>>7615905>I'd argue it's even in the running for greatest "Funnies" comic ever written.I agree with that. But, what keeps it from being truly inspiring in my mind is Calvin's psychotic nature. Get any one of the Calvin and Hobbes books and start reading the comics and you'll see what I mean. Quite often Calvin is one mean-spirit little kid. I'd go further and say Calvin -- setting aside his split from reality with his "live" stuffed tiger -- acts like a child who's going to grow up to be a criminal. He physically abuses everyone around him, parents included; he's narcissistic to the point that it's just not funny, it's concerning; he's anti-social... I could go on and on. Get the book where Charles Shultz wrote the introduction and you'll see what I mean. The creator of Peanuts knew Calvin and Hobbes was the "new thing," but he can't accept Calvin's meanness. Shultz points this out in his introduction to the book, giving a sideways slap at Watterson, when he says he likes how Watterson draws things. In another interview, when asked what the universal appeal of Peanuts was, Shultz replied, "I think because no one is truly mean in my comic strip. Even when they children are mistrearting each other, they're not truly mean to each other." Charles Shultz understood Calvin and Hobbes, because Calvin is one evil-minded little shit.
