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Who didn't fall in love with Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes? All of us saw a little bit (or a lot) of ourselves in the mischievous Calvin and even wished that we had an imagination rich enough to give us a friend just like Hobbes. In fact, the world was so engrossed with the simple cartoon that it gobbled up 45 million copies of the eighteen Calvin and Hobbes books published, while Watterson himself was twice awarded the Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society in the "Outstanding Cartoonist of the Year" category (1986, 1988). Then, in 1995, Watterson unexpectedly sent a letter to all the newspapers that carried his cartoon. The following is one part of the letter:
I will be stopping Calvin and Hobbes at the end of the year. This was not a recent or an easy decision, and I leave with some sadness. That so many newspapers would carry Calvin and Hobbe s is an honor I'll long be proud of, and I've greatly appreciated your support and indulgence over the last decade. Drawing this comic strip has been a privilege and a pleasure, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity.
Fans were devastated. Ten years after Watterson's painful decision, a critic wrote that the departure of the cartoon left "a hole in the comics page that no strip has been able to fill". And of course it's impossible for there to be another Calvin and Hobbes. But that hasn't stopped several fans from creating, with varying degrees of success, their own tributes to the legendary comic strip. And surprisingly, several of them are undeniably good. Here are some of the best ones:
Hobbes and Bacon by Pants Are Overrated
In 2011, comic creators Pants Are Overrated, in particular, Dan and Tom Heyerman, produced a four-strip series featuring a grown-up Calvin, who ended up marrying Susie and having a little girl named "Bacon". Their daughter is named after Francis Bacon, continuing the pattern of naming main characters after philosophers. (For those who don't already know, Calvin is named after John Calvin, while Hobbes is named after Thomas Hobbes.) The following is the first tribute strip published May 10, 2011:
Hobbes and Bacon by Phil Berry
In February of 2013, Phil Berry from DeviantArt took off from Pants Are Overrated's idea and produced three strips. One of them is interestingly of the "Calvin Fantasizes" style:
More Realistic Representations
What would Calvin and Hobbes look like as more realistically drawn characters? These might provide us some clues. From spacecoyote:
from rafaelalbuquerqueart:
from Casey Weldon:
and a painting from James Hance:
Snowmen Scenes
True Calvin and Hobbes fans will know the role that snowmen played in the strip. Several fans exerted effort to recreate their favorite scenes: From mpburrows:
from Freaky Humor and Tom Caswell:
from Brian Colson:
from Florian Kilzer:
from Vicki Watkins:
from pdxdj:
and a tribute video:
GIFs by Artist Eric Linn
The Daily Dot shared some animated artwork that artist Eric Linn created in celebration of Bill Watterson's unforgettable characters.
A "Calvin and Hobbes"-Themed Engagement and Wedding
The tribute art made by fans hasn't been limited to just cartoons. In fact, a man and a woman from Livermore, CA decided to dedicate perhaps the most important occasions in their lives as a couple to Calvin and Hobbes. In 2012, Stephanie, a financial analyst, and her husband Jonathan, a fifth grade teacher, enjoyed an engagement and a wedding themed after their favorite comic strip. Here's are two pictures taken by photographer Junshien Lau of Junshien International from their engagement session:
Because Waterson hasn't allowed any merchandise, except a book for teachers, to be made of his famous comic strip and its characters, Jonathan had to sew the stuffed Hobbes doll in the picture all by himself. It took him 13 hours to complete the project. Meanwhile, here's what their wedding looked like:
And here's an after-wedding photo that made use of some special effects:
An Alternative Ending
And finally, an fan-made ending to Calvin and Hobbes by Frank Ahrens, a Washington Post staff writer:
...Let's go exploring!
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