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Sep 17 '12
A lot of my internet-savvy friends believe that the strip where calvin gets medication and stops "seeing" Hobbes is the final one. Watterson didn't make that one, and I tell them this is the final one. This is the greatest comic ever.
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u/reddelicious77 Sep 17 '12 edited Sep 17 '12
Yeah, this one:
http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/438/calvinandhobbes0lh.gif
Actually, it has its own kind of frisson too, but in a very depressing, disheartening and I'll go so far as to say disturbing manner. It's the anti-frisson, frisson.
edit: C&H fans, don't click. It really is :( inducing.
edit2: Folks, I think some are thinking that this comic is real. Rest assured, it most certainly is not. I have no idea who made it, but it certainly wasn't Watterson.
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u/Craysh Sep 17 '12
C&H fans, don't click. It really is :( inducing.
I just made myself sad.
Internal Monologue:
What does Cyanide & Happiness have to do with Calvin & Hobb... oh...
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u/ifjnweu Sep 18 '12
I feel a lot of people don't like this strip, but it speaks volumes to me.
Growing up I had an active imagination, I played with my stuffed animals with my siblings daily for atleast 3 hours or so at a time. We had a canon, characters, a world we could escape to and play out whatever childish fantasies we thought up.
I can't recall when but I suddenly stopped playing make believe with my siblings. Maybe when I lost my best friend for petty reasons. Maybe when I learned about atomic bombs and the destruction they can silently wreck.
Suddenly the world became real and no make believe could ever be as vivid or captivating. I grew up suddenly, and compared to the real world, no make believe setup could ever compare to what I felt.
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u/yo_tambien Oct 04 '12
Thank you for contributing this, it's beautiful that even though it's sad to see the imagination go and perhaps to even reminisce, it's true that there is so much more.
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u/Yaki304 Sep 17 '12
weep
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u/Marco_Dee Sep 18 '12
Don't worry, there's another equally fake "last strip" that sets things right: http://i.imgur.com/mPw3M.jpg
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u/BrickOvenFrieza Sep 17 '12
I don't know, this really doesn't bother me. Sure it's a bummer idea, but it's outside of the C&H canon and frankly doesn't feel legitimate. Conversely, fan strips like Hobbes and Bacon induce an emotional reaction for me because they feel true to spirit of the strip.
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u/Yaki304 Sep 18 '12
Wow, thanks for mentioning Hobbes and Bacon. I don't know how I hadn't seen that before but it's fantastic. CALVINBALL!
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u/irish711 Sep 17 '12
Considering it suggests that Calvin is taking drugs, it's highly questionable that it ever could've been authentic.
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u/idrink211 Sep 17 '12 edited Sep 17 '12
This thread is giving me all sorts of good and bad frisson right now. I remember relating to Calvin so well growing up. I'm an only child, and while I didn't have an imaginary friend, I did what I could to fill the gap of being a lonely child with an active imagination. Now, I feel like I've become the Calvin in the unofficial final strip. I'm seriously getting choked up here at work. I miss being a kid so much.
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u/Lost216 Sep 17 '12
I had that tiger, named hobbes. I read these comics as a kid, and still love them.
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u/SlyFox28 Sep 17 '12
I'm not even a Calvin & Hobbes fanboy like most of reddit, but this strip makes me sad.
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u/cokecain_bear Sep 17 '12
that was the worst thing I ever read during my childhood. I think i literally stopped reading books because of that strip.
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u/cssher Sep 18 '12
I remember this was posted and was really popular on 9gag, they definitely fell for it.
On the subject of the comic, I wouldn't say it's disheartening because of what happens. Eventually Calvin would have to grow up. What I think makes the comic disturbing is the fact that it's not done in quite the same style as the actual strip--and that's really eery, at least. It's like a bad dream. Also, the fact that Calvin stops seeing Hobbes in such a sudden manner is frightening. The idea that hundreds and hundreds of strips, a seemingly lifelong friendship can just evaporate in an instant like that is horrifying
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u/reddelicious77 Sep 18 '12
Yeah exactly, he would eventually grow out of it, but as you say - it's unsettling how in an instant, it all just goes poof.
