Calvin and Hobbes

There are few stories that can entertain people of any age and in fact gain relevance and meaning the older you get. However one of these stories that has entertained me for as long as I can remember is Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson. It is a comic strip that ran in papers in the late eighties and early nineties so I never saw it in papers as a kid but read it from the collection books that my parents had bought for me. It is a cute comic about a boy in first grade and his stuffed tiger who comes to life with his imagination. While it seems that a comic like this would only appeal to much younger audiences this is not the case. Calvin and Hobbes discuss meaningful issues while walking through the woods that most adults can relate to. But Watterson also makes these comics fun and digestible for children by punctuating these dialogues with humor that everyone can understand and enjoy. Every now and then I'll read a strip I enjoyed in first and second grade and find whole new levels of meaning in it, and suddenly the comic is much more humorous and enjoyable. Calvin and Hobbes tackle issues like climate change, violence in media, war, religion, finding meaning in life, and much more. As a child I laughed at the jokes, and now I am able to laugh at the perspective the comic takes on these issues, as well as at the jokes. Calvin and Hobbes was important to me when I was young because it was funny, and is still important to me today because of the important issues it brings up and the lighthearted and fun way it does so. Growing up reading Calvin and Hobbes has impacted who I am and the issues I care about, and has been a very important story in my life.