I'm really glad to see, no matter for how brief a time, Bill Watterson's work in a comic strip again.
I generally don't like comic strips, as I find them to be rather unfunny. The exception to that is Calvin and Hobbes, which is a brilliant comic strip. Funny, intelligent, masterfully drawn, and most of all heartwarming, Calvin and Hobbes reminds me of when I was a child, and how I am still a child in many ways.
My favorite Calvin and Hobbes arc is the one where Calvin finds an injured baby raccoon. He is incredibly concerned about his well being, and he quickly alerts his mother to its condition. They take care of it over the night, but when Calvin wakes up, it is to find out that the raccoon died. He is saddened by this, angry at this, scared by this. This is his first encounter with death, and it impacts him to his very core. The arc ends with him taking comfort in his friend (a stuffed tiger) Hobbes, who promises that he will never leave Calvin. The strip makes me cry every time I read it, both from sadness for the death of the raccoon and the hit this has on Calvin's innocence, and for the heartwarming exchange between him and Hobbes.
Jun 11, 2014
by
trachy