Editing Calvin and Hobbes (section)

==Recurring elements and themes==
===Art and academia===
Watterson used the strip to poke fun at the art world, principally through Calvin's unconventional creations of [[snowman|snowmen]] but also through other expressions of childhood art. When Miss Wormwood complains that he is wasting class time drawing impossible things (a ''[[Stegosaurus]]'' in a rocket ship, for example), Calvin proclaims himself "on the cutting edge of the ''[[avant-garde]]''."<ref>{{Cite comic|cartoonist=Bill Watterson|title=Calvin and Hobbes|date=October 31, 1990|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{Cite comic|cartoonist=Bill Watterson|title=Calvin and Hobbes|date=November 1, 1990|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=November 01, 1990 |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1990/11/01 |website=GoComics |language=en |date=1 November 1990}}</ref> He begins exploring the medium of snow when a warm day melts his snowman. His next sculpture "speaks to the horror of our own mortality, inviting the viewer to contemplate the evanescence of life."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watterson |first1=Bill |title=February 21, 1990 |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1990/02/21 |website=GoComics |language=en |date=21 February 1990}}</ref> In later strips, Calvin's creative instincts diversify to include sidewalk drawings (or, as he terms them, examples of "suburban [[postmodernism]]").<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watterson |first1=Bill |title=July 13, 1995 |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/07/13 |website=GoComics |language=en |date=13 July 1995 |ref=none}}</ref>

Watterson also lampooned the [[academia|academic world]]. In one example, Calvin carefully crafts an "[[artist's statement]]", claiming that such essays convey more messages than artworks themselves ever do (Hobbes blandly notes, "You misspelled ''[[World view|Weltanschauung]]''").<ref>{{Cite comic|cartoonist=Bill Watterson|title=Calvin and Hobbes|date=July 15, 1995}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Watterson |first1=Bill |title=July 15, 1995 |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/07/15 |website=GoComics |language=en |date=15 July 1995 |ref=none}}</ref> He indulges in what Watterson calls "pop [[psychobabble]]" to justify his destructive rampages and shift blame to his parents, citing "toxic codependency."<ref>{{Cite comic|cartoonist=Bill Watterson|title=Calvin and Hobbes|date=January 21, 1993}}</ref> In one instance, he pens a book report based on the theory that the purpose of academic writing is to "inflate weak ideas, obscure poor reasoning and inhibit clarity," entitled ''The Dynamics of Interbeing and Monological Imperatives in [[Dick and Jane]]: A Study in Psychic Transrelational Gender Modes''. Displaying his creation to Hobbes, he remarks, "Academia, here I come!"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watterson |first1=Bill |title=February 11, 1993 cartoon |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1993/02/11 |website=GoComics |language=en |date=11 February 1993}}</ref> Watterson explains that he adapted this jargon (and similar examples from several other strips) from an actual book of art criticism.<ref name="Watterson 1995">[[#CITEREFWatterson1995|Watterson (1995)]].</ref>

Overall, Watterson's satirical essays serve to attack both sides, criticizing both the commercial mainstream and the artists who are supposed to be "outside" it. The strip on Sunday, June 21, 1992, criticized the naming of the [[Big Bang]] theory as not evocative of the wonders behind it and coined the term "Horrendous Space Kablooie",<ref>{{cite book|title=The Complete Calvin and Hobbes|last=Watterson|first=Bill|publisher=Andrews McMeel Publishing|year=2012|isbn=978-1-4494-3325-3|volume=3|page=287}}</ref> an alternative that achieved some informal popularity among scientists and was often shortened to "the HSK".<ref name="sampson">{{cite book|title=Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe|last=Singh|first=Simon |publisher=Fourth Estate|year=2006|isbn=978-0-00-716220-8|author-link=Simon Singh|title-link=Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe}}</ref> The term has also been referred to in newspapers,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/11/us/calling-big-bang-a-dud-journal-seeks-new-name.html|title=Calling 'Big Bang' a Dud, Journal Seeks New Name|date=June 11, 1993|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120414044730/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/06/11/us/calling-big-bang-a-dud-journal-seeks-new-name.html|archive-date=April 14, 2012|url-status=live|df=mdy}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3626029/We-are-wandering-stardust.html|title=We Are Wandering Stardust|last=Martin|first=Andy|date=October 17, 2004|work=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=February 27, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100501200955/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/3626029/We-are-wandering-stardust.html|archive-date=May 1, 2010|url-status=live|location=London}}</ref> books<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1fKKq44B9ewC&q=horrendous+space+kablooie&pg=PA47|title=Creation, Evolution, and Modern Science|last1=Anderson|first1=Kerby|last2=Bohlin|first2=Raymond G.|publisher=Kregel Publications|year=2000|isbn=978-0-8254-2033-7|access-date=February 27, 2008}}</ref> and university courses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://supernova.lbl.gov/~evlinder/umass/sumold/subsum.html|title=Cosmology Summary|last=Linder|first=Eric|access-date=February 27, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Moseley|first=Caroline|date=May 7, 2001|title=Faculty Team Serves Up a Slice of the Universe|url=http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/01/0507/3a.shtml|url-status=live|volume=90|issue=27|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629083526/http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pwb/01/0507/3a.shtml|archive-date=June 29, 2011|access-date=February 27, 2008|journal=Princeton Weekly Bulletin}}</ref>

