Calvin and Hobbes debuted in 1985 and ran until '95. In that time, the comic quickly gained hit status, becoming a phenomenon that has persisted for 31 years after Watterson discontinued the series. And like the strip as a whole, its eponymous main characters are up there on the list of greatest duos in popular culture. (Especially in the cartoon category.)
And what many people today don't realize is that Calvin and Hobbes started out with the characters in an almost adversarial role. Albeit playfully, and played for laughs, but still. The resolute best friendship that would become the core of the comic strip wasn't immediately clear from day one, but you know what was? Both characters' personalities.
Calvin is Calvin in the very first strip, and Hobbes is Hobbes. (Whether that means he's stuffed tiger and a figment of Calvin's overactive imagination is a perennial debate we'll leave for another time.) And the comedic tone of Calvin and Hobbes, which would make it iconic, is already fully in effect.
Calvin And Hobbes' Introduction In Their Debut Comic Strip Is 99% Perfect
Calvin and Hobbes actually starts with Calvin and Dad. "So long, Pop," the outline of Calvin's face says, popping up for the very first time. "I'm off to check on my tiger trap!" Unprompted, Calvin then continues on in the next panel to explain that he used a "tuna fish sandwich" as bait to catch a tiger.
Indulging his son as he cleans his car, Dad says, "they like tuna fish, huh?" And Calvin affirms: "They'll do anything for a tuna fish sandwich." The final frame of Calvin and Hobbes' debut gives readers their first glimpse of Hobbes, hanging upside down, caught in the trap. Eating the sandwich.
"We're kind of stupid that way," Hobbes says. It might seem like an innocuous start, but really, this four-panel comic puts all of Calvin and Hobbes' cards on the table. Calvin's vivid capacity for fantasy. Calvin's deadpan humor. Even Calvin's father's exhaustion, the weary tone with which he plays along with the bit. The rhythm and pacing of Calvin and Hobbes as it, would become famous for, is already locked in. All that is to say, this cartoon is flawless. Or, at least, 99% perfect. Because it arguably is missing one thing.
If There's One Thing Missing From The First "Calvin And Hobbes," It Is Their Best Friend Dynamic
It's safe to call the first Calvin and Hobbes cartoon a perfect joke, technically speaking, but it is also fair if some fans come away from reading it feeling like there was just something missing. A small, nagging imperfection compared to the best Calvin and Hobbes comics Bill Watterson produced.
What is it? Simple. Interaction between Calvin and Hobbes. Their essential best friendship. The title of the cartoon says it all: these two go together. But in their first strip, they're separated, physically anyway, though they do work in tandem to deliver the cartoon's punchline. But it's more in parallel than together. And the two characters together is the true spark of Calvin and Hobbes, the engine that allowed it to get silly, and philosophical, and emotionally pulverizing when it wanted to be.
But to the first Calvin and Hobbes comic's credit, it sets the perfect foundation. It is a "pilot," so to speak, introducing readers to each character and giving them a moment to be center stage, or center frame, and showcase their personality. The two would subsequently spend the next decade of daily comic strips virtually inseparable. All told, this was a solid start to an iconic cartoon friendship that is still beloved by legions of Calvin and Hobbes fans to this day.
Speaking of, we want to hear from you! What do you think of the strip's very first entry, Calvin and Hobbes-heads?
Writer
Bill Watterson
Colorist
Bill Watterson
Publisher
Andrews McMeel Publishing
English (US) ·