Rating: 
Summary: seriously funny !
Review: Bill Watterson's creation of Calvin and Hobbes is for my taste the ultimate adult comic strip; six year old Calvin, his stuffed tiger Hobbes, and his extensive and witty vocabulary, can be laugh-out-loud hilarious.
In this large, softcover book, you get all the usual suspects: The dreaded Miss Wormwood, Calvin's schoolteacher, who has to put up with his imaginitive but lame excuses, snowball fights with Susie, Spaceman Spiff, who gets stranded on distant planets, and of course, his stressed out parents.Other characters include two marvelous one-eyed aliens, Galaxoid and Nebular, who buy the earth from Calvin for 50 leaves, but when it snows, claim they were overcharged, and demand that Calvin bring the planet up to code, and Calvin's musings on whether there is an Evil Santa, who gives to the bad girls and boys "the dangerous, annoying, and corrupting toys your parents won't allow", and best of all, when he decides to be a Suburban Post-Modernist artist, and claims that "art isn't about ideas, it's about style". Hobbes is my favorite cartoon animal, drawn as a stuffed toy when seen from non-Calvin eyes, but a wise and playfull being in Calvin's magical world. There's a lot of love between them, and the hug on the back cover of this book says it all. Calvin and Hobbes will appeal to the rebel in us all, provide numerous laughs, and warm our hearts on cold days.
Rating:
Summary: The hardcover edition is the only way to go on this treasure
Review: For over a decade, Calvin and Hobbes was a part of our families. We came to know Calvin and his suave stuffed tiger, Hobbes. We shared in his divine 'love' for his mother's cooking. We got the warm fuzzies as he and Susie Derkins played out their young romance through insults and secret G.R.O.S.S. meetings. We laughed at Calvin's vivid imagination through installments of Tracer Bullet, Stupendous Man, and the incomparable Spaceman Spiff (zounds!). And we cried and smiled through tears as Calvin learned the value of life and the pricelessness of a true friend. Calvin and Hobbes encapsulates every special moment of childhood, and can melt away the hard shell of even the most jaded and bitter individual. This comic strip is a celebration of life, and while it saddens me to realize that I'll never be able to share future adventures with them, I can always go back and relive those past moments again trough wonderful collections such as this. Since this book is the final collection, you owe it to yourself to own it in hardcover form. I can't recommend this book (or any of the others) enough. If there's a child somewhere in your soul, all of these books are absolutely essential.
Rating: 
Summary: A Strong Finish
Review: This is the last of the C & H strips, and I think Watterson finished on a pretty strong note. I hear people say that Watterson should come back and write more strips. First of all, I think he did good to quit while he was ahead. Second of all, it always bother me when people complain about a writer leaving a series. As if they didn't have a life of their own and had to locked up somewhere and forced to churn out strips for the sake of their fans. If Watterson felt that he was tired of doing Calvin & Hobbes then we have to respect that. This book has got almost nothing but five star reviews here. So I feel that it's necessary to offer a dissenting opinion. I don't think this is Watterson's best work, and there are signs here that the quality of the strips was slipping. For one thing, while the Sunday strips are intricately drawn, the daily strips seem somewhat sparsely decorated. I think Watterson was putting so much time into drawing the Sunday strips that he had to just rush off his daily strips to meet his deadline. Second and most importantly, I think that the characters and the world of Calvin & Hobbes were beginning to lose their charm to some degree. Calvin was evolving from a hyperactive child to an obnoxious brat, and even though Calvin has always talked alot smarter than your average seven year old, I think some dialogue here sounds wierd coming from his mouth. Also, I think there's too much preaching from the soapbox here, and that sort of thing always gets on my nerves. I don't mean to give the impression that these faults are as bad as I'm making them sound. Most of them are hardly noticeable. I am simply trying to point out that there is a decline here from the glory days of the strip, and that's it's best that Watterson quit when he did before things got worse. He himself probably realized that he was losing his touch a little. I know that there are people who are fans of the strip and feel they have to come here and rave about any book with Calvin and Hobbes on the cover. Some people think that's what being a fan is all about. It's the same sort of mentality that would make Star Trek fans go crazy over a Star Trek X even if the Enterprise was shaped like a cereal box. But you can be a fan and still have a discriminating taste. You can still separate the good from the bad. I think giving this book five stars does a disservice to better work like Snow Goons and The Authoritative C & H, which I think were the high points of the series. Anyway, this isn't a bad book. It's still vintage Calvin and Hobbes, and I think Watterson choose the perfect time to hang up his drawing board.
Rating:
Summary: C&H is a World of Magic
Review: Fans of Calvin & Hobbes who used to read the newspaper strip in the 80s and 90s will find great pleasure in reading this collection of C&H comics. These witty comics about the 6-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, named after the famous philosophers, will amuse people of all ages. The perceptiveness and humor of Watterson deserve the highest of cartoon awards, while his artistic creations exude hilarity. This cartoon is perhaps one of the most piercing yet funny critiques of modern society. Snow creations, sledding, pranks against Susie, Miss Wormwood and more creative ways to escape class, ... the fun in Calvin's world never ends! Note that there are two series of C&H collections: individual wide-format albums, each covering an entire year of strips (will call it "regular"), and the vertical aspect ratio "treasury series" which covers selected comics from two regular C&H books. Note that C&H ran for a year in newspapers, so there's 10 regular books and 5 treasury books. Though the cartoons are slightly smaller in the treasury collection, each treasury book is far thicker and contains more strips than a regular book, and is furthermore less expensive, so treasury books are a real bargain. "It's a Magical World" belongs to the regular series and was published in 1996.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Comic!
