Huzzah! My freshly minted The Complete Calvin & Hobbes arrived yesterday. Three heavy, lovingly bound volumes of comic goodness. Excellent!
There’s a foreword by Bill Watterson that explains some of the history of how the comic came to be, some if its trials and tribulations through the years, and how it came to end. Mr. Watterson comes across as a smart guy who loves what he does, and continued writing and drawing Calvin & Hobbes through all the hassles simply because he loved it. I may not entirely agree with his opinions at times, but I respect them, and him, a great deal.
Calvin & Hobbes is my favourite comic. It has survived my brief dalliances with other comics, my ongoing enjoyment of many online comics and my lack of knowledge about many others. I still love Spiderman, I no longer read Sluggy Freelance or Hagar the Horrible. Dilbert is occasionally amusing, but I don’t read it daily, or even weekly, any more. Despite all this, I keep coming back to Calvin & Hobbes and keep enjoying it.
Calvin & Hobbes is the only comic that has made me forget all propriety at work and laugh out loud, simply enjoying the humour and how good it feels to laugh with complete abandon. It is the only comic to have made me cry. It is a very special creation, and I thank Mr. Watterson very much for bringing it to life.