===Calvin's alter-egos===
Calvin imagines himself as many great creatures and other people, including [[dinosaur]]s, elephants, jungle-farers and superheroes. Three of his [[alter ego]]s are well-defined and recurrent:<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-01-12 |title=Spaceman Spiff and the Stupendous Man: The Culture Industry in "Calvin and Hobbes" |url=http://www.stripteasethemag.com/spaceman-spiff-and-the-stupendous-man-the-culture-industry-in-calvin-and-hobbes/ |access-date=2022-06-19 |language=en-US}}</ref>
*{{anchor|Spaceman Spiff}}"'''Spaceman Spiff'''" is a heroic spacefarer who narrates his adventures in the [[Third-person pronoun|third person]]. As Spiff, Calvin battles aliens (typically his parents or teacher, but also sometimes other kids his age) with a ray gun known as a "zorcher" (later "frap-ray blaster", "death ray blaster" or "atomic napalm neutralizer") and travels to distant planets (his house, school or neighborhood), often crashing unhurt on a planet. Calvin's self-narration as Spaceman Spiff is frequently riddled with alliteration: "Zounds! Zorched by Zarches, Spaceman Spiff's crippled craft crashes on planet Plootarg!" Watterson has stated the idea of Spaceman Spiff came from an earlier attempt as a cartoon,{{sfnp|Martell|2010|p=28}} and is meant as a parody of [[Flash Gordon]].{{sfnp|Martell|2010|p=58|ps=: "A sarcastic send-up of classic Sci-Fi strips, Spiff paid backhand homage to flashy space heroes like Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon while tapping into the Star Wars craze."}} The canyons and deserts that many of the Spaceman Spiff stories are set in are based on the landscapes of southern Utah.{{sfnp|Watterson|1995|p=69}}
* "'''Tracer Bullet'''" is a [[hardboiled]] private eye, who says he has eight slugs in him ("One's lead, and the rest are bourbon."). In one story, Bullet is called to a case in which a "pushy dame" (Calvin's mother) accuses him of destroying an expensive lamp (broken during an indoor football game between Calvin and Hobbes). Later, he is snatched by the pushy dame's "hired goon" (Calvin's father having a talk with him). In another, he "investigates" a math word problem during class, "closing the case" with an answer of 1,000,000,000 when the correct response was 15. He made his debut when Calvin donned a [[fedora]] in order to hide a terrible haircut Hobbes had given him. These strips are drawn in elaborate, shadowy black-and-white that evoke [[film noir]]. Watterson did not attempt Tracer Bullet stories often, due to the time-consuming way the strip needed to be drawn and inked.<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson1995|Watterson (1995)]], p. 132.</ref>
{{anchor|Stupendous Man}}
* "'''Stupendous Man'''" is a superhero who wears a mask and a cape (made by Calvin's mother) and narrates his own adventures. While Calvin is in character as Stupendous Man, he refers to his alter ego as a mild-mannered millionaire playboy. Stupendous Man almost always "suffers defeat" at the hands of his opponent. When Hobbes asks if Stupendous Man has ever won any battles, Calvin says all his battles are "moral victories." Stupendous Man's nemeses include "Mom-Lady" (Calvin's mom), "Annoying Girl" (Susie Derkins), "Crab Teacher" (Miss Wormwood) and "Baby-Sitter Girl" (Rosalyn). Some of the "super powers" of the villains have been revealed: Mom-Lady has a "mind scrambling eyeball ray" that wills the victim to "do her nefarious bidding"; and Baby Sitter Girl has a similar power of using a "psycho beam" which weakens "Stupendous Man's stupendous will". The "powers" of Annoying Girl and Crab Teacher are never revealed. Calvin often tries to pretend he and "Stupendous Man" are two different people, but it fails to work. Stupendous Man has multiple "superpowers", including, but not limited to, super strength, the ability to fly, various vision powers such as "high-speed vision", "muscles of magnitude" and a "stomach of steel".

