Comments on: it's a magical world

it's a magical world

Igor XA — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:16:07 -0800

If a daily dose of calvin and hobbes (also via rss feed) just isn't enough for you, and you don't own the entire run of books like I do, someone has gone through the trouble of scanning and posting them all online. Or you could just buy the complete calvin and hobbes, now available for pre-order.

By: Igor XA

Igor XA — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:17:11 -0800

sorry, i meant to cite one of those links as coming from memepool.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:19:51 -0800

someone has gone through the trouble of scanning and posting them all online. somewhere, there's a cease and desist letter being typed.

By: CaptMcalister

CaptMcalister — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:20:33 -0800

Thanks!

By: ColdChef

ColdChef — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:24:56 -0800

Why that's Calvinism!

By: CaptMcalister

CaptMcalister — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:25:13 -0800

Your probably right quonsar, time to commence calvin and hobes marathon, followed by being reminded by just how genius the strips were and promptly preordering the complete collection. See file sharing works.

By: Igor XA

Igor XA — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:34:39 -0800

true, they probably don't have permission to post the entire catalog, but ucomics.com does. it would take a long time, but you could go back through their entire archives. also, i forgot one book not listed on the "complete" listing. from sept. 10, 2001 to jan. 15, 2002 the 2001 festival of cartoon art at the ohio state university cartoon research library featured calvin and hobbes. after the event the exhibit catalog was published and included all 36 works displayed at the exhibit and an essay by mr. watterson about this work on the strip and his comments on each of the strips in the display. if you love calvin and hobbes, i suggest picking it up.

By: cedar

cedar — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:37:37 -0800

Got bandwidth, 'cause it's time to fire up wget while the getting is good. These sites crop up every other year or so -- they rarely last long after a couple of high profile links and this one has been everywhere.

By: killdevil

killdevil — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:46:09 -0800

Cedar, someone has already gone to the trouble of grabbing and aggregating all the scanned strips into a conveniently browseable PDF - here's a torrent link.

By: Lush

Lush — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:47:35 -0800

cedar is right. I saw this, was highly delighted, but decided against FPPing this because it might befall the same fate as the site in this thread (scroll to bottom). Sigh. On preview: good one, killdevil!

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 19:51:18 -0800

Indeed, for those interested... wget -r -k http://www1.stfunoob.com/calvin_hobbes/index.htm

By: First Post

First Post — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:10:03 -0800

By: Quartermass

Quartermass — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:17:48 -0800

First post: What year is that from? It's so... sad.

By: caddis

caddis — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:22:35 -0800

First Post, where did you get that? Did you write it? I find it poignantly accurate. Are there more?

By: First Post

First Post — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:23:55 -0800

Isn't it, Quartermass? Something about it always gets me. It's obviously doctored, but I am unsure of its origin. Seen it around here and there for a long time, however. Maybe somebody else knows? In any case, I always think of that as a more apt ending than the "let's go exploring" one. Or the peeing--or-praying-on-stuff-in-car-windows postscript.

By: bitmage

bitmage — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:44:54 -0800

First Post: That is really depressing. You gotta remember the magic, not just eat-work-sleep-consume.

By: Kattullus

Kattullus — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:13:42 -0800

Hmm... I get The Complete Far Side for my birthday and the same day I find out that they're putting out a Complete Calvin and Hobbes. Now I guess I have something to aspire to again.

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:18:53 -0800

posted by quonsar somewhere, there's a cease and desist letter being typed. That's why god made WebGrabber. That guy's site is gonna take a hit, though. Maybe I should feel kinda bad? I'll buy the books this fall, though. I used to work with Watterson's younger brother in the early 80's. He occasionally drew a cartoon character on the bathroom wall at work called "Spunko" whom I later recognized as Calvin. And yes, Watterson really is pissed about all those Calvin peeing bumper-stickers, you rednecks.

By: squeak

squeak — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:43:57 -0800

Quartermass, waxy.org linked (was posted December 19th) to that specific strip. He was trying to find out who created it, he might have found out. I think it sums up life on drugs for ADD eloquently. Thanks for the torrent link killdevil.

By: Arch Stanton

Arch Stanton — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:55:33 -0800

My childhood comes rushing back to me. The first Calvin and Hobbes that I loved and the comic that finally got me off of reading Garfield. Come on, I was 8.

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:04:05 -0800

I really liked that strip up above, so I recided to retouch it a bit (the font was bugging me): And for you folks who like it to look like it was in a newspaper:

By: dhartung

dhartung — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:11:10 -0800

As my pal Dr Mike always said, "This is when I knew it was gonna be good." C'mon, folks. Be good, and grab the torrent instead.

By: painquale

painquale — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:32:56 -0800

ooooooohhh... that is one of the saddest strips I've ever seen. The final C&H was optimistic and moving, but I know that I'm always going to think of this as the final C&H strip now.

