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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great C&H collection, May 31, 2002
Bill Watterson's "Something Under the Bed Is Drooling" is one of the "Calvin and Hobbes" series of comic strip collections. For the uninitiated, these strips follow the adventures of grammar school boy Calvin and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes; the latter character literally comes to life in Calvin's fertile imagination.A number of recurring C&H storylines and motifs are part of this collection: Calvin's ongoing battle against no-nonsense babysitter Rosalyn; Calvin's curious love-hate relationship with a little girl named Susie; Calvin's role as a grammar school underachiever. There are many other amusing storylines: Calvin trying to learn to ride a bicycle; his learning to appreciate classical music; etc. But my favorite storylines are the sort of science fictionish plots where Calvin's imagination runs wild: Calvin turning himself invisible; his becoming "immune to the force of gravity"; his shrinking to insect size; etc. Probably the funniest of these out-there plots involves Calvin's "transmogrifier," a device worthy of any mad scientist. Hobbes is always along for each mishap, offering moral support and wry commentary. C&H could be read as a satire on education, culture, politics, and literature. Calvin is a classic comic strip character. At times very much like a real little boy, at times like an adult philosopher trapped in a child's body, he's a consistently engaging figure, and is perfectly complemented by Hobbes. And although the accent in this book is on humor, there is an unexpectedly poignant storyline in which Calvin comes to the aid of an injured baby raccoon. At one point in the collection Calvin declares "I try to make everyone's day a little more surreal." Thanks to his creator Watterson, he succeeds brilliantly.
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by Bill Watterson
by Bill Watterson
by Bill Watterson
by Bill Watterson
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