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Calvin and Hobbes #11
It's a Magical World
When cartoonist Bill Watterson announced that his phenomenally popular cartoon strip would be discontinued, Calvin and Hobbes fans throughout the world went into mourning. Fans have learned to survive -- despite the absence of the boy and his tiger in the daily newspaper. It's a Magical World delivers all the satisfaction of visiting its characters once more. Calvin fans will be able to see their favorite mischief maker stir it up with his furry friend, long-suffering parents, classmate Susie Derkins, school teacher Miss Wormwood, and Rosalyn the baby-sitter. It's a Magical World includes full-color Sundays and has it all: Calvin-turned-firefly waking Hobbes with his flashlight glow; courageous Spaceman Spiff rocketing through alien galaxies as he battles Dad-turned-Bug-Being; and Calvin's always inspired snowman art. There's no better way for Watterson fans to savor again the special qualities of their favorite strip.
176 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1996
564 people are currently reading
5522 people want to read
About the author
Bill Watterson
398 books4,846 followersBill Watterson (born William Boyd Watterson II) is an American cartoonist, and the author of the comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes". His career as a syndicated cartoonist ran from 1985 to 1995; he stopped drawing "Calvin and Hobbes" at the end of 1995 with a short statement to newspaper editors and his fans that he felt he had achieved all he could in the comic strip medium. During the early years of his career he produced several drawings and additional contributions for "Target: The Political Cartoon Quarterly". Watterson is known for his views on licensing and comic syndication, as well as for his reclusive nature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 469 reviews
June 16, 2009
Calvin: "I read this library book you got me"
Calvin's Mom: "What did you think of it?"
Calvin: "It really made me see things differently. It's given me a lot to think about"
Calvin's Mom: "I'm glad you enjoyed it"
Calvin: "It's complicating my life. Don't get me any more"
Calvin's Mom: "What did you think of it?"
Calvin: "It really made me see things differently. It's given me a lot to think about"
Calvin's Mom: "I'm glad you enjoyed it"
Calvin: "It's complicating my life. Don't get me any more"
May 16, 2007
Calvin and Hobbes was so important to me when I was younger, and still is important. It really is in its own little catergory. It breaks my heart that Watterson left after this book... but in an understanding way. It is so rare that someone knows how to retire while they are at their peak and let their art stand on its own.
I have this last strip in this book pinned up on my wall at work... to remind me as I came here and started over, that it's a magical world out there.
I have this last strip in this book pinned up on my wall at work... to remind me as I came here and started over, that it's a magical world out there.
May 22, 2021
After all these books, it has finally happened! Susie has entered Calvin’s house. And boy, does he go mad! This was such a hilarious story to read!
As this book contains the final set of comic strips Bill Watterson created before his retirement, I found my heart growing heavier as I neared the end. But what a fitting finale this book has been! Every single beloved character makes a memorable last appearance. I was the happiest to see Rosalyn return, and to see her final adventure with Calvin ending on mutually satisfying terms.
I’ll miss this gang! But as the final panels of the book say, it’s a new day full of possibilities; let’s go exploring!
Mr. Watterson, thank you for Calvin & Hobbes!
***********************
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As this book contains the final set of comic strips Bill Watterson created before his retirement, I found my heart growing heavier as I neared the end. But what a fitting finale this book has been! Every single beloved character makes a memorable last appearance. I was the happiest to see Rosalyn return, and to see her final adventure with Calvin ending on mutually satisfying terms.
I’ll miss this gang! But as the final panels of the book say, it’s a new day full of possibilities; let’s go exploring!
Mr. Watterson, thank you for Calvin & Hobbes!
***********************
Join me on the Facebook group, Readers Forever! , for more reviews, book-related discussions and fun.
Follow me on Instagram: RoshReviews
August 13, 2011
IS THERE ANYONE IN THE WORLD WHO HAS READ C&H AND DOES NOT LOVE LOVE LOVE IT? IF SO I WILL FIGHT YOU
UGGGHHH I'm about to vomit with love.
UGGGHHH I'm about to vomit with love.
October 3, 2021
The final volume of Calvin and Hobbes might just be the very best. The flights of fantasy are far fewer here, which is usually something I do not care for. I always wanted more of Spiff and Tracer. That is because Watterson's mundane stories often had a slice of life sentimentality that I found wanting. There is little of that here. Hobbes is a far more adversarial figure in the strip in general than it is given credit for and in particular here. The slice of life is more about making a point. Watterson is trying to give us his view on where we were going. As far as predictions go, he was sadly accurate.
