This evening I happened to open up a book that my new roommate has kindly brought with him:
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes. I literally grew up with these comics, and they would greet me every morning when I'd look at the morning paper while I at breakfast (skipping the boring politics and business news and going straight to the "Everyday" section). I do not exaggerate when I say that it is without a doubt my favorite comic strip of all time. The reason is not just that it "speaks to me," as the saying goes. In a way, I essentially sort of
lived Calvin and Hobbes. Not that Calvin is "just like me" or anything like that. There are similarities and differences. But the way in which Calvin and Hobbes both in their turn see and interact with the world have profoundly both reflected
and shaped my own experience of life.
To quote Bill Watterson, creator and artist, from his introduction to
The Complete C&H:
"In Calvin and Hobbes, I used my childhood--sometimes straight out of the can, sometimes wildly fictionalized, and sometimes as a meaphor for my twenties and thirties--to talk about my life and the issues that interested me. Without exactly intending to, I learned a lot about what I love--imagination, deep friendship, animals, family, the natural world, ideas, ideals...and silliness. These things make my life meaningful..."
If you add God to the list, his list almost perfectly describes me. If you, faithful reader, would like insight into my mind and heart, what makes me tick, studying the comic / philosophical / humanitarian genius of Calvin and Hobbes is a tremendous place to start.
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