Calvin and Hobbes
An American comic strip by Bill Watterson, published from 1985 to 1995, about the imaginative boy Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes.
Bill Watterson: The American cartoonist who created and drew Calvin and Hobbes. His refusal of merchandising and control over the strip’s presentation defined its public life.
Imaginary friend: A person-like companion imagined by a child and treated as socially present. Hobbes occupies this role for Calvin, although the strip leaves his status unresolved.
Calvin (Calvin and Hobbes): The mischievous six-year-old protagonist of Bill Watterson’s comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. His imagination, impatience, and defiance drive most of the strip’s conflicts.
Calvin and Hobbes collections: Books that collect the newspaper strips and larger-format Sunday comics by Bill Watterson. Collections preserved the strip’s full visual detail beyond its original newspaper printing.
Childhood: The stage of human life between infancy and adolescence. The strip treats childhood as a world of intense play, frustration, curiosity, and agency.
Universal Press Syndicate: An American newspaper syndicate that distributed comic strips and other features. It syndicated Calvin and Hobbes to newspapers beginning in 1985.
Calvinball: A rule-changing game invented by Calvin and Hobbes, with no fixed rules or repeated goal. Its shifting rules turn Calvin’s resistance to adult authority into a recurring game.
Hobbes (Calvin and Hobbes): Calvin’s stuffed tiger, depicted as a lively companion from Calvin’s point of view. His differing appearances to Calvin and others anchor the strip’s imaginative ambiguity.
Calvin and Hobbes: The Musical: A stage musical adaptation of Calvin and Hobbes created without Bill Watterson’s authorization. Its unofficial status illustrates Watterson’s strict control over adaptations of the strip.
Imagination: The mental capacity to form ideas, images, or situations not present to the senses. Calvin’s fantasies continually reshape ordinary settings and events.