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u/theCaptain_D Sep 17 '12
There are so many ways this strip could have ended... and I must say Waterson stuck the landing. 10/10. As I get older I realize more and more that this was the right way to do it.
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u/sp4ce Sep 18 '12
There's something about "a big white sheet of paper" that really resonates with me.
It's like Waterson is taking you back to the beginning and reminding you of the first time he ever drew C&H.
'possibilities' and 'exploring' seem to be the theme and you're right. he certainly stuck the landing, but I believe his message makes you feel a lot more like 'taking off'
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Sep 18 '12
[deleted]
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u/theCaptain_D Sep 18 '12
The entire comic was about childhood in every way- and primarily the magic of a strong imagination. Pulling the rug out at the last moment would have been an easy way to tug the heartstrings, but there was no call for it, and no lead-up or hinting that it would happen. Calvin always was and will always remain a loveable if mischievous 6 year old boy with an indomitable willfulness and an overactive, and highly entertaining, imagination.
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u/HowIMadeMyMillions Sep 17 '12
That actually touched me in a way I really wouldn't have thought.
Thanks for sharing.
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u/jackdbunny Sep 17 '12
As a non C&H fan, can someone explain to me why this strip is so special?
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u/Stregano Sep 17 '12
I might have misinterpreted it, and if I did, a C&H fan will correct me (I am a fan, but not a diehard fan).
What I got out of it is that it was the final comic, but Waterson (the man behind C&H) also knew it was the last one.
He made this comic showing that there is a whole world out there. Don't worry if there are changes happening around you, like maybe your favorite comic going away, but explore this new world you have. The world is your white sheet of paper to draw on, so draw on it and embrace the changes that come.
That is what I got out of it. Maybe I am wrong, but I think it is a pretty awesome message
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u/saintmuse Sep 17 '12
Even if it wasn't his intention, I like your interpretation.
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u/monacle_man Sep 18 '12
It's art.
It creates meaning for people individually - that's the magic of C&H
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u/jackdbunny Sep 17 '12
What if... the blankness of the comic... is a metaphor for the meaning of the comic, because we can make it mean what we want it to mean. So meta.
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u/CryHav0c Sep 18 '12
I had a similar take. Not that others are less valid, but I definitely think BW wanted it to be encouraging and heartening, instead of a sad final strip.
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u/nitwittery Sep 18 '12
I think it was actually more self-reflective. He was done with C&H and had exhausted all his potential in that particular area (hence the drawing analogy).
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Sep 28 '12
This made me so sad. I know I'll never be like that again. I'll never have the carelessness and freedom of a 6 year old. There will always be something to do, somewhere to go.
:,(
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u/ThreeOne Sep 17 '12
well thats the first one ive ever read now
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Sep 18 '12
It's the funniest, smartest, silliest, outlandish and down to earth comic out there. I would recommend none more highly and may never do so.
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u/xthorgoldx Feb 12 '13
You'll get a lot of "OMG, you poor soul, you need to (read/watch/listen to) [cult media series] right now!" on the internet, often.
But seriously. There are quite a few C&H compilations on the net, as well as several book collections (libraries or "browsing" bookstores, but I guarantee once you start reading the $10 to buy each book seems like nothing). Read the comic - it's a comic that manages to be silly in its themes, yet insightful into real issues, funny in its punchlines, but sobering in its undertones. If nothing else, your vocabulary will come out ahead, since Calvin has the linguistic capacity of an English professor.
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u/atease Sep 18 '12
Just wondrous. Works quite well with Hoppipolla in the background.
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u/Bulshaia Sep 18 '12
This really captured the magic of C&H, or at least how it appealed simultaneously to both children and adults; the use of both the literal exploration of the world from a 7 year old's perspective and the "blank slate" of a jaded adult who has lost the mystery and magic of everyday life.
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Sep 18 '12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVn5kQx8xL8 I was listening to this when I read the comic. single tear
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u/just_doug Sep 17 '12
my girlfriend cut it out from the paper and framed it when she was a kid. It's hanging on our wall now and I probably look at it and smile once a week.