Best Comic Strip, EVAR

Someone posted this link on a web forum that I read. Classic Calvin and Hobbes snow cartoons. And, now, I want this. It’s funny, I had pretty much all of the Calvin and Hobbes books when I was little. Now, I’m not sure where they are. Which is really too bad, because I could seriously use a few stolen hours spent giggling over them like I did when I was little.  

It’s funny how a comic strip can encapsulate so much of my childhood. All of the times I spent reading them. All of the times that I inflicted my Calvin like tendencies on my mother. All of the times that I threatened my mother with my Calvin like tendencies. My friend Ian, who was a real life Calvin (I wish that I could remember his last name, I would so totally facebook him).

I read the books so many times, they started to get a little less funny. I had memorized them. So, I put them away. Which could be a metaphor for the loss of childhood innocence. Or it could just mean that I have a tendency to overdose on the things that I love. Which would explain why I have a Simpsons quote for pretty much any occasion. And, erm, the extra pounds I’m carrying around.

My grandfather had all of the Calvin and Hobbes books as well and I remember exactly where they were located at my grandparents’ house. I would sneak one out at a time and then find a quiet corner to do my reading. I’m pretty sure that I didn’t fool anyone about what I was doing. The giggling, I am certain, was a dead giveaway. I have a sneaking suspicion that this was a deciding factor in my grandfather’s desire to have a collection.

Calvin and Hobbes taught me that tigers can be trapped with tuna sandwiches, that dads lie about everything and that, if a boy gives you dead flowers on valentines’ day, he must really like you.

I have had a few other comic strip loves. Get Fuzzy and the Boondocks to love a few. But none will ever touch my heart or tickle my funny bone in the same way that Calvin and Hobbes did. 

What are some of your childhood favorites?