Versatility of the Comic Strip: Part 5 - Calvin and Hobbes, Versatile Appeal

Because of the medium’s brevity, image-based storytelling, and its traditionally non-explicit content, the newspaper comic strip appeals greatly to children, but it is not, by any means, strictly children’s media.

Calvin and Hobbes

If you aren’t familiar with Bill Watterson’s comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes, you owe it to yourself to check it out. There are many possible talking points surrounding Calvin and Hobbes and its author, and I may write about others in the future, but in this post I would like to demonstrate Watterson’s effective use of his medium, the comic strip.

Calvin and Hobbes has set a standard in the comic industry and is still regarded as iconic since its end in 1995. Bill Watterson used the medium's versatility in the best way possible.

The newspapers never gave Watterson the true freedom he wanted, but he still managed to move outside of the panel-by-panel format on occasion.

Watterson excelled with his Sunday strips because of the extra space he was able to manipulate into something new.

Watterson was especially talented with his mixture of content. He was able to write from the perspective of a child while making the parents grin at jokes targeted to them.

One of the most impressive things about strips like these is the relatability to both parent and child within one strip.

The comic also frequently explored some of life's big questions. After all, the main characters are named for Protestant Reformist, John Calvin, and English philosopher Thomas Hobbes.

How can you argue with happiness?

Watterson found the sweet spot of extremely versatile appeal through his mixture of meaningful content yet simple strips with simple jokes enjoyable to all ages.