Review: Bill Waterson is argudably one of the best comic writers out there. Even through his retirement, he has made great books of past comics featuring his Calvin and Hobbes characters. I laugh and laugh at these comics he creates and I sometimes wonder how he comes up with such brilliant ideas sometimes with the storylines of some of the strips. Calvin, one of his best known characters, is the trouble-making kid in the school. He is funny and imaginative and likes to make funa and games with his "real" pet friend Hobbes. Through the comics, you can see the relationship between a stuffed animal and a human. In this comic though, Hobbes "comes to life" in Calvins eyes. The things that Calvin can sometimes get involved in is so hilarious and sometimes out of this world. I guarantee that anyone that loves comics will fall in love with this one and should definitely buy this book to start their collection of classic comics. All of Bill Waterson's comic books are very well done and very professional. His work is his life and it shows the time and consideration it took to make these characters come to life. Thank you Mr. Waterson for creating such a great comic and thatnk you people for reading my review!
Rating:
Summary: A Magical Collectiom
Review: One of the several reasons for Bill Watterson's departure from Calvin and Hobbes is that he wanted to pursue his craft in watercolor. It makes so much sense: just look at some of the background art in this collection and you can see it. (Actually, look at the background cover art, and it looks like Japanese watercolor.) Whatever his pursuits today, Watterson has left us a decade's worth of joy. This collection is just one of several. It doesn't really matter which one you pick up: you will always be guaranteed a few hours' worth of laughter and even a couple of warm tears.
Rating:
Summary: A Strong Finish
Review: This is the last of the C & H strips, and I think Watterson finished on a pretty strong note. I hear people say that Watterson should come back and write more strips. First of all, I think he did good to quit while he was ahead. Second of all, it always bother me when people complain about a writer leaving a series. As if they didn't have a life of their own and had to locked up somewhere and forced to churn out strips for the sake of their fans. If Watterson felt that he was tired of doing Calvin & Hobbes then we have to respect that. This book has got almost nothing but five star reviews here. So I feel that it's necessary to offer a dissenting opinion. I don't think this is Watterson's best work, and there are signs here that the quality of the strips was slipping. For one thing, while the Sunday strips are intricately drawn, the daily strips seem somewhat sparsely decorated. I think Watterson was putting so much time into drawing the Sunday strips that he had to just rush off his daily strips to meet his deadline. Second and most importantly, I think that the characters and the world of Calvin & Hobbes were beginning to lose their charm to some degree. Calvin was evolving from a hyperactive child to an obnoxious brat, and even though Calvin has always talked alot smarter than your average seven year old, I think some dialogue here sounds wierd coming from his mouth. Also, I think there's too much preaching from the soapbox here, and that sort of thing always gets on my nerves. I don't mean to give the impression that these faults are as bad as I'm making them sound. Most of them are hardly noticeable. I am simply trying to point out that there is a decline here from the glory days of the strip, and that's it's best that Watterson quit when he did before things got worse. He himself probably realized that he was losing his touch a little. I know that there are people who are fans of the strip and feel they have to come here and rave about any book with Calvin and Hobbes on the cover. Some people think that's what being a fan is all about. It's the same sort of mentality that would make Star Trek fans go crazy over a Star Trek X even if the Enterprise was shaped like a cereal box. But you can be a fan and still have a discriminating taste. You can still separate the good from the bad. I think giving this book five stars does a disservice to better work like Snow Goons and The Authoritative C & H, which I think were the high points of the series. Anyway, this isn't a bad book. It's still vintage Calvin and Hobbes, and I think Watterson choose the perfect time to hang up his drawing board.
Rating:
Summary: Real Magic
Review: Hobbes is the best animated animal. Even as an animated feline he's better than Garfield. He's the perfect best pal for Calvin and the interaction between them is wonderful. Just take a look at the back cover. I wish I had a tiger like Hobbes. To everyone else he's just a stuffed toy but in Calvin's eyes he the cuddliest cat ever. The best thing about Calvin and Hobbes is the way Calvin is wise well beyond his years but still has the many illusions of childhood. I think it's the way many of us would like to be. Wisdom without cynicism. I totally love Calvin and Hobbes. Their adventures are the best and their friendship is real, even if Hobbes is not.
Rating:
Summary: DUDE, LOVE LAUGHING? THIS IS FOR YOU !
Review: HAHAHAHAHAHHA ! MAD FUNNY, YO. But seriously, its funny, its in color+thepictures are great, and you'll love it. get this book, and get ALL C&H BOOKS !!
Rating:
Summary: C&H is a World of Magic
Review: Fans of Calvin & Hobbes who used to read the newspaper strip in the 80s and 90s will find great pleasure in reading this collection of C&H comics. These witty comics about the 6-year old Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes, named after the famous philosophers, will amuse people of all ages. The perceptiveness and humor of Watterson deserve the highest of cartoon awards, while his artistic creations exude hilarity. This cartoon is perhaps one of the most piercing yet funny critiques of modern society. Snow creations, sledding, pranks against Susie, Miss Wormwood and more creative ways to escape class, ... the fun in Calvin's world never ends! Note that there are two series of C&H collections: individual wide-format albums, each covering an entire year of strips (will call it "regular"), and the vertical aspect ratio "treasury series" which covers selected comics from two regular C&H books. Note that C&H ran for a year in newspapers, so there's 10 regular books and 5 treasury books. Though the cartoons are slightly smaller in the treasury collection, each treasury book is far thicker and contains more strips than a regular book, and is furthermore less expensive, so treasury books are a real bargain. "It's a Magical World" belongs to the regular series and was published in 1996.
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