By: Igor XA

Igor XA — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 23:09:49 -0800

"In any case, I always think of that as a more apt ending than the "let's go exploring" one." good to see that cynicism is alive and well. personally, i liked the sunny side that the actual final strip portrayed. not only was it optimistic, but it kept in character with the entire body of work.

By: First Post

First Post — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 23:43:37 -0800

good to see that cynicism is alive and well. That's hilarious! I take it you never read this site? ;) I coulda posted this instead, heh Whatever your head...I enjoyed the FPP. And that comic, to my dismay, made my gf cry when she saw it earlier, fwiw.

By: Drastic

Drastic — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 23:46:10 -0800

The faux strip strikes me as more of a typical editorial cartoon--done well enough, but hamfisted and simplistic--than anything I'd ever think of as the real final strip. One of the joys of the series was that it made pretty clear that Watterson is one of those few adults who actually seem to remember something of just how large and full of wonder the world is to a bright kid in a caring environment. I think he could have ended the strips on more of a bittersweet note, but I think it would have still been much more nuanced than the editorial--probably more akin to the last chapter in the Pooh stories.

By: Drastic

Drastic — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 23:55:11 -0800

Oh, and: entirely possible I just didn't see it on the Amazon preorder page, but they didn't seem to list a release date. According to this page it's the first of September this year.

By: Target Practice

Target Practice — Sat, 26 Feb 2005 23:56:24 -0800

I'd love the Complete Calvin & Hobbes Collection - not to mention Far Side - but 95 bucks is a bit steep. On the other hand, it's Calvin & Hobbes. Decisions, decisions.

By: teece

teece — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 00:07:43 -0800

I'd love the Complete Calvin & Hobbes Collection - not to mention Far Side - but 95 bucks is a bit steep. I would love it too -- I was thinking birthday, but Sept. puts the quash on that. At $95, it costs about as much as my average math/sci. college textbook. As much as I like those, I think on my death bed, I will have been happier to have read the Calvin and Hobbes. So I'll spring for it. And FirstPost, that is an incredibly sad strip.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:11:32 -0800

I love the bicycling themed strips.

By: MrMulan

MrMulan — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:19:06 -0800

FirstPost: For some reason I feel lousy now. Drastic is right regarding bittersweet, like Calvin letting go of Hobbes because he's growing up, not because he's strung out on Ritalin.

By: klue

klue — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:34:31 -0800

For a moment there I thought you meant Hobbes. You know, the guy who gets all the creds for Bodin's work. (I'm sorry for being totally off topic)

By: memetoclast

memetoclast — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:34:46 -0800

odinsdream: Indeed, for those interested... wget -r -k http://www1.stfunoob.com/calvin_hobbes/index.htm
For what little it's worth, that should be, at a minimum: wget -r -w 1 -k http://www1.stfunoob.com/calvin_hobbes/index.htm -- just because you are stealing doesn't mean you have to be an ass.

By: grapefruitmoon

grapefruitmoon — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 09:41:15 -0800

Ooooh boy. I know what's going on the top of my birthday (9/4) wish list... what perfect timing!! I've loved Calvin & Hobbes for quite some time now. I have quite fond memories of reading some of the books with my father when I was wee - he would voice Hobbes, and the parents, and I would be Calvin. Good times.

By: raygirvan

raygirvan — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 10:44:15 -0800

I think he could have ended the strips on more of a bittersweet note. It's maybe down to preference. I thought the "Calvin" alternative ending worked, but the pills reference wasn't unnecessary. It reminded me a lot of Raymond Briggs' Snowman and Bear stories, both of which end with a poignant final departure of the companion (perhaps as a metaphor for growing up). I can't find it at the moment, but I liked the Book of Sequels "Hobbes and Calvin" spoof, that gave the characters a dialogue based on the views of Thomas Hobbes and John Calvin (with Hobbes as a toy Leviathan).

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 11:14:15 -0800

MeTa...

By: asok

asok — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 11:44:18 -0800

In Cuba the pissing Calvin car sticker is used with the opposite meaning. I don't really understand how it works, but most (modded) cars have a Calvin pissing on Panasonic logo on the back window. I asked why everyone hated Panasonic, and the response was confusion - 'they like Panasonic, it's cool'. Maybe it's the only way to get a brand name onto your vehicle? Also, 'soy un malo' with Calvin pissing on it is very popular. Again, this is not a dig at guapo (image) obsessed young men as again it only appears on cars owned by same. Irony not a strong point in Cuba. Perhaps urination has a different cultural meaning in Cuba. Unlikely. I think they are just a pila de locos. My good friend likes Calvin and Hobbes so much that he named his cats after them. They are both girls though, so Calvin has actually been named Kumiko (after Murakami character, so also has MefiApproved status).

