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This strip, about an imaginative, mischievous 6-year-old
Calvin and his pal Hobbes, a stuffed tiger who comes to life
around Calvin, ran for 10 years and appeared in more than 2,400
newspapers.
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.Just do not refer to Hobbes are a
Tigger as he is not!
With most cartoon animals, the humor comes from thier humanlike
behavior. Hobbes stands upright and talks of course, but
I try to preserve his feline side, both in his physucal 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. Niether do
I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin's imagination.
The nature of Hobbes 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 that about
dolls coming to life.
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.
Words of the artist taken from:
(Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book) |