Product Description

Calvin and Hobbes is unquestionably one of the most popular comic strips of all time. The imaginative world of a boy and his real-only-to-him tiger was first syndicated in 1985 and appeared in more than 2,400 newspapers when Bill Watterson retired on January 1, 1996. More than 30 million of the 17 Calvin and Hobbes books (all published by Andrews McMeel) have been sold. And now, the entire body of Calvin and Hobbes cartoons published in a truly noteworthy tribute to this singular cartoon. Composed of three hardcover, four-color volumes in a sturdy slipcase, this edition includes all Calvin and Hobbes cartoons that ever appeared in syndication. This is the treasure that all Calvin and Hobbes fans seek.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1881 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-04
• Released on: 2005-10-04
• Format: Box set
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1440 pages

Amazon.com
An Excerpt from Bill Watterson's Introduction:

"I've 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 don't 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. It's 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 More Calvin and Hobbes Books

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.
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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.

Customer Reviews

Simply wonderful.
I had never read much Calvin & Hobbes, but thought it was both clever and cute. My 14 year-old had a little exposure last year and really liked the characters. I purchased this set as a gift when it was a Gold Box Deal just before Christmas; the price was impossible to pass on. Unsolicited, Amazon later reimbursed me for the shipping.

All I can say is that he has read through each of the volumes at least four times, maybe more, and still occasionally laughs out loud. I can't count the number of times I've found him in his room, a half-hour after bed-time, poring over a book and protesting when I tell him lights out. He absolutely loves this series.

I haven't noticed any deterioration of the bindings or covers, and my son hasn't said anything about it. Although I do take care with books and do get irritated when a book starts deteriorating prematurely, in this case I'm not concerned; I'd rather see them in tatters from use than pristine and unread.

I suspect the "perfect" complete edition would put the price out of consideration for most people, especially young people. And that would be a shame.

Treat yourself!
Treat yourself, as I did, to this 21 pound! complete Calvin and Hobbes collection. You, as I did, have probably put off purchasing this item time and time again. Well, I say that it is well worth the expense. This collection is for a lifetime of reading, as you follow Calvin and Hobbes on their many adventures.

It still smells new
I ordered this product 15 October 2005 and was so excited when I found it propped against my apartment door. I have practically all the books so I purchased this pretty much because I could and I wanted it on display. I have looked at some of the complaints and here is my take on them:

The Binding: YUP it is not that great. My set is 100% (display only with the occasional read) but I know someone who received this as a gift Dec 2007 and pages are falling out. Also my set handled shipping quite well. Not a bent corner in sight.

Books Hard to Get Out: Not for me. I tilt the box and take the one I want.

Edited Content: Not too sure about that one.

If you want something to read over and over again get the paperback books. If you want to commemorate the greatness that is C&H shell out the cash. I think it's totally worth it.

TLS - 12 October 1983 :)