It's a Magical World proves an old adage of mine: know when to quit. We often stretch out ideas and stories until they become dull. Watterson, already taking on darker themes in There's Treasure Everywhere, goes much further here. Existential dread is common. Most telling is his early jibes at the Internet, which was only then just arriving. Other commentaries are about technologically induced isolation, consumerism, the coarsening of political discourse, and the triumph of money. There was always a smattering of social commentary in Calvin and Hobbes but here it is on overdrive. He even mentions the vapid nostalgia machine. It almost overwhelms the strip, but it still remains true to its heart. It is also consistently funny. Yet, the title of this one is partially a lie. The magic of the world is mostly absent; Calvin has to go look for it in nature and with Hobbes, less content it seems to simply pretend to be a dinosaur.
It's a Magical World came when other things I grew up with were ending with the advent of the Internet and media mergers: WGNO 26, action films not based on comics, Married with Children, and Saturday morning cartoons. Kids played outside back then. They also read "the funnies;" if Watterson were working today he would go unnoticed. The world was shifting towards the one I know now: computerized, polarized, and even more fast paced. Indeed, much of this volume is about how Americans fail to enjoy life. Reading this strip, because of its biting wit and perspective, is not mere nostalgia. It's a Magical World is vaguely prescient.
Watterson chose the perfect time to bow out. Unlike Charles Schulz and Jim Davis (and many people far lesser than Schulz) Watterson did not beat it into the ground. Indeed, so much of the final pages are about trying new things, avoiding stale repetition. To read this book now (I did not read it back then) is to feel nostalgic, thoughtful, sad, and happy. Watterson pressed all the buttons here. He ended the strip with a bang.
It's a Magical World proves an old adage of mine: know when to quit. We often stretch out ideas and stories until they become dull. Watterson, already taking on darker themes in There's Treasure Everywhere, goes much further here. Existential dread is common. Most telling is his early jibes at the Internet, which was only then just arriving. Other commentaries are about technologically induced isolation, consumerism, the coarsening of political discourse, and the triumph of money. There was always a smattering of social commentary in Calvin and Hobbes but here it is on overdrive. He even mentions the vapid nostalgia machine. It almost overwhelms the strip, but it still remains true to its heart. It is also consistently funny. Yet, the title of this one is partially a lie. The magic of the world is mostly absent; Calvin has to go look for it in nature and with Hobbes, less content it seems to simply pretend to be a dinosaur.
It's a Magical World came when other things I grew up with were ending with the advent of the Internet and media mergers: WGNO 26, action films not based on comics, Married with Children, and Saturday morning cartoons. Kids played outside back then. They also read "the funnies;" if Watterson were working today he would go unnoticed. The world was shifting towards the one I know now: computerized, polarized, and even more fast paced. Indeed, much of this volume is about how Americans fail to enjoy life. Reading this strip, because of its biting wit and perspective, is not mere nostalgia. It's a Magical World is vaguely prescient.
Watterson chose the perfect time to bow out. Unlike Charles Schulz and Jim Davis (and many people far lesser than Schulz) Watterson did not beat it into the ground. Indeed, so much of the final pages are about trying new things, avoiding stale repetition. To read this book now (I did not read it back then) is to feel nostalgic, thoughtful, sad, and happy. Watterson pressed all the buttons here. He ended the strip with a bang.
July 31, 2009
Yet another among the books published by Bill Watterson from the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip that I have enjoyed. This one is from the beginning of the C&H comic strip, and I own a framed print of that first strip. When Calvin tells Hobbes, "It's a magical world...lets go exploring,", it speaks powerfully to me on several levels. That print hangs in my office, and has become a reminder to me of the importance of discovering what I don't yet know, of the need to ask important questions and find their answers.
My children have literally worn out these collections of C&H comics, and with good reason. C&H is a unique blend of homespun philosophy, side-splitting humor, and insight into the human (child and adult) condition. Watterson's insights into, and sly digs at, various social, familial, and other institutions of modern life are masterful.
My children have literally worn out these collections of C&H comics, and with good reason. C&H is a unique blend of homespun philosophy, side-splitting humor, and insight into the human (child and adult) condition. Watterson's insights into, and sly digs at, various social, familial, and other institutions of modern life are masterful.
October 2, 2021
Reread this recently and loved it just as much as every other time. Contains a fair bit of surprisingly prescient, wryly delivered social commentary - amidst irrepressibly child-wise humor, Watterson called out trends in '95 that still held (and bore fetid fruit) in the 2010s.
Although this last collection has plenty of continuity with all Calvin & Hobbes previous, you can tell that Calvin was on the cusp of beginning to grow up. Like most fans I wish it could have gone on, but understand why it had to end.
Although this last collection has plenty of continuity with all Calvin & Hobbes previous, you can tell that Calvin was on the cusp of beginning to grow up. Like most fans I wish it could have gone on, but understand why it had to end.
December 10, 2021
I know for sure I've never read this one before. I would have remembered the babysitter Rosalyn's commandeering of Calvinball for her own purposes, or the aliens Calvin trades the earth to for 50 leaves...it was sheer delight.
