, the author and illustrator talked about the real-life inspirations behind some of his characters, while also noting that his goal as a creator was to do more than just imitate life, but to be “true to the character[s]” as they developed over the course ofCalvin and Hobbestime in publication.
That said, he did acknowledge that he manifested on the page through his characters, without the cartoon ever becoming too-overtly autobiographical – especially as Watterson claimed to have been far different from Calvin as a child himself.
Calvin And Hobbes' Creator Explains How Writing The Comic Involved Tapping Into Different Sides Of Himself
Bill Watterson On “Pulling Out Different Aspects Of [His] Personality”
In response to a question about relating tothe father character inCalvin and Hobbes, Bill Watterson explained toThe Comics Journalthathe found himself reflected in all of his comic’s cast. That meant drawing on his experience with his own father during his youth, but also envisioning himself in Calvin’s dad’s position. In the interview, Watterson noted:
The dad is, in some ways, a parody of my own dad and he’s also part of myself…I’m also part of the mother, too, and Susie, and everyone else. I’m pulling out different aspects of my personality in writing each character…
In fact, Watterson went on to note how unlike Calvin himself he was himself, making it clear that the line between truth and fiction in his work was not so sharply delineated.
That is, there were no one-to-one analogs for real people inCalvin and Hobbes. From its debut in 1985, to the time of Watterson’s interview withThe Comics Journalin `1989, to the end ofCalvin and Hobbeson New Year’s Eve 1995, the characters of the comic strip were a fully realized fictional family. While the author used his experiences, and himself, as jumping off points for character beats, storylines, and punchlines, ultimately, the characters dictated their actions and reactions – and that was very much deliberate on Bill Watterson’s part.
Bill Watterson’s Goal Was To Create “Complete And Real Characters” –Did He Succeed?
Defining “Real” Isn’t Always Easy WithCalvin and Hobbes
Like any great writer, Bill Wattersonsought for there to be an organic element to his work. In other words, his characters weren’t just mouthpieces for his ideas and opinions, nor were they simply vehicles for delivering set-ups and punchlines. Instead,Calvin and Hobbeswas, for all intents and purposes, a sitcom in comic strip form. Watterson created situations, and the humor came from his characters' actions and reactions to these situations. Part of that meant cultivating a consistency in characters' reactions over time.
As Watterson put it:
If I’m doing my job well, I’m being true to the situation and true to the character. Hopefully, the mother is not just the disciplinarian, but is more well-rounded than that — the same thing with the father or Susie, and so on. My aim is to make each one complete and real.
Of course, withCalvin and Hobbes, “real” was never to be taken for granted, as is exemplified by the perennial question ofwhether Hobbes himself is “real” or imaginary. The series was known for pushing the limitations of the comic strip medium, at both the narrative and visual levels, as Watterson, through Calvin, created convoluted fantasies, rendered in sweeping artistic fashion, which have few rivals in terms of bringing visual excitement to an otherwise static cartoon.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes collection makes for a wonderful gift for any long-term fan of the beloved comic series. The collection consists of four color books in paper or hardback, all held in a sturdy display storage box. This collection includes all the cartoons that ever were printed in syndication.
That said,as far as crafting characters that were “real” and “complete” in the sense of being true to themselves, Bill Watterson was wildly successful. Over time, it became possible for readers to anticipatehowCalvin and Hobbes' characterswould respond to a certain situation – which made it even more enjoyable when Watterson was still able to provide an unexpected, off-kilter pay-off by the end of the strip. Even at their most over-the-top,Calvin and Hobbes’characters behaved realistically, based on the traits Watterson established for each of them early on in the strip’s run.
Calvin’s Character Reflected Bill Watterson Too – But Not Necessarily His Lived Experience
Calvin Was Watterson Uninhibited – Or Maybe Unhinged
When readers look for an author’s personality embedded in the author’s work, they naturally tend to look first to the work’s protagonists, andCalvin and Hobbesis no exception. Yet readers shouldn’t expect too much autobiography in Watterson’s cartoon, especially not when it comes to the strip’s six-year-old main character. That’s not to say, however, that he doesn’t embody his creator in some way. As Bill Watterson toldThe Comics Journal:
Calvin’s not the way I actually behaved, but there’s a part of me that would behave that way if I had no concern at all for anyone else.
Notably, contained in this answer is acritique of Calvin’s behavior, and it is not the only time in the interview that Watterson was critical of the character.
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Calvin and Hobbes is one of the most accurate depictions of life through the eyes of a little kid, at least, if that kid proved to be kind of… evil.
Watterson describes Calvin as being reflective of a potential version of himself that is kept in check – meaning thata vital part of Calvin’s creation comes from the author reflecting on his own well-behaved childhood and envisioning how it could have been radically different. While it isn’t so straightforward as to say that Calvin is a hypothetical version of Watterson as a child, this is certainly an important dimension of the character. In this way,Calvin and Hobbesis a fascinating example of how inspiration is about more than just what makes it onto the page.
Bill Watterson’s Calvin And Hobbes Was An Extended Character Study
A Comic Strip Situation Comedy
It is worth returning to the idea ofCalvin and Hobbesas a sitcom, because comparing the strip to an entirely different medium is befitting of the singular quality of the work.Like its contemporaryThe Far Side,Calvin and Hobbeswas healthily subversive – that was, it subverted readers' understanding of what a comic strip was, and what a comic strip could be. With his cartoons,Bill Watterson achieved something approximate to the rhythms of a sitcom, in the way his characters behaved, or in the case of Calvin, misbehaved, under different conditions.
Calvin and Hobbeswas the product of an artist putting all his ambitions, and a great deal of himself, onto the page, and the result was a spectacular, unforgettable run in comics.
At the same time,Calvin and Hobbestook full advantage of the comic medium, to give its sitcom-esque humor a wild visual flair. The dynamic ofCalvin and Hobbes’artistic style, and Watterson’s approach to storytelling, is exactly what made it so wildly popular from its inception, and why the strip remains a beloved part of popular culture nearly three decades after it ceased publication. In short,Calvin and Hobbeswas theproduct of an artist putting all his ambitions, and a great deal of himself, onto the page, and the result was a spectacular, unforgettable run in comics.
Source:The Comics Journal, Bill Watterson Interview (1989)
Calvin and Hobbes
Calvin and Hobbes was a satirical comic strip series that ran from 1985-1995, written, drawn, and colored by Bill Watterson. The series follows six-year-old Hobbes and his stuffed Tiger, Calvin, that examines their lives through a whimsical lens that tackles everyday comedic issues and real-world issues that people deal with.