By: Termite

Termite — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:21:20 -0800

Did Watterson ever say why he named his characters after a philosopher and a religious leader?

By: soulhuntre

soulhuntre — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 12:49:19 -0800

Two points... 1) I don't think celebrating blatant piracy is a good thing. 2) http://www.httrack.com is a good thing.

By: hardcode

hardcode — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:04:05 -0800

This site has been in many places over the past few years, it always gets shut down after a while - I wget'd it a few years ago, and it's a constant source of amusement to me.

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:14:39 -0800

just because you are stealing doesn't mean you have to be an ass. Copyright infringement and theft are entirely different. I already own all the calvin & hobbes ever printed in dead-tree form. We can argue all day about whether it's legal to get someone else's scanned copy instead of sitting down and scanning mine, but surely we can do it without calling eachother asses.

By: Igor XA

Igor XA — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:18:53 -0800

klue, hobbes was named after that hobbes. termite, as far as i know, he never stated why. but here's the excerpts on the characters from the tenth anniversary book: calvin: calvin is named for a sixteenth-century theologian who believed in predestination. most people assume that calvin is based on a son of mine, or based on detailed memories of my own childhood. in fact, i don't have children, and i was a fairly quiet, obedient kid--almost calvin's opposite. one of the reasons that calvin's character is fun to write is that i often don't agree with him. calvin is autobiographical in the sense that he things about the same issues that i do, but in this, calvin reflects my adulthood more than my childhood. many of calvin's struggles are metaphors for my own. i suspect that most of us get old without growing up, and that inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside) is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way. i use calvin as an outlet for my immaturity, as a way to keep myself curious about the natural world, as a way to ridicule my own obsessions, and as a way to comment on human nature. i wouldn't want calvin in my house, but on paper, he helps me sort through my life and understand it. hobbes: named after a seventeenth-century philosopher with a dim view of human nature, hobbes has the patient dignity and common sense of most animals i've met. hobbes was very much inspired by one of our cats, a gray tabby named sprite. sprite not only provided the long body and facial characteristics for hobbes, she also was the model for his personality. she was good-natured, intelligent, friendly, and enthusiastic in a sneaking-up-and-pouncing sort of way. sprite suggested the idea of hobbes greeting calvin at the door in midair at high velocity. with most cartoon animals, the humor comes from their humanlike behavior. hobbes stands upright and talks of course, but i try to preserve his feline side, both in his physical demeanor and his attitude. his reserve and tact seem very catlike to me, along with his barely contained pride in not being human. like calvin, i often prefer the company of animals to people, and hobbes is my idea of an ideal friend. the so-called "gimmick" of my strip--the two versions of hobbes--is sometimes misunderstood. i don't think of hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when calvin's around. neither do i think of hobbes as the product of calvin's imagination. the nature of hobbes's reality doesn't interest me, and each story goes out of its way to avoid resolving the issue. calvin sees hobbes one way, and everyone else sees hobbes another way. i show two versions of reality, and each makes complete sense to the participant who sees it. i think that's how life works. none of us sees the world in exactly the same way, and i just draw that literally in the strip. hobbes is more about the subjective nature of reality than about dolls coming to life. and also, mrs. wormwood is, indeed, named after the apprentice devil in the screwtape letters. soulhuntre, it's already been brought to metatalk.

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 14:26:10 -0800

Copyright infringement and theft are entirely different. I already own all the calvin & hobbes ever printed in dead-tree form. We can argue all day about whether it's legal to get someone else's scanned copy instead of sitting down and scanning mine, but surely we can do it without calling eachother asses. Do you honestly believe that is the purpose for the existence of that site?

By: Igor XA

Igor XA — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:00:29 -0800

you already took it to MeTa, AlexReynolds. why not keep it there?

By: odinsdream

odinsdream — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:12:31 -0800

Do you honestly believe that is the purpose for the existence of that site? Do you honestly think you'd feel better if the answer were yes?

By: AlexReynolds

AlexReynolds — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:16:27 -0800

Do you honestly think you'd feel better if the answer were yes? Do you make a habit of answering a difficult question with another question, to help you from answering the first question?

By: Igor XA

Igor XA — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:25:31 -0800

hey, same goes for you too, odinsdream. no need to derail this thread any further.

By: mendel

mendel — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 15:59:18 -0800

Just because you posted something here doesn't mean you own the thread, Igor -- trying to direct the comments the way you'd like them to go is just going to frustrate you and the people who want to comment. Just sit back and watch.

By: bonaldi

bonaldi — Sun, 27 Feb 2005 16:32:28 -0800

hello, torrent.

By: cosmonik

cosmonik — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 19:05:23 -0800

How have we gotten through this whole thread without a graphic of Calvin pissing on something?

By: caddis

caddis — Tue, 01 Mar 2005 00:12:55 -0800

Because that just isn't Calvin.