Phoebe and Her Unicorn by Dana Simpson for March 07, 2015

Oh! The horror!

Humanity? You mean pride, greed, arrogance, selfishness, violence and bigotry are virtues?

Seems so.

But in trade, Phoebe also found her inner unicorn….

Oh! The humanity!

Ok then.

Marigold is an actual unicorn who can (if she so deems) be seen and heard by other people, not just by Phoebe.Hobbes is a product of Calvin’s vivid (and many-times hilariously twisted) imagination.

I would say maybe C & H was an inspiration for this strip, but I wouldn’t call it a direct rip-off. Kind of like the classic sitcom The Honeymooners being the inspiration for The Flintstones.

Don’t like it?There is no reason to attack the artist.Just go away.And don’t come back.That way, you won’t be offended by something that you think is a ripoff, and we won’t be offended by your opinion.

Yes indeed. Except for a whole bunch of differences, this strip is exactly like “Calvin and Hobbes”.

The Imaginary Friend trope (and its variations), is one of the oldest and most common storytelling devices around. If you intend to accuse everyone who uses it of being unoriginal and derivative, you’ve got a mountain of work to do. And don’t forget to accuse Bill Watterson.

At first I thought you were just trying to troll, but closer inspection suggests you may simply be underinformed. Marigold and Phoebe aren’t simply “gender swaps” of Bill Watterson’s characters; they have their own distinct personalities. Not to mention that Dana uses more fantasy elements in addition to a slightly more contemporary setting. IMO, both comics should be enjoyable either independent of each other or side by side, especially for any fans of Calvin and Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes does not have a monopoly on philosophy, and to define this comic solely by the presence of philosophical insights would be remiss. Please try to be more constructive.

Marigold’s personality has been upgraded from “Brillo pad” to “automotive sanding paper.”

Personally, I have never been inclined to read C&H regularly. Ever. I don’t find it to be as great as everyone says. I just don’t see it; it doesn’t amuse me all that much.I do, however, acknowledge its influence and Bill Watterson’s talent as well, as it has inspired many of the strips and creators that I read religiously. Truly a major mover in comics history.Telling me how great it is really doesn’t inspire me to like it. Quite the contrary. I tire of C&H fans who come across to me as religious fanatics; it happens on a few strips here. It doesn’t help your cause; it actually makes me never want to read it at all.

I don’t think you’re reading this strip very closely. Whether it’s to one’s taste or not, you have to really, really be reaching in order to call this a gender-swapped Calvin & Hobbes. REALLY reaching.

To marigold: Don’t become friends with a human if you don’t like humanity

I’ve often thought that Marigold and Hobbes were alter egos of their main characters Phoebe and Calvin. Different personalities in many ways, but some of the same characteristics, such as their snootiness and off-beatedness. (Yep, that’s now a word.) The same lowering of the eyes when making uppity, snooty kinds of statements. The same kind of aloofness, although Marigold takes it to a whole new level, being one of her primary characteristics, having more narcissistic tendencies than Hobbes. My top 5 comic strips (there may be more, but I haven’t found them yet). 1. Phoebe and Her Unicorn 2. 9 Chickweed Lane 3. Stone Soup 4. Get Fuzzy 5. Diamond Lil