My Top 5 Calvin and Hobbes Strips

Growing up, I think that one of the biggest influences on me was Calvin and Hobbes. Out of every comic strip going, this one was and, lets face it, will always be the best. The dichotomy between Calvin and his stuffed imaginary tiger, Hobbes, was always poignant and would always leave a smile on my face.

So here's a breakdown of my top 5 strips from it:

5.) Ghosts

This strip is just hillarious. I can't tell you how many times in the past when I was younger I would just scare the hell out of myself while sitting in my bed by thinking about a question similar to this one. Not to mention the pacing and the final scene of both Calvin and Hobbes just sitting outside of their tent with baseball bats, waiting for the sun to come up so ghosts wouldn't kill them in their sleep. Classic.

4.) Over Population

I love this strip just for the fact that you see a guy's back just get blown apart on a Sunday morning comic strip. Plus I guess there's some good social commentary thrown in there as well.

3.) Don't you wish everyday were summer?

This became more subjective to me as I entered the work force a few years back. Christ I miss summers. I miss having those long months off where I could just sit around doing nothing and having fun. This strip kind of exemplifies that, and also it has another example of Hobbes just rubbing Calvin's face in it, which is always funny. That look Hobbes just gives him while almost cramming their faces together is hysterical, I'm a big advocate of not needing to use dialogue 24/7 in a story and this was a perfect example of that.

2.) Hobbes knocks the shit out of Calvin


I would always love the way Hobbes would deck Calvin, thereby "welcoming" him home. It always looked like Calvin had just survived a bomb going off or something. Always great for a laugh.

5.) The Finale

The final strip. Really, no better way to send off the comic than this. Touching and brought a tear to my eye the first time reading it.