One thing you can't say about Calvin and Hobbes is that it's "drenched in commercialism"...
This might be the most unpopular opinion I have ever seen on here.
this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2023
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I think they're referring to things such as stickers on trucks of Calvin pissing on other truck brands
Those are completely unlicensed, the author hates them.
The comic itself isn't, but it's going to be merchandised to hell at first opportunity, is what I meant.
drenched in commercialism
🤔
Edit: Where are you seeing Calvin and Hobbes so much? I only pretty much see it in the community for it these days, and you can block that so I don't know why it's so stuck in your craw
Outside of the books which are collections of the weekly strips, there is not and has never been any official C&H merch produced. Watterson, the creator, has been very outspoken against merchandising C&H.
Isn't Bill Watters against this type of stuff. No plushies, t-shirts, etc. Unless something has changed in the recent years.
While I respect many opinions, this is the first one that is wrong
That's certainly an unpopular opinion. I love rereading Calvin and Hobbes strips. Maybe it's a heaping portion of nostalgia goggles bringing me back to being a little kid learning how to read via comics, but I find all the newspaper strips I grew up with really comforting, none more so than C&H
It's that no one else has quite captures the essence of being a kid. Most strips portray kids as mini adults.
And when he got to let loose on the drawings for Sunday comics, some of them are very elaborate and exquisite for a daily strip.
Now this, I can definitely see. Not to wax melancholic, but mine was an abnormal and truncated childhood, so I never found the comic personally relatable, and that might amount for the disconnect - it always came across as either outlandish and nonsensical (bordering on lolsorandumb) to faux-deep and mollycoddling of the reader's inner toddler that never seemed much more than condescending to me.
But in the context of cueing it through the hypothetical series of how a regular adult might reminisce about their own childhood, the nostalgic, near-wistful fondness I see for it makes a lot more sense, even if to me it feels saccharine and, dare I say, disingenuous.
Thanks!
It’s taking every fiber of my being not to downvote you. I grew up with Calvin. I’ve shared my complete collection with my kids, and every one of them has been infatuated. It may be over saturated for you, but I would place them as wonderful, lasting works. Put them with Alice in Wonderland, not edgy knockoffs.
Calvin and Hobbes is not good. It is the best.
Despite its cultural references being decidedly 20th century, it still hits notes that resonate with kids and adults years later. Maybe it has been getting long in the tooth, but I think that just points to how many people just can't put it down
Also "drenched in commercialism" is not the phrase I'd use; in fact it's anomalously under-commercialised as a comic book franchise, intentionally so. I appreciate that.
Also "drenched in commercialism" is not the phrase I'd use; in fact it's anomalously under-commercialised as a comic book franchise, intentionally so. I appreciate that.
OP probably sees all the unofficial "Calvin pissing on thing" stickers a lot.
My kids love it, and are getting old enough to appreciate some of the more adult humour. So no, it's absolutely not "of its time". Definitely an unpopular opinion there to be sure!