“There’s Treasure Everywhere,” the tenth collection of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips, published in March 1996. Image credit: Jackie Ellis/Alamy
Forty years ago — on November 18, 1985 — a new comic strip debuted in newspapers: Calvin and Hobbes. Hobbes is a stuffed tiger to everyone else, but in the imagination of six‑year‑old Calvin he is a witty, observant companion who joins him in everyday challenges and wildly inventive adventures.
The strip ran for a decade. Its creator, Bill Watterson, left Calvin and Hobbes at the height of its popularity in 1995, saying he wanted to work at “a more thoughtful pace” and explore a canvas beyond the four panels of a daily newspaper. Watterson has given few interviews and produced little public work since.
Watterson blended the silly, the fantastic and the profound — a mix that captivated editor Lee Salem, who spoke with NPR’s Renee Montagne in 2005. The following exchange has been edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Lee Salem: When I first read it, it literally took my breath away. I circulated it in the office and the response was immediate. It was fresh, funny, the art was strong, and here was this archetypal little boy living a life some of us had lived or wanted to live or remembered living. One of my favorites shows Calvin in bed with a fever, watching a lurid soap opera on TV. He turns to the reader, grinning, and says, “Sometimes, I learn more when I stay home from school than when I go.” Amazingly, we got complaints from readers who thought we were advocating that children stay home and watch adult soap operas — the irony was lost on them, but not on me. I love that strip.
Renee Montagne: There’s so much more to Calvin than a boy with his tiger friend. In one strip they’re philosophizing under a tree; Hobbes asks, “Do you think there’s a god?” Calvin answers, “Yeah, well, someone is out to get me.”
Montagne: Calvin follows famous little boys like Charlie Brown and Dennis the Menace. What made him different?
Salem: Calvin lives in a world he didn’t make, full of adults and teachers, and he’s trying to make the best of it. He has more of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn in him than Charlie Brown. Hobbes is almost Calvin’s alter ego — a balancing force who comments on Calvin’s adventures and attitudes.
Montagne: Is Hobbes real?
Salem: He is to me and to Calvin. Whether other characters see him as real is an open question. Bill brought a wonderful ability to make a child’s imagination and fantasy life feel real. For Calvin, Hobbes is a buddy, a companion, a friend.
Lee Salem edited Calvin and Hobbes until the strip ended in 1995. Salem died in 2019.