The Essential Calvin and Hobbes

A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury
by Bill Watterson

This book came up on swap, so I have been enjoying some chuckles, reading more Calvin and Hobbes. I noticed right away the strips in this volume are from early on: the drawing style- especially the main character's faces- are slightly different and Calvin is meeting Susie the girl next door for the first time. It's got similar subject material as later strips: arguments with parents, avoiding homework, getting bored in class, acting out his wild imagination, teasing girls, being grossed out at dinner, a kid being a kid. Really obnoxious kid, with witty comebacks and plenty of funny remarks. And of course, his tiger companion Hobbes is a charmer. I recognized most of the panels from reading these long ago when they were featured in the newspaper, but some were new to me (or I had forgotten them): the episode where Calvin is an onion in a school play about nutrition, the one where they find an injured raccoon, another serious one where Calvin and Hobbes come across a clearing in the woods for a new development, and rant about how wildlife is being displaced. I liked it.

Rating: 3/5          254 pages, 1988