Customer Reviews

The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This treasury is far and away the best of the entire Calvin and Hobbes Collection. I own every book, and have recently reread them all, and without a doubt this is the very best. For one thing, it was written right in the middle of Watterson's C&H career, which means that the writing and ideas are still fresh, while super-improved drawings and Sunday strips have just begun. Second of all, Watterson must have been on a powerful creative streak, because there is an amazing number of stories within the "Indispensible" collection. There are three Rosalyn babysitter tales, the bug collection story, the bat project, two camping trips, G.R.O.S.S. adventures, the burglar break in, the car down the hill, multiple Stupendous Mans, multiple Spaceman Spiff getaways, the duplicator going "boink" and creating more Calvin's, a rare, great Tracer Bullet story, Calvin defying gravity and size, Calvin on the baseball team, and a time machine adventure to the dinosaur age. The sheer amount of stories here is unheard of for a C&H collection, and the best part is that almost every one is fantastic. Thirdly, the Sunday strips are in color, which is a huge plus. Fourthly, Calvin's parents have finally been rendered as three dimensional and sympathetic individuals, a characteristic that had been lacking in the earlier books. Last of all, as always, these comics are frequently hilarious, sometimes touching, and always entertaining. This collection personifies those characteristics to the nth degree, and is without a doubt the best Calvin and Hobbes for anyone to buy. If you're looking for other good C&H books, I would also recommend the Essential Collection (first two books, funny yet lacking in drawing), Snow Goons, Psycho Jungle Cat, Treasure Everwhere, and the 10th Anniversary. I hope this was helpful both for prospective buyers, and old fans looking back.

Fans of Calvin & Hobbes who used to read the newspaper strip in the 80s and 90s will find great pleasure in reading this treasury 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 starts out with Calvin praying for snow so he can engage in one of his favorite hobbies: sledding, and then his other favorite hobby, throwing snowballs at Susie. Aside from the snowman exhibition, this book is a must-have since it covers the founding of C&H's GROSS (the Get Rid of Slimy girlS club). This also has the hilarious series about the time Calvin's personal gravity polarity reversed, and the episode when the Transmogrifier becomes the Duplicator.

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. "The Indispensable Calvin & Hobbes" belongs to the Treasury collection, and was first released in 1992.

"Indespensable" is rendered rhetorical when it comes to Calvin and Hobbes, but a collection such as this should be required reading for, well, everyone. Calvin is the child we all were and continues to be the child we wish could still be. Of course any child who regularly uses words like "malpractice insurance" and "besmirching" asks you to suspend disbelief, but these phrases come from the same young boy possessing an unbelievably hyperactive imagination and a penchant for walking around the house in his birthday suit. And Hobbes, Calvin's best friend (who just happens to be a stuffed tiger - or is he alive?) represents everything we so crave and desire. Someone who will listen to you and give you unconditional love (not to mention a furry belly to lie on). Calvin's musings on life, school, and parents are nothing short of sophisticated philosophy. Take this book with your family and read it aloud for all to hear. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll imagine you're a tyrannosaurus rex. Indispensable.

Once again the hero of Sunday comics makes yet another book filled with laughter in every page. I've read every ''Calvin and Hobbes" except for "Yukon Ho!" and "Attack of the Snow Goons" and I think this is the funniest one. The laughter will not stop. And in the begining of the book, Watterson puts together Calvin and Hobbes Poetry with subjects that appear in Calvin's comic strip life. It has strips with all of everyone's favorite characters such Susie Derkins, Moe, and Rosalyn. If you want a book with non-stop laughter and one that you can read over and over, this is truly the one.

Whether the collection is the "Indispensible" or "Essential" or "Quintessential" Calvin and Hobbes, it doesn't really matter. Watching this hyperactive, hyperimaginative child and his willing though wise accomplice, Hobbes, take on evil babysitters, Susie Derkins, the class bully and all creatures (real or imaginary), is a pleasure and laughter without stop. "The Indispensible Calvin and Hobbes" is another in a long list of the great comic work of Bill Watterson. This is an indispensible/essential/quintessential collection for all Calvin and Hobbes and humor fans!

I love Calvin and Hobbes, but I've noticed that frequently the online reviews of the 'essential' Calvin and Hobbes volumes in particular are misleading. Each of these volumes are essentially a 'best of' and NOT a compendium, of three other Calvin and Hobbes books. While they do have lots of great strips, they skip over others. (In particular singular strips are usually left out in favor of ones telling a broader story over several days, if not weeks.) What these compilations DO have which the others don't is a cool watercolor introduction with full page illustrations.

But how can you single this one out to be indispensable when ALL Calvin and Hobbes books are must haves/keeps forever? In this book you'll find all the usual Spaceman Spiff adventures as he flys through desert canyons on remote menacing planets, loads of Stupendous Man hijinks and endless laughs as Calvin never ceases to terrorize and menace everyone around him. But there is not enough of Hobbes. Even if Hobbes was in every panel on every page there still wouldn't be enough of him. I absolutely LOVE Hobbes. I want him. He IS the greatest.

This Calvin and Hobbes book is the best i've read by far. Its 250 pages long and each page contains 3 strips.
The strips in this book are especially funny and i am sure you'll enjoy them.
I highly reccomend this book.

This is one of my most favorite books of all time. I read everywhere i go. Calivin and Hobbes takes u back with the feeling of "Thats how i used to be". Calvin and his best friend hoobes an imaginary stuufed tiger or is he Real? make us laugh, think, and make us remember whats it like to be six again. Bill watterson is a comic genius and i was dissapionted to hear he retired. He has made me laugh for a long time and still does today.The last comic strip I cut out of the sunday paper is still in my folder and I will always remember what Calvin said to Hobbes Its a magical world hobbes lets go exploring!! If u don't have or havent even heard of them go directly to your nearest book store and get a copy. You will not regret it.This great book is for kids and the adult alike. I give this book five stars thats how great it really is.Calvin and Hobbes will always be #1

This book collects two of my favorite Calvin & Hobbes Books: Revenge of the Baby-Sat, and Scientific Progress goes "Boink." The illustrations are mostly in black and white, but some are in color. Watterson's magnificent blend of simple childhood humor, advanced appropriate grown-up humor, make-believe and childhood realism make this well written and illustrated comic strip a treasure to have in any household. Both adults and children will love it and find themselves laughing silly!

As with all of the Calvin & Hobbes books, this one explores the adventures of a six year old boy (Calvin) and his best friend, Hobbes, a make believe tiger. The comic-strips focus on things such as Calvin's overactive imagination, his hatred of school and girls and the trials and tribulations of having to follow his parents' rules.

Darien Summers, author of The Mischievous Hare, a children's book.