Calvin and Hobbes is not good.
It’s not deep. It’s not clever. It’s not funny or timeless. On the contrary, it’s very much of its time, and that time is getting further and further, not closer.
That being said, it’s not BAD. It’s poignant, sure. It’s occasionally witty. But by and large it seems to be the Peanuts of Gen X-Z insofar as I’ve consigned myself to the likelihood of seeing these tired tropes and oversaturated characters and outdated observations for the rest of my life, drenched in commercialism, paraded in front of me against the creator’s wishes, ad nauseum.
Edit: It’s apparently worth clarifying what I meant here. The comic itself is not “drenched in commercialism”, but the overhyped greatness of it (which is the crux of my undoubtedly unpopular opinion - and again, I dont think it’s a BAD comic, necessarily, just overrated) will lead to this commercialisation as soon as the chance arises for shitty companies to defy the creator’s will in pursuit of the almighty dollar, and I’m dreading this since I already see plenty of unwarranted (albeit not necessarily undeserved) C&H glorification as is.
We as a culture have had enough C&H. We can put it away now. Yes, just there, on the shelf next to edgy Alice in Wonderland reimaginings. Perfect, thanks.
One thing you can’t say about Calvin and Hobbes is that it’s “drenched in commercialism”…
This might be the most unpopular opinion I have ever seen on here.
I think they’re referring to things such as stickers on trucks of Calvin pissing on other truck brands
Those are completely unlicensed, the author hates them.
Unauthorized stickers.
The comic itself isn’t, but it’s going to be merchandised to hell at first opportunity, is what I meant.
I recognise the general phenomenon you’re referring to, but ask yourself when you last saw an item of official Calvin and Hobbes merch.
drenched in commercialism
🤔
Edit: Where are you seeing Calvin and Hobbes so much? I only pretty much see it in the community for it these days, and you can block that so I don’t know why it’s so stuck in your craw
Outside of the books which are collections of the weekly strips, there is not and has never been any official C&H merch produced. Watterson, the creator, has been very outspoken against merchandising C&H.
Isn’t Bill Watters against this type of stuff. No plushies, t-shirts, etc. Unless something has changed in the recent years.
While I respect many opinions, this is the first one that is wrong
It’s taking every fiber of my being not to downvote you. I grew up with Calvin. I’ve shared my complete collection with my kids, and every one of them has been infatuated. It may be over saturated for you, but I would place them as wonderful, lasting works. Put them with Alice in Wonderland, not edgy knockoffs.
It’s that no one else has quite captures the essence of being a kid. Most strips portray kids as mini adults.
And when he got to let loose on the drawings for Sunday comics, some of them are very elaborate and exquisite for a daily strip.
Now this, I can definitely see. Not to wax melancholic, but mine was an abnormal and truncated childhood, so I never found the comic personally relatable, and that might amount for the disconnect - it always came across as either outlandish and nonsensical (bordering on lolsorandumb) to faux-deep and mollycoddling of the reader’s inner toddler that never seemed much more than condescending to me.
But in the context of cueing it through the hypothetical series of how a regular adult might reminisce about their own childhood, the nostalgic, near-wistful fondness I see for it makes a lot more sense, even if to me it feels saccharine and, dare I say, disingenuous.
Thanks!
Calvin and Hobbes is not good. It is the best.
That’s certainly an unpopular opinion. I love rereading Calvin and Hobbes strips. Maybe it’s a heaping portion of nostalgia goggles bringing me back to being a little kid learning how to read via comics, but I find all the newspaper strips I grew up with really comforting, none more so than C&H
Despite its cultural references being decidedly 20th century, it still hits notes that resonate with kids and adults years later. Maybe it has been getting long in the tooth, but I think that just points to how many people just can’t put it down
Also “drenched in commercialism” is not the phrase I’d use; in fact it’s anomalously under-commercialised as a comic book franchise, intentionally so. I appreciate that.
Also “drenched in commercialism” is not the phrase I’d use; in fact it’s anomalously under-commercialised as a comic book franchise, intentionally so. I appreciate that.
OP probably sees all the unofficial “Calvin pissing on thing” stickers a lot.
My kids love it, and are getting old enough to appreciate some of the more adult humour. So no, it’s absolutely not “of its time”. Definitely an unpopular opinion there to be sure!
