Nov 27th 11-2-3: Gratitude, Life Lessons, and Calvin & Hobbes
Happy Thanksgiving!
I am grateful to have been blessed to be able to write for Compendium for over one whole year now!
This time of year has got me thinking about what I am grateful for, the people in my life, and also about some of my favorite art.
Then, I started thinking about Calvin and Hobbes. So what is the story behind Calvin and Hobbes?
1: The Story Behind The Story ( 3 minute read )
I’m 7 years old and I’m thanking God the flashlight battery hasn’t run out yet.
Then I hear a noise.
My dad getting up for work.
I read all the way to morning?
This is what it was like reading Calvin and Hobbes as a kid, and I would read Calvin and Hobbes every day.
Even at that age, I knew there was something special about the comic.
I felt like I was learning about the world, along with its history, art, politics, and adult nuance, while also learning what was funny.
As a comic, it felt refined and mature, yet reachable and relatable.
And this is just a part of what makes Calvin and Hobbes so special.
The World That Raised Bill and Calvin
Bill Watterson was born in Washington D.C. in 1958, but grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.
It was a small, quiet town that shaped his love of nature, open spaces, and the gentle rhythms of country life.
A young Watterson could be found drawing constantly.
He discovered comic artists like Charles Schulz of Peanuts fame, along with Walt Kelly (Pogo) and George Herriman (Krazy Kat).
Looking at their work, you can see how they had humor with depth, philosophy, and poetic panel compositions.
All of these qualities appear in Watterson’s later work.
Before that, he would fill notebooks with funny and imaginative scenes. He developed a keen sensitivity to solitude, daydreaming, and nature, all what would all later be signatures of Calvin’s inner world.
In 1979 Watterson began his first career path in political cartooning.
He quickly found out that he did not like how emotionally limiting this career would be.
Editors would often pressure him to be “sharper,” “meaner,” or more partisan than he was comfortable with.
The rigid topical demands were also a struggle.
Most importantly, political cartooning left no room for wonder, play, imagination, innocence, or joy.
This mismatch caused him to look elsewhere.
A Creative Rebellion
It is at this point that Watterson began working on and eventually releasing Calvin and Hobbes.
For those that don’t know up to this point, Calvin and Hobbes is a comic about a six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes.
They go on adventures of imagination, nature, and day-to-day living.
Sounding familiar?
This wasn’t what comic strips were like back in 1985.
At that time, shrinking panel sizes, creative restrictions from syndicates, and formulaic gag-a-day storytelling were the norm.
The art was corporate-driven in the fast paced era of the 80s, where cynicism and irony were fashionable.
Watterson, though…he was a rebel.
He chose introspection.
Natural beauty.
Imagination.
Emotional sincerity.
But most of all, he made a well-fashioned, funny comic.
There are panels that, once you’ve seen them, you never forget.
They live with you in the same quiet place they lived in Calvin, and in Bill, when he sketched the lines.
And all of this?
This resonated deeply with people.
In Reagan-era America, people were focused on economic growth, consumption, and the constant push for more, faster, bigger.
Things were changing. Technology was beginning to reshape daily life.
And yet, a story about a boy and his stuffed tiger served as a breath of fresh air.
I think it’s because it’s a sincere, lighthearted, slower comic with a largely positive message:
Gratitude is noticing, and that requires slowing down.
The Eye That Childhood Gives Us
More recently, I’ve been going through life changes that have required me to literally slow down.
And when you do slow down, something interesting happens.
You start noticing details again.
It’s easy for us to go so fast as adults that we forget why things are the way they are.
I mean this in a general sense, as well as a specific sense.
Why do I feel like I have to buy this thing I don’t need?
to
Why does the engine work the way it does?
What are the systems in the car?
How do they work with each other?
You get the idea.
There is a particular spirit that I hope to impart with this, and it is most embodied in Calvin and Hobbes.
It’s a spirit of wonder and awe.
I know that we are all busy, and I know that this world is fast, but we can challenge that with the childhood eye.
The eye that allows us to see things with a curiosity that is healthy and happy.
Along with that eye, the mind to wonder what it would be like if pigs actually could fly.
Then to scribble some lines on a paper showing what you think that might look like.
To see the difficulties in life and still not let them shake your joy.
To help others.
To live simply and curiously.
PBS style.
Reading Between the Lions style.
That doesn’t have to go away. In fact, it should grow as we get older.
Of course be responsible, be present, but also have fun.
Take things slower, and less seriously.
Be real.
Look at what’s around you.
Look for the good.
And even if it’s simple or small, say “thank you.”
If you want a good idea of what that might look like, then maybe read some Calvin and Hobbes.
Happy Thanksgiving.
2: Creative Prompts From Us (ex. Write a short story, a poem, a song, or draw a quick illustration of these! Let your imagination run free.)
I. Take 15 minutes ( I know that seems like a lot but it is not ), and write down whatever comes to mind that you are grateful for.
II. The world keeps getting faster and we go along with it. Identify one distraction (you chose big or small depending on how difficult you want this to be) and find a way to eliminate it or time restrict it. For me, it will be YouTube.
3: Quotes From the Bill Watterson
I. “The world is a magical place… full of awesome adventures waiting to be discovered.”
II. “We’re so busy watching out for what’s just ahead of us that we don’t take time to enjoy where we are.”
III. “There’s treasure everywhere.”
Thank you so much for reading!