Understanding India with Cartooons

Small Favour

Indian PM Responds to Mumbai Blasts - As Usual

Vande Mataram

Nuclear Co-operation or Compromise

Unable

Nuclear Co-operation or Compromise

Bail The Rich, Jail The Rest

Bailing out the rich

UFEA WITH A BANG

Happy Republic Day

Taking Reservations Little Too Far

India : A Failing state of affairs

Mobile Rule #4

Mobile Rule #3

Communal Violence

Terrorism : The American definition

"...But don't YOU go anywhere."

© Universal Press Syndicate

The Raccoon Story.

What makes Calvin & Hobbes the greatest ever is its ability to make you laugh your ass off, and identify with it.

What makes it one of the great treasures of our culture is its ability to invoke emotions that you never thought you'd spend on a comic strip.

This one's positively touching.

"XING"

"Denial."

Anotomically correct snowman

"We're here to devour each other alive."

Probably Hobbes' greatest quote of all time.

The best part, though, is probably Calvin staring contemplatively toward the heavens as if to say, "Oh shit, God's not going to help me."

" * "

This was possibly the first great Calvin and Hobbes strip. Childhood mischief had always been played out by assholes like Dennis the Menace and Jeffy from Family Circus. The difference is that those two were well-meaning retarded kids. It's already been established that Calvin's a smart kid, and here he is just wantonly being an asshole. To see a child genius sit there and nonchalantly bang the shit out of a coffee table is hilarious.

"Think BIG! Riches! Power! Pretend you could have ANYthing!"

"OK, first we're going to learn the 'Deadman's Float.'"

"I notice your oeuvre is monochromatic."

Also setting Calvin and Hobbes apart was how surprisingly literate it was, especially for a comic that was not a specific commentary piece like Doonesbury or Bloom County. Watterson admitted in the Calvin and Hobbes 10th Anniversary collection that he had held quite an interest in art for many years, and always had sort of a bemused fascination with the amount of bullshit people build around it. I'm, uh, paraphrasing, of course. Sad to say, there are many people who would find the "artwork" in these two strips to be utterly brilliant and pay a ton of cash for them. Then they'd melt. The art, that is. Or maybe the people who bought it too, hell, I dunno.

"Words fail me."

The Transmogrifier Story.

Ahhhhhh, The Transmogrifier. The Transmogrifier was composed of several strips, and was even made more efficient when held within the parameters of a squirt gun. This is my favorite Transmogrifier strip, because Calvin is adorable. This was also the strip where I realized that all Calvin and Hobbes strips were written in all-caps.

"For a mom, sometimes she's pretty cool."

© Universal Press Syndicate

Probably the best approach a parent could take when their child asks of cigarettes. It's also the only strip where Calvin gets what he wants. Figures that she shits all over him at the samejavascript:void(0) time.

"You've taught me nothing except how to cynically manipulate the system."

© Universal Press Syndicate

Pretty much the voice of Bill Watterson dictating the current state of our school systems. Dead on if you ask me. The school system is more of a test for being able to acquire knowledge than preparation for anything worthwhile.

"Virtue needs some cheaper thrills."

© Universal Press Syndicate


Calvin is an unbelievably intelligent six-year-old. Hobbes is his tiger friend who plays the role of Jiminy Cricket, casual observer, and savage beast. This strip introduces their dynamic rather well. Calvin's a grossly misbehaving child, and no matter how he tries, he can't betray his nature.

It's kind of refreshing to see a strip that doesn't feel the need to have an uplifting message, or feel like it needs to point out that it's mean to whack an innocent person upside the dome with a snowball.

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