#Comics as literature

[feralplantwife]

I read the Calvin and Hobbes collections so many times as a young kid. In a good way. Granted these collections weren't given to me, they were my dad's. I was hyperlexic and bored and they happened to be within reach one day.

So anyway, reading these at age 7 and let me tell you- my vocabulary because OBNOXIOUS. Watterson's humor as listed in bullet point 2 by OP included a huge range of advanced vocabulary to the point where my elementary and middle school teachers believed I was cheating in class on occasion.

Calvin and Hobbes is proof of the value and belonging of comic books and graphic novels in reading. There's a reason my reading level was in the double digits in third grade and it wasn't Harry Potter. When people cast doubt on the value of comics and graphic novels, I can drag out The Essential Calvin and Hobbes and open it to literally any Spaceman Spiff story for evidence.

Almost 20 years later, and I'm more than halfway through my Masters in Library Sciences, and somehow I just know I got started with Calvin and Hobbes.

some important calvin and hobbes facts in case you haven't read the original comic strip in a long time or only absorbed stuff on it from memes and out of context bits on here:

Calvin's last name has never been given, and neither has any of his parent's names. This was actually why his uncle Max only showed up for a brief storyline; the creator of the comic, Bill Watterson, ultimately felt that while it was fine to have him as someone for his parents to talk to, it felt far too awkward to never have Max refer to them by name and he never made a return appearance.

The general tone of the comic is fairly light-hearted, with a big emphasis on goofy slapstick comedy contrasted by clever wordplay and often surprising adult-centered jokes that'll hit you like a slap. A big part of the comedy is, as Watterson put it (paraphrased) "It's really funny to me when people express deeply stupid ideas with really fancy terminology." One notable example you might have seen is that one bit where Calvin asks his mom for money to buy a Satan-worshiping rock album and his mom replies that there's nothing genuine about them and they're just putting on the attitude for shock value, and comisserates with Calvin as he deplores that mainstream nihilism can't be trusted. He concludes that childhood is disillusioning.

There is a LOT of criticism of the extreme materialism and selfish mentality of the late 80s, when the comic was initially written. This may go a long way to explain how its aged so well; much of what it criticizes resonates well with people today.

Bill Watterson views comic strips a legitimate form of artwork, and repeatedly fought to have more space to draw more beautiful and artistic backgrounds, which was a very hard fight and unpopular even with other comic strip artists. He eventually did win some compromises and a lot of Calvin And Hobbes' artwork shows it, with the use of space to indicate time as well as a sharp contrast between the often plain environments of mundane life contrasted by the wildly beautiful imagery of Calvin's imagination (which often sports realistic depictions in an art shift of sorts).

Hobbes is explicitly not an imaginary friend, by word of Watterson himself. We don't know WHAT he is exactly, and Hobbes is apparently unaware of the strange nature of his reality; people look at him and only see an ordinary stuffed tiger plushie, but he has a tangible effect on the world that would be physically impossible for Calvin to do on his own. He's apparently been around for a while, and was apparently around when Calvin was a young baby.

On that note; Hobbes has implicitly killed (notably treated as both a gag and also with the vibe of 'he's a tiger, duh') and while he doesn't do it again on-screen, he doesn't have any moral issues about it. Calvin claims that he's never had trouble bringing Hobbes to school because the last time he did, Hobbes killed and ate a bully named Tommy Chestnut and simply comments that it was gross and he needed a bath. Calvin's tried to repeat this again, but Hobbes was grossed out at the thought having to eat a kid raw and not being allowed to use an oven first, or complaining that children are too fattening.

Hobbes became gradually less human-like in body language and more like an actual cat in both body language and behavior; this was due to Watterson drawing more inspiration from his cat, who also inspired a lot of Hobbes' running gags, such as pouncing on Calvin when he got home. Several years into the syndication of the strip, Watterson's cat passed away, and he did a tribute to her with a comic strip of the two of them agreeing to try to dream together so they can keep playing when they have to sleep; Watterson's commentary (if I recall right), remarks on his cat: "We can see each other again in dreams."

[the-uncanny-dag]

[victusinveritas]

Comics by Rose Anne Prevec.

[nando161mando]

oops! it seems i tripped and dropped several million free books, papers, and other resources

https://annas-archive.org

https://sci-hub.se

https://z-lib.is

https://libgen.is

https://libgen.rs

https://www.pdfdrive.com

https://library.memoryoftheworld.org

https://monoskop.org/Monoskop

https://libcom.org

https://libretexts.org

http://classics.mit.edu

https://librivox.org

https://standardebooks.org

https://www.gutenberg.org

https://core.ac.uk

[that-butch-archivist]

source: That's Ms. Bulldyke to You, Charlie! by Jane Caminos

[countzeroor]

Book Review: Making Comics

When I was in college at Clackamas Community College (where I also met David, one of my co-hosts of the Anime Explorations Podcast) – one of my campus jobs I worked was in the library, where I worked the check-out counter. As one of the classes that was thought (occasionally) was Comics as Literature, a selection of graphic novels were on reserve at the front desk, and during terms where the…

[amphibimations]

[enyasaints]

The manifestations of Diabetic Neuropathy (Need a wheelchair)

https://gofund.me/c347d35f

Hello friends I’m Enya and I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes in 2015. Unfortunately I have been losing the battle of my mobility for some time. It has come to the point I struggle to walk even short distances without severe sharp radiating pains. I also experiencing these painful sensations in my right arm. I am asking the community today to help me purchase a motorized wheelchair to not only greatly improve my quality of life but also help regain some sense of my independence. I would be eternally grateful and deeply indebted to anyone who could contribute finacially and or take the time to share and help me reach my goal

For direct Aid:

Venmo: Enyasaint

CA: $Enyasaint

$62/$2600

https://gofund.me/c347d35f

[gleafer]

When a certain someone keeps dropping into the shop too often and a demon has had enough.

[metis-iphigenia]

tim drake explaining why he should be robin:

[ayilings]

they get groceries and krill someone

based on this meme

[flowrrs4u]

🩶

[aqua-regia009]

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus Illustrated by Bernie Wrightson (American, 1948-2017)

[pandadrake]

Dr. Crane yelling at the Arkham Asylum staff for removing the images from his presentation slides due to "triggering content," as though that was not The Entire God Damn Point.

I was wondering what Dr. Crane would do with the results of his fear gas research then I remembered that Arkham Asylum contains 90% of Gotham's scientific community.

Follow-up to my last Batman comic doodle.

[hitwiththetmnt]

BACK | P8 | NEXT

(Book 1)

[that-butch-archivist]

source: That's Ms. Bulldyke to You, Charlie! by Jane Caminos