Scott Adams visits Tahoe [Archive]

Posturedoc

08-24-2010, 11:37 AM

I don't find Dilbert funny very often.

I'm more a Calvin and Hobbes, Bloom County guy.

I agree with you re Dilbert but I only found Calvin and Hobbes reasonably funny for about a year before it became repetitive. Bloom County and its offshoots, Opus and, to a lesser extent, Outland, represent the apex of the comic strip format. I still mourn the loss of Breathed's work, though I have lots of his Bloom County books when I need a fix. I'm such a Breathed nerd that I actually cut many Opus strips (a Sunday only strip not carried by the RGJ) out of the SF Chronicle Sunday comic section and put them in a binder because they were so funny. Maybe Opus is out in a book now (there is a book called Opus, but it's a collection of many Sunday Bloom County and Outland strips that featured his character and only includes a handful from the strip named Opus.)

wolf_chatter

08-25-2010, 08:30 AM

I agree with you re Dilbert but I only found Calvin and Hobbes reasonably funny for about a year before it became repetitive. Bloom County and its offshoots, Opus and, to a lesser extent, Outland, represent the apex of the comic strip format. I still mourn the loss of Breathed's work, though I have lots of his Bloom County books when I need a fix. I'm such a Breathed nerd that I actually cut many Opus strips (a Sunday only strip not carried by the RGJ) out of the SF Chronicle Sunday comic section and put them in a binder because they were so funny. Maybe Opus is out in a book now (there is a book called Opus, but it's a collection of many Sunday Bloom County and Outland strips that featured his character and only includes a handful from the strip named Opus.)

Yeah.. I can see how you would get that from C an H as Watterson did seem to rely on a few themes a little to often. But I just enjoyed the fact that he was teaching kids about Calvin and Hobbes two very infuential men in the birth of our fine nation. Well not so much about the men themselves but how they viewed the world.

Plus he was so far beyond the average "comic" writer when it came to making you think. Here are a few of my favorite exchanges in C and H history.

Calvin: "Dad, are you vicariously living through me in the hope that my accomplishments will validate your mediocre life and in some way compensate for all of the opportunities you botched?"
Father: "If I were, you can bet I'd be re-evaluating my strategy."
Calvin, later to his mother: "Mom, Dad keeps insulting me."

Calvin: The hard part for us avant-garde post-modern artists is deciding whether or not to embrace commercialism. Do we allow our work to be hyped and exploited by a market that's simply hungry for the next new thing? Do we participate in a system that turns high art into low art so it's better suited for mass consumption? Of course, when an artist goes commercial, he makes a mockery of his status as an outsider and free thinker. He buys into the crass and shallow values art should transcend. He trades the integrity of his art for riches and fame.
...
Oh, what the heck. I'll do it.
...
Hobbes: (Rolling eyes) That wasn't so hard.

one of my favorites is Calvin has a "Swift Kick in the Pants $1.00 stand" on the sidewalk (like a lemonade stand) and he is asked how its going. And he replies "Not good. But I don't understand it, everyone needs what I am selling'

Thats exactly how I feel about most people I know. They need a good swift kick in the pants.