===Cardboard boxes===
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2022}}
[[File:Scientific Progress Goes Boink (Calvin and Hobbes).jpg|thumb|Calvin duplicating himself using a cardboard box, as seen on the cover of ''Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"'']]
Calvin also has several adventures involving corrugated [[cardboard box]]es, which he adapts for many imaginative and elaborate uses. In one strip, when Calvin shows off his Transmogrifier, a device that transforms its user into any desired creature or item, Hobbes remarks, "It's amazing what they do with corrugated cardboard these days."<ref name="watterson1988_p229">{{cite book |last=Watterson |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Watterson |title=The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury |year=1988 |publisher=Andrews and McMeel |location=Kansas City, Missouri |isbn=0-8362-1805-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/essentialcalvinh00watt_1/page/229 229] |title-link=List of Calvin and Hobbes books }}</ref> Calvin is able to change the function of the boxes by rewriting the label and flipping the box onto another side. In this way, a box can be used not only for its conventional purposes (a storage container for water balloons, for example), but also as a flying [[Time travel|time machine]], a duplicator, a transmogrifier or, with the attachment of a few wires and a colander, a "Cerebral Enhance-o-tron."

In the real world, Calvin's antics with his box have had varying effects. When he transmogrified into a tiger, he still appeared as a regular human child to his parents. However, in a story where he made several duplicates of himself, his parents are seen interacting with what does seem like multiple Calvins, including in a strip where two of him are seen in the same panel as his father. It is ultimately unknown what his parents do or do not see, as Calvin tries to hide most of his creations (or conceal their effects) so as not to traumatize them.

In addition, Calvin uses a cardboard box as a sidewalk kiosk to sell things. Often, Calvin offers merchandise no one would want, such as "suicide drink", "a swift kick in the butt" for one dollar<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson1995|Watterson (1995)]], p. 172.</ref> or a "frank appraisal of your looks" for fifty cents. In one strip, he sells "happiness" for ten cents, hitting the customer in the face with a water balloon and explaining that he meant his own happiness.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watterson |first1=Bill |title=July 8, 1995 |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1995/07/08 |website=GoComics |language=en |date=8 July 1995 |ref=none}}</ref> In another strip, he sold "insurance", [[Protection racket|firing a slingshot at those who refused to buy it]]. In some strips, he tried to sell "great ideas" and, in one earlier strip, he attempted to sell the family car to obtain money for a grenade launcher. In yet another strip, he sells "life" for five cents, where the customer receives nothing in return, which, in Calvin's opinion, is life.

The box has also functioned as an alternate secret meeting place for G.R.O.S.S., as the "Box of Secrecy".
[[File:Calvin and Hobbes playing Calvinball.jpg|thumb|296x296px|Calvin and Hobbes playing Calvinball with an assortment of sporting equipment]]

