Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for November 07, 2008

And all’s right with the world again, except for the missing Hobbes.

Hobbes is lost. Oooooh Noooo!!!!!

That glutton Hobbes finished all sandwiches too. What will he eat? How will he survive?

Too funny! My son doesn’t believe me when I tell him that Hobbes is not real. He asks, “Then how does he move around? He must be real.”

“Home is the place where, when you have to go there, They have to take you in.”

– Robert Frost, The Death of the Hired Man (1914)

Apparently, Calvin abandoned his stuffed tiger, Hobbes, somewhere out there in the forest.

dont you worry, he is still wearing the helmet

For attyush:

Remember that Hobbes DOES have retractile claws and sharp teeth?

For those who are relative newcomers to this strip, the last panel is an excellent example of how Calvin reconciles his imagination with real life. Mom: He’s a stuffed toy. He has to be brought back. Calvin: He’s too dumb to find his way back. I have to bring him back. His explanation in the second panel is also classic Calvin.

Why is it that some people feel the need to explain the world to the rest of us simpletons? Here we are in Calvin’s world of beautiful imagination, and all some folks want to do is analyze the hell out of it!

To BirishB: Some people find comfort in relishing the imagination. Some people find comfort in the similarity of Bill’s imagination with the situation(s) of their real live(s). I’m not trying to label anyone that feels comfortable enough to post a comment but I will say that I connect with both types of people I’ve just listed. Especially with this strip. Please don’t take this as trying to explain something to “simpletons”. Just enjoy Bill’s imagination :) I’m sure that it has been/will be similar to your life at some point. How else could you enjoy this awesome collection? :)

And some of us read it for the pure enjoyment of a child’s sweet imagination.

ambellybutton: Why would you tell him Hobbes isn’t real? That ruins the magic of the comic strip. And besides, maybe he’s right! :-p

H.o.b.b.e.s. Hope Of Baby Boys Enjoing Sandwichs

HOBBES ISN”T REAL????????

Today’s panel is a beautiful example of what Calvin is all about. I enjoy it on both levels, the real, and the imaginary. I like how you laid out the real, Ray.

i knew it.

and as I said a while back and someone blasted me about it… There are times when you have to wonder if Hobbes is real and the rest of the world is just too blind to see it.

Home is were the heart is I wish I had one

I don’t know about analyzing the #$@% out of the strip, but didn’t Watterson more or less ask for it when he named his wild, indulgent protagonist after a strict, dour Protestant reformer and the sidekick after a philosopher? They were both into major analysis of their world.

A lot of people don’t seem to realize that Hobbes IS supposed to be real—Bill Watterson’s said as much. Except that his explanation of HOW is rather complicated—basically, that Hobbes is a stuffed tiger as most people see, and a “real” tiger like Calvin sees, at the same time. Which explains how sometimes, Calvin gets into prediciments that would be literally impossible if he were on his own. (I believe, for example, Hobbes once tied him up for a game, and when his father was untying him he wondered how on Earth Calvin could have done that alone.)

I knew it, too.

Joe, how Calvin manages to get into situations that seem impossible without outside help is just part of the joke. It’s the idea that little boys manage to do the seemingly impossible just to make things a little more difficult for everyone else.

You’re right about Hobbes, though. He’s a real tiger to Calvin and a stuffed tiger to everyone else. Neither one is necessarily “wrong”, and they don’t contradict themselves. They’re just two ways of looking at the same world. Watterson talked about it in the 10th Anniversary Edition (which is a must-have for any C&H enthusiast).

I had a small bear - Albert - could fly, and did many manymany times - looked out for me - kept me from jumping off the roof of the house into leaf piles, or snow a lot of times when he landed on his head - I didn’t think that would be good - released him into the wild when we moved, because I knew there were no trees where we were going - he liked the woods …

Eugeno, u broke my heart. but i guess Albert is happier in the woods. releasing him took guts.

Hobbes is real!!!!!!!!!!!! Obvi!!!!

SUSIE TO THE RESCUE!

…just a guess…

Eugeno says:

I had a small bear - Albert - could fly, and did many manymany times - looked out for me -

Eugeno, I love that story. My stuffed animals always protected me at night in bed. I was surrounded by them, and no bad guys could get me.

When my grandma died, I got two teddy bears that she owned. I have them still.

Also, I love Calvin’s face in the first panel.

sha she still loves him all that worry for no reason what soever.

BirishB, I wasn’t trying to analyze the fun out of the strip. Someone had inquired a day or two ago about whether Hobbes was real. I thought this strip was a great example of his dual nature, if you will. Perhaps the person who asked didn’t need the explanation anyway.

Where’s Hobbs??

Great!! Love the answer when his Mom asked Calvin how could Hobbes get back by himself.. Good Writing…

The whole fun is the duality of Hibbes nature. He is a real tiger at tims, a stuffed ones at others. Calvins ees him as real (Interestingly, an anthropomorphic one), and the rets a toy. Yet, Hobbes bathe sin the washing machine, which he shouldn’t be able to even fit into.

Hobbes is like Stewie Griffin. Some can hear him, others can’t. Depends on the situation. Hobbes is real when Calvin needs him to be, stuffed when others are around. He is neither one nor the other, but both.

hobbes is to calvin what the blanket was to linus. watterson is a smart guy and expanded the character set.

Who”s Stewie Griffin, and is he lost too? :=/

please oh please god… make sure hobbes allright

CNN: Tiger sighting in Yukon

could it be hobbes?