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We now come to The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 3, practically the halfway point of seven planned sets from Andrews McMeel aiming to reprint the entire run of Bill Watterson’s iconic comic strip, albeit in miniature form. Once again, I’d recommend going back in time and reading (or re-reading?) my review of the first set, if only because the history of Watterson’s battles with his syndicate helps put both his beloved strip – and these new editions – in some context. Why not check out my review for the second set while you’re at it? More Calvin and Hobbes is always a good thing.
To keep things orderly, Set 3 again shrinks both daily and Sunday strips down into their now-familiar 9” x 6” format, a “backpack friendly” size that really puts the ‘portable’ in Portable Compendium. Nearly 500 comics originally published between July 1988 to November 1989 are spread across the two included volumes, carrying us nearly to the halfway point of Calvin and Hobbes. Like their creator, I’d never argue this is the optimal size when it comes to this particular comic (sometimes bigger is better), but the reproduction quality of the artwork is fantastic and the text easy to read.
While not a perfect approximation, most of the strips included were originally found in 1990’s “Weirdos from Another Planet!” and 1991’s “The Revenge of the Baby-Sat”, minus any of Watterson’s original artwork. Honestly, this was around the time when it was obvious his focus was more on the bigger, more luxurious Treasuries than the smaller, square-shaped collections anyway, so you’re not really missing that much with these new editions.
In this era it feels as if Watterson fully realizes exactly the type of comic strip he wants to make, operating on a wavelength rarely seen in mainstream pop culture, let alone in the newspapers’ funny pages. Here, he draws inspiration from the same well of inspiration few of his peers ever attempted, namely Charles Schulz’s Peanuts, Walt Kelly’s Pogo, or George Herriman’s Krazy Kat. It’s not heresy to say that Watterson, in less than five years, may have already been their equal. He may have already exceeded them.
We see Watterson developing Calvin and Hobbes horizontally, largely eschewing introductions of “new” things for broader interpretations and extensions of the strip’s existing ideas. We still get more Stupendous Man, more Spaceman Spiff, more weird snowmen sculptures, as well as the first appearance of the hilariously titled “Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie” bedtime story and the creation of the G.R.O.S.S. (Get Rid Of Slimy girlS) club. Growing the interiority of his characters, rather than the cast size, seems to confirm his desire to merchandise them hovered around non-existent.
But we also get longer and more thoughtful extended storylines showcasing a maturation not for a comic about a boy and his imaginary best tiger friend, but the art form itself. Take the series when the home is robbed while the family is away for a wedding. Calvin, having left his beloved friend back home, is worried sick until they finally return – only to discover their house burgled. From here the narrative largely switches to that of his mom and dad, both distraught at their circumstance yet terrified at the idea that simply being an adult doesn’t automatically grant one special powers to solve everything.
There’s something that just feels perfect and right knowing that Calvin and Hobbes has become an intergenerational favorite, and it’s hard to imagine longtime fans not loving having access to these characters again, even in miniature form (especially as it’s become extremely difficult to find the older square-shaped print versions). That said, The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Set 3 should do the trick nicely, especially for those with the first two sets and can’t wait to add the remaining four to their collection.