September 13, 2018
About as good as it gets, even through nostalgia goggles. More introspection, more musings on where the world is going (spot on, Bill old son)... but still some time for Spaceman Spiff, and Stupendous Man. And if I'd known then that there would be no "next year's book" I'd have had a quiet moment after that last hurrah.
June 4, 2011
"Calvin, it's okay. It's okay! Trust me!"
"TRUST YOU?? I HARDLY EVEN KNOW YOU!!!"
"WHAT? I'm your father!"
"You've only known me six years! Come back when i'm forty, THEN we'll talk about trust!"
... In. Hysterics.
"TRUST YOU?? I HARDLY EVEN KNOW YOU!!!"
"WHAT? I'm your father!"
"You've only known me six years! Come back when i'm forty, THEN we'll talk about trust!"
... In. Hysterics.
March 14, 2012
Some people never forget what they were doing when they heard about a historic event or the death of someone famous; as for myself I'll always remember where I was when I read the last ever 'Calvin and Hobbes' strip in the paper.
November 19, 2023
You can't beat Calvin and Hobbes!
January 9, 2011
While I have a great appreciation for what Gary Larson accomplished comedically in a singular panel, Calvin and Hobbes is far and away the greatest traditional (we will leave Marvel and Dc out of this) comic ever created. C & H reminds me distinctly of the Simpsons(seasons 3-10, all other seasons are an embarrassment to the franchise and FOX should issue a formal apology)-it could be enjoyed equally on different levels and that enjoyment consistently evolved over time. My father and I, when I was 7-12, would both read C & H with equal passion for completely different reasons. That is an accomplishment reserved for truly great works of art. Watterson's creativity, and poignant yet seemingly apolitical social commentary, is timeless.
May 17, 2024
if you like this review i now have website: www.michaelkamakana.com
.??? 90s on: this five is for all ‘calvin and hobbes’ collections. it is because i also appreciate this work that my illustrator friend riley rossmo forgives me for being insufferably intellectual- and so i begin to look at graphics as medium in itself and not degraded form of anything else... i have not found anything near as good in daily comics since watterson retired...
.??? 90s on: this five is for all ‘calvin and hobbes’ collections. it is because i also appreciate this work that my illustrator friend riley rossmo forgives me for being insufferably intellectual- and so i begin to look at graphics as medium in itself and not degraded form of anything else... i have not found anything near as good in daily comics since watterson retired...
May 30, 2024
"Que importância teve o canal de Erie? No sentido cósmico, provavelmente nenhum. Nós, pessoas de visão ampla, raramente nos tornamos historiadores."
December 29, 2021
This will never not be amazing no matter how many times I read it!
September 19, 2022
Calvin And Hobbes is a madeleine de Proust. Everytime I go back to it it dweled so many teen memories I got overwhelmed... I Can never get enough of it :-)
March 21, 2025
Oh, how I love, love, love them both! ❤️
May 4, 2025
100000000/10 made me lawl
March 28, 2009
I was about 12 when the "It's a magical world" strip ran in my local paper. I cut it out and glued it in my scrapbook and then cried. That said, I have learned more interesting vocabulary from Calvin and Hobbes than I think I have from most of my other favorite authors combined.
May 29, 2016
I bought three new Calvin and Hobbes books to complete my collection.
I believe that Bill Waterson has written the most ingenious comic strip of all times.
The expressions of his characters in his illustrations are exemplary.
I believe that Bill Waterson has written the most ingenious comic strip of all times.
The expressions of his characters in his illustrations are exemplary.
May 13, 2009
I just LOVE Calvin and can't get enough of him! And everytime I (re)read one of his comic strips, I thank the gods I'm not his mother, LOL!
March 20, 2018
Sometimes you just really need a break from Herodotus and Ovid to just appreciate Calvin .
December 14, 2022
What a great way to go out.
Popsugar 2022: Book with a tiger on the cover
Popsugar 2022: Book with a tiger on the cover
December 26, 2020
A re-read. Introducing Calvin and Hobbes to my kids and enjoying the nostalgia.
July 19, 2016
This book is as wonderful and apropos of everything as it was the other times I read it years ago.
March 4, 2022
Throwback naar de studententijd. Al valt het me nu ook hoe Casper als individualist karaktertrekken van de Ayn Rand-held heeft, of als ettertje en fantast een voorafspiegeling van Trump kan genoemd worden. Maar dan is er toch weer die humor, die liefde voor Hobbes, die ongebreidelde fantasie en die mix van filosofie en alledaagsheid, die hem zowel onschadelijk als onweerstaanbaar maakt. Ik blijf fan.
August 22, 2020
I don’t think this was his best collection, but I still love it.
May 22, 2021
like if I should get a Hobbes tattoo
Displaying 1 - 30 of 469 reviews