Friday Creature Feature - Hobbes

The longer I’m a father, the more I’m fascinated by the imaginative play of my daughters and the world(s) they create for themselves. It made me think of the Calvin and Hobbes comics I read as a kid. Nothing against the Spaceman Spiff alter ego, but the most iconic part of Calvin’s imaginative play should be obvious: Hobbes.

Hobbes is Calvin’s stuffed tiger and best friend. He’s sassy and fierce and he loves tuna. He can’t get behind half of Calvin’s inventions and risky adventures. Despite being a domesticated housecat in many ways, the wild tiger still lives inside of him, even if it’s just to destroy Calvin every day after school. 

I love that over the years it’s left ambiguous as to whether he’s real or imaginary. Is Hobbes part of Calvin’s psyche or is he a real tiger that only Calvin can see? Especially with how involved my oldest daughter gets in her imaginative play, I love the idea of Hobbes being pure imagination. If Hobbes is part of Calvin’s psyche, it makes their antics that much better.

Think about it for a second: If Hobbes is really just part of Calvin, what does that say about Hobbes crushing on Susie? All a young boy trying to avoid liking a neighbor girl. And what about all the times Calvin makes Hobbes do his homework? Just a way that Calvin’s mind makes the monotony of schoolwork more palatable. And just think of all those moments that Hobbes would make a sassy remark and Calvin barks back in anger? That’s Calvin’s internal dialogue coming out. 

Regardless of what you make of Hobbes’s sentience, he’s the best friend a young boy could ask for. It makes me wonder how lonely Calvin might have been to dream up such a friend. The only boy his age I can remember him interacting with is his bully Moe. Kids are resilient though and an imaginative child like Calvin took care of himself and in some ways I think that’s beautiful. It takes a special kid to be his own best friend.

Moments of Motherhood by Calvin's Mom

With Mother's Day coming up this weekend, I was thinking about which mother of all fandom I wanted to spotlight. I decided to go with the (almost) always patient mother of Calvin, from Calvin and Hobbes. And here are just a few moments with her that I think every parent (especially moms) can relate to.

To be honest, I know I wasn’t an easy child. So why would I expect mine to be easy?

Imaginative play is wonderful and healthy… but it certainly gets in the way of reality at times. 

The job of a mom is full-time work… the job of being a child… whenever they feel like it. 

Seeing your little one sick is the worst part of parenting. Period. 

Moms have this intuition to know how to comfort their child.

Two minutes of quiet with a child is inherently suspicious 

Playtime/TV time > Feeding yourself

My toddler’s latest bedtime question: “What are you doing?”

Sometimes you just gotta tell the kid what they need to hear. 

Goal Setting with Calvin and Hobbes

I’ve made my thoughts about New Years and resolutions plain in the past, so I don’t think I need to beat that dead horse. However, if you want to set a resolution and don't know where to start, I have some tips, based on the wisdom of the one and only Calvin, of Calvin and Hobbes.

Pick something that sounds nice, but doesn’t change you.

The most basic way to make sure you achieve your New Year’s resolution is to aim low. Want to spend less time on social media? Delete the app you spend the least time on (for me that’d be Pinterest). Or if you’re someone like Calvin with no filter, you could always go for the “expressing yourself more” option.

“The world [ought to change] to suit me.”

If the low hanging fruit of goals doesn’t appeal to you, denial and victimhood is always an option. After all, maybe you don’t need to change. We live in a crazy world where we’re bombarded with opinions of others and their emotions. So why not play the victim and wait for the world to change before you start changing yourself? 

Logic yourself out of the need to change.

Or maybe, in this world of accepting your true self and self-affirmation, you don’t really need to change. Plus we live in a world where truth and values are relative anyway, so who’s to say you need to change? Why not stay exactly as you are?

“Wing it and see what happens.”

All else fails, you can always just say your resolution is to go with the flow more. In doing so, you don’t really need to do anything except continue life as you are. Maybe you’ll improve and better yourself? Or maybe you’ll coast through 2023 as safely as ever?

In the end, I suppose it’s only because of tradition that we make resolutions right? No need to make any life changing or transforming goals. Just whatever will make life easy right?

Friday Creature Feature - Calvin's Snowmen

Back in elementary school, Calvin and Hobbes was always a hot commodity in the library. You had to be quick to check out those comics before someone else. And of course one of the antics that Calvin is known for is his snowmen. Some (like his parents) may call it demented, but I prefer to think of it as creative. Kids are weird, so let's embrace some of Calvin's dark humor and have a good laugh today.

There's always an opportunity to make fun of Dad.

Hard work comes in many forms, I guess.

It's appropriate at Halloween; why not at winter too?

*insert theme from Jaws*

We've all done something like this right?

Calvin gets deep and philosophical sometimes.

What's for dinner?

Welp... That happened.

On a side note, I wouldn't be surprised if that last comic was the inspiration for one of Steven Moffat's iconic Doctor Who villains.

The Wit and Wisdom of Calvin and Hobbes

As a kid, I loved Calvin and Hobbes. I identified with the mischievous kid whose brain was occupied equally by existential thoughts and fart jokes. He was a smart and introspective boy who loved to get dirty and explore and imagine and speak his mind. He was Spaceman Spiff and Tracer Bullet and Stupendous Man and the leader of GROSS. (Ugh, slimy girls!) A cardboard box was all he ever needed to live life to its fullest. And who doesn’t love littering the front yard with dark scenes of snowman carnage?

As an adult, Calvin and Hobbes speaks to me on a deeper level. Named for the theologian John Calvin and philosopher Thomas Hobbes, it’s appropriate that these two characters often delve into deep philosophical discussions. Calvin is so much more than a peeing bumper sticker. It would be easy to say that Calvin is just the embodiment of childhood (and he is), but he is also a found of wisdom, advice, and astute observations on life.

So here are some of my favorite Calvin and Hobbes moments!

I've never understood why parents ask "What are you doing?!"
when the answer is obvious. Thank you for poking fun, Bill Watterson.

Beautiful advice, Calvin.

Simplicity

This might need to be a mantra for my life.
Can somebody please cross stitch this, frame it, and
hang it on my wall? Mmkay, thanks.

Perfection

I love loopholes! And if a student did this to me,
I would mark it wrong AND give them extra credit.
It's all about balance, people.

It feels like this should be the theme
for most online political "discussions".

As a teacher, this one speaks to me on a visceral level.

You said it, Calvin! 💪

And fittingly, I'll end with the very last Calvin and Hobbes strip ever,
which is possibly the best one ever, as well.

If you're interested in seeing the Calvin and Hobbes memes that we've collected on our Instagram page, check them out at this link!