Calvin and Hobbes was created by genius Bill Watterson. Unfortunately he didn't like the publicity Calvin and Hobbes pushed on him so the last strip was published early 1995.
Calvin isn't your basic 6 year-old. He is extremely intelligent and has a hefty imagination. But despite his intelligence he still fails miserably in school. And like all kids he's loud, sarcastic, cynical and lazy. All these aspects of Calvin's personality make the stories hilarious. Calvin is named for a sixteenth-century theologian who believed in predestination.
Hobbes is Calvin's dearest friend. Hobbes is a cheap stuffed tiger. He has a peculiar patient dignity. Named after a seventeenth-century philosopher with a dim view of human nature. Hobbes is named after a 17th century theologian.
Calvin's Parents: They're names have never been revealed. They are only important as Calvin's mom and dad. Calvin's dad has been rumored to be a self-portrait. Calvin's dad believes that everything builds character.
Susie Derkins:
Susie is earnest, serious, and smart. Susie's is just another slimy girl as far as Calvin is concerned.
Miss Wormwood:
As a few readers guessed, Miss Wormwood is named after the apprentice devil in C. S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. I have a lot of sympathy for Miss Wormwood. We see hints that she's waiting to retire, that she smokes too much, and that she takes a lot of medication. I think she seriously believes in the value of education, so needless to
say, she's an unhappy person.
Moe:
Moe is every jerk I've ever known. He's big, dumb, ugly, and cruel. Every school has these idiots.
Rosalyn: The only person Calvin fears. Rosalyn uses Calvin's parents desperation to get out of the house to demand advances and raises.
Stupendous Man:
Calvinns super hero alter ego. When ever there is a job Calvin thinks he can't do he call upon Stupendous Man. As with all of Clavins alter egos., He denies he actually is Stupendous Man.
Tracer Bullet:
Calvin's private investigator alter ego In the 10th anniversary collection Bill Watterson said he disliked writing Tracer Bullet stories. The plots were complicated and the drawings were tedious and time consuming.
Spaceman Spiff:
Any comic with Spaceman Spiff in it has earned the title "Badass". Spaceman Spiff explores uncharted planets. ( On Calvin's math test the first question was, 5+6, so Spaceman Spiff dropped an anchor on Planet 5 and crashed it into Planet 6. He had just go done thinking of the results when his time was up.)
