There's not much praise I can give this set that hasn't already been said. It's a wonderful collection of one of the best comic strips of all time. The construction is great, the presentation is great, and I'm very happy to own it.
HOWEVER, as I'm reading through the first volume, I've already noticed two changes made to the comic strips. The first, and most obvious, is that the early strip where Calvin asks his mom if he was adopted, if they're going to make him work in a cannery, and if they're planning on eating him has been altered. The question in the first panel has now been changed (not so subtly either, I might add) to "Mom, was I genetically engineered or cloned?" The original wording can be found in the original books, as well as the 10th anniversary collection, so I doubt this was Watterson's intent. The second change I noticed, and the far more minor one, is in a strip where Calvin is grumpy because it's rained the entire camping trip, and his dad tries to encourage him. The original line from the dad is "Some trouper you are!" but an editor has changed it to "Some trooper you are!" despite "trouper" actually being the correct spelling in that instance.
I haven't noticed any other issues like that, and I certainly enjoy the box set, but it's disappointing that someone felt the need to meddle with such a great comic before printing it in such an authoritative treasury.
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From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
An Excerpt from Bill Watterson's Introduction:
More Calvin and Hobbes Books
"Ive loved comic strips as long as I can remember. As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as I dont even like riding in elevators. I kept my options open until seventh grade, but when I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made. There is great personal satisfaction in attending to detail and quality, and I remain very proud of the standards the strip met day after day. I also liked the responsibility of knowing that, succeed or fail, it was all my own doing. This approach kept the strip very honest and personal--everything having to do with Calvin and Hobbes expressed my own ideas, my own values, my own way. I wrote every word, drew every line, and painted every color. Its a rare gift to find such fulfilling work and I tried to show my appreciation by giving the strip everything I had to offer."
Exclusive Images from the New Collection
 |  |  |
 The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book |  Weirdos from Another Planet! |  Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons |
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. [Signature]Reviewed by Art SpiegelmanBy the 1980s the once glorious newspaper comics section had become a wasteland, ravaged by shrinking space, editorial timidity and other ills. The real excitement in my medium had moved to the fertile margins of the alternative press. Bill Watterson, as uninterested in underground comix as I was in the mass media's bland concoctions, marched directly into the wasteland and made the comatose syndicated strip form kick up its heels and dance.From 1985 until Watterson abandoned it at the height of its popularity 10 years later, Calvin and Hobbes echoed the classic strips the artist most admired. Stirring the richly conceived characters and efficient drawing of Peanuts with the visual virtuosity and linguistic playfulness of Pogo and Krazy Kat, he applied his intelligence and supple cartoon skills to come up with a creation beloved by the millions who still mourn its passing.Now, a decade after his demise, six-year-old Calvin has a fitting monument—a lavishly produced three-volume boxed collection of all the strips, which weighs as much as a tombstone. Following in the wake of Gary Larson's The Complete Far Side, and with a 250,000-copy "limited edition" first printing, the publisher realistically predicts that this book will be "the heaviest and most expensive book ever to hit the New York Times best seller list." While not as exquisitely wrought as Walt and Skeezix, the recently launched reprinting of Frank King's epic run of Gasoline Alley, or as intimate and dignified as Fantagraphics' ongoing republication of all 50 years of Peanuts, this luxurious set is dressed for success and deserves an honored spot on the happily expanding shelves of strip reprints.The Complete Calvin and Hobbes offers two intertwined narratives. One details the friendship between Calvin—the egotistical, feverishly imaginative, wised-up young tyke with the vocabulary of a Yale lit major—and his animal familiar, Hobbes. Hobbes is seen by Calvin's parents as a nondescript plush toy and by Calvin and the reader as a pouncing and amiable "real" tiger—Calvin's slightly-more-sensible better half. The crosscutting between private and shared reality gives the strip its vitality.The autobiographical introduction by the notoriously reclusive Watterson kicks off another tale about the collision of private and shared realities: the story of an ornery artist's battle to explore his craft within the claustrophobic confines of a few inches of newsprint space. The beleaguered Watterson fights the strictures of brutal daily deadlines, skirmishes with editors to win more space for his often graceful Sunday pages, slugs it out with his syndicate to keep his creation from being reduced to a stuffed doll. The later strips begin to dwell obsessively on the horrors of our dumbed-down commodity culture, and there's something poignant about the artist's hopeless struggle to work within the confines of mass culture while simultaneously critiquing it. These books offer a testament to Watterson's dedication and to the medium's ability to keep reinventing itself against all odds. (Oct.)Art Spiegelman is the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Maus and In the Shadow of No Towers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on October 17, 2018
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Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2019
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Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2019
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Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2018
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Top reviews from other countries
Rômulo Rodrigues
Lindo, Maravilhoso e Espetacular!!!
Reviewed in Brazil on November 10, 2017Verified Purchase
ABCDEFGH1234@*
Paperback review. A real stunning treasure!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2020Verified Purchase
Paperback review. A real stunning treasure!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2020
Well, first of all I bought my collection from Books2yourDoor delivered through Amazon.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 1, 2020
I know Amazon has a terrible track record for delivering books, comics etc but my collection came unscathed thanks to Books2YourDoor packaging the collection in a box, with paper in another box.
I recommend them as sellers for starters.
I don’t think I need to ramble on about the magic of Calvin and Hobbes being a brilliant work of art?
Although there is a long history there that should be read.
Saying that, I have the utter most respect for Watterson never selling out to the big guys for ego or money.
He stayed true to his artistic vision and to love Calvin and Hobbes you don’t need a load of merch, just this set! (I am guilty of buying merchandise, but I just respect Mr.Watterson a lot for his fight) so if you don’t know the history, have an interesting read of it.
Now, this collection is a beautiful heavy set (I went for paperback, it’s cheaper. I may upgrade one day)
The pages are lovely, thick, glossy and the spine of the book is nice and durable.
Putting the books back in the box being paperback and long hasn’t proved tricky yet, so that’s a plus also.
These books can be lay down on a table to be read easily without damaging the integrity of the binding of the books also.
As the title suggests, you get the WHOLE lot in this massive collection.
Sunday’s and Dailies unlike Peanuts that ran for fifty years and you need each yearly book and separate Sundays, this has everything neatly in one package.
It’s a true masterpiece of work and worth the fifty quid I paid.
If you love Calvin and Hobbes, then don’t hesitate.
Same if you love the comics medium.
Recommend!
Images in this review
CB
Complete Calvin and Hobbes
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 19, 2021Verified Purchase
GoldenGoose
It's a magical world...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2017Verified Purchase
ToPo
Superb collection....
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2021Verified Purchase
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