Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection [Paperback]

Bill Watterson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 1994 | Series: Calvin & Hobbes

Reprising the wide-open landscape format of, The Days Are Just Packed, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat chronicles another segment of the multifarious adventures of this wild child and his faithful, but skeptical, friend. If the best cartoons compel readers to identify themselves within the funny frames, then all who enjoy Calvin and Hobbes are creative, imaginative, and ... bad, bad, bad! Calvin, the irascible little boy with the stuffed tiger who comes to life are a pair bound for trouble. Boring school lessons become occasions for death-defying alien air battles, speeding snow sled descents elicit philosophical discussions on the meaning of life, and Hobbe's natural inclination to pounce on his little friend wreaks havoc on Calvin's sense of security. Calvin's the kid we all wish we'd been. Sassy, imaginative, far more verbal than his parents can manage, Calvin is the quintessential bad boy -- and the boy we love to see. He terrorizes little Susie, offers "Candid Opinions" from a neighborhood stand, and questions his parents' authority. "What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?" he demands. Calvin and Hobbes manages to say what needs to be said about childhood and life: "Eww, mud," says Calvin. "Look at this gooshy, dirty, slimy, thick, wet mud ... Bleecch ... Talk about a kid magnet!"

Editorial Reviews

Review

[A] wry collection. DAILY MAIL --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Bill Watterson is the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, one of the most popular and well-regarded cartoon strips of the twentieth century. Calvin and Hobbes appeared in newspapers from November 1985 until Watterson's retirement in 1996.

Online:

gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing; Original edition (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836217691
• ISBN-13: 978-0836217698
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 12 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #41 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Comic Strips

More About the Author

Bill Watterson is the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, one of the most popular and well-regarded cartoon strips of the twentieth century. Calvin and Hobbes appeared in newspapers from November 1985 until Watterson's retirement in 1996.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More C&H fun! October 30, 2003

By Giant Panda

Format:Paperback

Fans of Calvin & Hobbes who used to read the newspaper strip in the 80s and 90s will find great pleasure in reading this collection of C&H comics. These witty comics about the 6-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, named after the famous philosophers, will amuse people of all ages. The perceptiveness and humor of Watterson deserve the highest of cartoon awards, while his artistic creations exude hilarity. This cartoon is perhaps one of the most piercing yet funny critiques of modern society.

This book has more encounters with Mrs. Wormwood, when Stupendous Man saves the day. More snowman fun and more snowballs against Susie. Students in particular will like this book since it has many creative ideas for dealing with homework.

Note that there are two series of C&H collections: individual wide-format albums, each covering an entire year of strips (will call it "regular"), and the vertical aspect ratio "treasury series" which covers selected comics from two regular C&H books. Note that C&H ran for a year in newspapers, so there's 10 regular books and 5 treasury books. Though the cartoons are slightly smaller in the treasury collection, each treasury book is far thicker and contains more strips than a regular book, and is furthermore less expensive, so treasury books are a real bargain. "Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat" belongs to the regular series and was published in 1994.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the last great newspaper comics... June 6, 2004

By ewomack TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Bill Watterson's Calvin and Hobbes seems to be one of the last of the great newspaper strip panel comics. It's hilarious while also being insightful, poignant, and bitingly satirical. As most readers know, since Watterson has written it elsewhere, Calvin is named after John Calvin "a sixteenth century theologian who beleived in predestination". Hobbes also has a famous historical namesake in Thomas Hobbes, the seventeeth century author of "Leviathan" whose most famous saying is that life in a state of nature would be "Nasty, brutish, and short". From such a foundation, readers can expect more than a wacky strip full of slapstick, puns and sitcom-type pet or baby humor. There is much more, because Calvin and Hobbes, like all of the great comic strips, has depth. Reading just a handful of strips reveals this.

This collection from 1994 includes a great satire on conceptual art (Calvin tries to sell Hobbes a landscape in a Sunday strip); a great satire on corporate philosophy (Calvin ends up telling his mother that he needs to be subsidized); Hobbes sends Calvin anonymous insults in the mail ("Most people have secret admirers, you have a secret detractor"); "Stupendous Man" invades Calvin's class to take an exam in Calvin's place (he still flunks); one of the best is a single panel strip in which Calvin asks his parents "What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?"; There are also loads of Watterson's great Sunday strips. Watterson is definitely one of the last cartoonist artists that fully appreciated the boundaries (or lack of them) of the color Sunday strip. Calvin's imagined dinosaurs, aliens, parodies of "Judge Parker" type strips, and multicolor tiger battles are amazing works of cartoon art. It's difficult to find anything that even comes close on today's incredibly shrinking Sunday comics page.

Bill Watterson remains heavily elusive. What has he been doing since he voluntarily quit Calvin and Hobbes? Internet searches (at least cursory ones) don't elucidate much (one mentions that he is an intensely private individual - no doubt). Hopefully he's planning another amazing strip. Whether we hear from him again or not, in the end, we can be happy that he took up cartoonist's pen and graced the newspapers with at least one more great strip.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a Little Twisted January 8, 2004

By Lonnie E. Holder HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This collection of Calvin and Hobbes strips is just a bit more twisted than many of the other collections. The very first strip in the book sets the tone. In the middle of the night Calvin wakes up and says he's thirsty. Calvin then goes for a drink of water. Hobbes jumps off the bed and pounces on Calvin as he makes his way back to bed. He parents find him in the hall with Hobbes on top of him, mumbling "homicidal psycho jungle cat."

While the opening strip is humorous, there are even better strips. Another favorite is one of Calvin's infamous "show and tell" strips. Calvin says he has nothing for show and tell, but he tells everyone that during the daytime his mom puts on a patriotic leotard, a cape and knee-high, high-heeled boots to fight crime. The teacher sends a note home with Calvin that his parent's look over together. His father's comment? "Wow, show me that outfit sometime."

The breadth of strips is consistent with other Calvin and Hobbes books, but for some reason these strips gave me more laughs than many of my other Calvin and Hobbes Books. However, the funniest strips often seem to be the cruelest. For example, Suzy follows a series of signs regarding an "important message," ending in a sign that says, "Important message: Look Out!" We then see Calvin sitting on a branch dropping a snowball, saying, "It's like shooting fish in a barrel."

I enjoy Calvin and Hobbes a lot. Of all the illustrated books I have, Calvin and Hobbes are among the funniest, and the most consistent. This particular collection is particularly funny, though a bit more bizarre than many of the other collections. However, it is the twisted nature of some of the strips that make them so interesting and funny. If you are a Calvin and Hobbes fan or just looking for a smile, here is an excellent book.