===Calvinball===
<!-- Courtesy note per [[WP:LiNK2SECT]]: [[Calvinball]] redirects here -->
{{quote box
| align = right
| width = 25em
| quote = <poem>
Other kids' games are all such a bore!
They've gotta have rules and they gotta keep score!
Calvinball is better by far!
It's never the same! It's always bizarre!
You don't need a team or a referee!
You know that it's great, 'cause it's named after me!
<!-- Yes, the strip continues "If you wanna...". We left that out because it doesn't contribute anything to the article. -->
</poem>
| source = —Excerpt from the Calvinball theme song<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 3, p. 432. Comic originally published 1995-09-11.</ref>
}}Calvinball is an improvisational sport/game introduced in a 1990 storyline that involved Calvin's negative experience of joining the school baseball team. Calvinball is a [[nomic]] or self-modifying game, a contest of wits, skill and creativity rather than stamina or athletic skill. The game is portrayed as a rebellion against conventional team sports<ref name="CC+H_b2_p268-273">[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 2, pp. 268–273. Comics originally published 1990-04-16 to 1990-05-05.</ref> and became a staple of the final five years of the comic. The only consistent rules of the game are that Calvinball may never be played with the same rules twice<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 2, p. 292. Comic originally published 1990-05-27.</ref> and that each participant must wear a mask.<ref name="CC+H_b3_p430-433">[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 3, pp. 430–434. Comics originally published 1995-09-04 to 1995-09-16.</ref>

When asked how to play, Watterson stated: "It's pretty simple: you make up the rules as you go."<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson1995|Watterson (1995)]], p. 129.</ref> In most appearances of the game, a comical array of conventional and non-conventional sporting equipment is involved, including a [[croquet]] set, a badminton set, assorted flags, bags, signs, a [[Hobby horse (toy)|hobby horse]], water buckets and balloons, with humorous allusions to unseen elements such as "time-fracture wickets". Scoring is portrayed as arbitrary and nonsensical ("Q to 12" and "oogy to boogy"<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 2, pp. 292, 336. Comics originally published 1990-05-27 and 1990-08-26.</ref>) and the lack of fixed rules leads to lengthy argument between the participants as to who scored, where the boundaries are, and when the game is finished.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Philosophical Athlete|last=Reid|first=Heather Lynne|publisher=Carolina Academic Press|year=2002|pages=190}}</ref> Usually, the contest results in Calvin being outsmarted by Hobbes. The game has been described in one academic work not as a new game based on fragments of an older one, but as the "constant connecting and disconnecting of parts, the constant evasion of rules or guidelines based on collective creativity."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Philosophy in Children's Literature|last=Jones|first=Kelly|publisher=Lexington Books|year=2012|pages=112|chapter=Mapping Chris Van Allsburg's The Mysteries of Harris Burdick}}</ref>

===Snowmen and other snow art===

Calvin often creates horrendous/[[Black comedy|dark humor]] scenes with his [[Snowman|snowmen]] and other snow sculptures. He uses the snowman for social commentary, revenge or pure enjoyment. Examples include Snowman Calvin being yelled at by Snowman Dad to shovel the snow; one snowman eating [[snow cone]]s scooped out of a second snowman, who is lying on the ground with an ice-cream scoop in his back; a "snowman house of horror"; and snowmen representing people he hates. "The ones I ''really'' hate are small, so they'll melt faster,"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watterson |first1=Bill |date=30 January 1989 |title=January 30, 1989 |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1989/01/30 |work=Cavin & Hobbes |publisher=GoComics}}</ref> he says. There was even an occasion on which Calvin accidentally brought a snowman to life and it made itself and a small army into "deranged mutant killer monster snow goons."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Watterson |first1=Bill |date=4 January 1991 |title=January 4, 1991 |url=https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/1991/01/04 |work=Cavin & Hobbes |publisher=GoComics |language=en |ref=none}}</ref>

Calvin's snow art is often used as a commentary on art in general. For example, Calvin has complained more than once about the lack of originality in other people's snow art and compared it with his own grotesque snow sculptures. In one of these instances, Calvin and Hobbes claim to be the sole guardians of high culture; in another, Hobbes admires Calvin's willingness to put artistic integrity above marketability, causing Calvin to reconsider and make an ordinary snowman.

===Wagon and sled rides===
Calvin and Hobbes frequently ride downhill in a [[wagon]] or [[sled]] (depending on the season), as a device to add some [[physical comedy]] to the strip and because, according to Watterson, "it's a lot more interesting ... than talking heads."<ref name="Watterson 1995 p. 104">{{harvp|Watterson|1995|p=104}}</ref> While the ride is sometimes the focus of the strip,<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 2, pp. 233, 325. Comics originally published 1990-01-07 and 1990-08-10.</ref> it also frequently serves as a counterpoint or visual metaphor while Calvin ponders the meaning of life, death, God, philosophy or a variety of other weighty subjects.<ref name="Watterson 1995 p. 104" /><ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 1, pp. 26, 56, 217; vol. 2, pp. 120, 237, 267, 298, 443; vol. 3, pp. 16, 170, 224, 326, 414. Comics originally published 1985-11-30, 1986-02-07, 1987-01-11, 1989-05-28, 1990-02-04, 1990-04-15, 1990-06-10, 1992-02-02, 1992-05-17, 1993-04-18, 1993-08-22, 1995-01-14, and 1995-07-30.</ref> Many of their rides end in spectacular crashes which leave them battered, beaten up and broken, a fact which convinces Hobbes to sometimes hop off before a ride even begins.<ref>[[#CITEREFWatterson2005|Watterson (2005)]]. vol. 2, p. 373. Comic originally published 1990-12-01.</ref> In the final strip, Calvin and Hobbes depart on their sled to go exploring.<ref name="CC+H_final_strip" /> This theme is similar (perhaps even an homage) to scenes in Walt Kelly's ''[[Pogo (comics)|Pogo]]''.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}} Calvin and Hobbes' sled has been described as the most famous sled in American arts since ''[[Citizen Kane]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |title='Calvin and Hobbes' said goodbye 25 years ago. Here's why Bill Watterson's masterwork enchants us still. |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/12/31/calvin-hobbes-bill-watterson/ |access-date=2022-12-19 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

===G.R.O.S.S. (Get Rid of Slimy GirlS) ===
G.R.O.S.S. (which is a [[backronym]] for '''G'''et '''R'''id '''O'''f '''S'''limy Girl'''S''', "otherwise it doesn't spell anything") is a [[Club (organization)|club]] in which Calvin and Hobbes are the only members. The club was founded in the garage of their house, but to clear space for its activities, Calvin and (purportedly) Hobbes push Calvin's parents' car, causing it to roll into a ditch (but not suffer damage); the incident prompts the duo to change the club's location to Calvin's treehouse. They hold meetings that involve finding ways to annoy and discomfort Susie Derkins, a girl and enemy of their club. Actions include planting a fake secret tape near her in attempt to draw her in to a trap, trapping her in a closet at their house and creating elaborate water balloon traps. Calvin gave himself and Hobbes important positions in the club, Calvin being "Dictator-for-Life" and Hobbes being "President-and-First-Tiger". They go into Calvin's treehouse for their club meetings and often get into fights during them. The password to get into the treehouse is intentionally long and difficult, which has on at least one occasion ruined Calvin's plans. As Hobbes is able to climb the tree without the rope, he is usually the one who comes up with the password, which often involves heaping praise upon tigers. An example of this can be seen in the comic strip where Calvin, rushing to get into the treehouse to throw things at a passing Susie Derkins, insults Hobbes, who is in the treehouse and thus has to let down the rope. Hobbes forces Calvin to say the password for insulting him. By the time Susie arrives, in time to hear Calvin saying some of the password, causing him to stumble, Calvin is on "''Verse Seven:'' Tigers are perfect!/The E-pit-o-me/of good looks and grace/and quiet..uh..um..dignity". The opportunity to pelt Susie with something having passed, Calvin threatens to turn Hobbes into a rug.<ref name="watterson1990_p36">{{cite book |last=Watterson |first=Bill |author-link=Bill Watterson |title=Weirdos from Another Planet! |year=1990 |publisher=Andrews and McMeel |location=Kansas City, Missouri |isbn=0-8362-1862-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/weirdosfromanoth00watt/page/36 36] |title-link=List of Calvin and Hobbes books }}</ref>

=== Dinosaurs ===
Dinosaurs play a heavy role in many of Calvin's imagination sequences. These strips will often begin with hyper-realistic scenes of dinosaur interactions, only to end with a cut to Calvin acting out these scenes as part of a day-dream, often to his embarrassment.{{sfnp|Watterson|1995|p=151}} Watterson placed a heavy focus on accurately depicting dinosaurs, due to his own interest in them as well as to reinforce how real they are to Calvin.{{sfnp|Watterson|1995|p=151}}