Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"

This collection includes my absolute favorite Calvin and Hobbes story, the Duplicator. It's even where the title comes from for this one. Calvin makes a duplicate of himself to do his homework for him, but of course it all goes horribly wrong.

Calvin and Hobbes remains, in my mind, the greatest comic strip ever created. Using the power of Calvin's imagination, Watterson can allow himself to write practically any story he wants, play with any art style he's in the mood for. That and the genius writing, when Calvin gets to ponder life's deepest mysteries, are what make this comic so great.

That's also what makes it so endearing. It's something worth coming back to time and again.

Calvin and Hobbes are my go-to best friends. In lieu of the failure of real people to help me out of a slump, lying on the floor and reading about the boy and stuffed tiger bicker about the rules of Calvin Ball or whining about Susie, the Girl-Next-Door always, always brings a smile to my face. Calvin and Hobbes offers so many things - many people enjoy pointing out the serious and political undertones of the strip - but for me, all I need to do is see the childlike innocence that I miss and I'm charmed.

"Scientific Progress Goes 'Boink'" is a collection of ""Calvin and Hobbes"" comic strips by Bill Watterson. The strips document the misadventures of Calvin, a small boy, and his stuffed toy tiger, Hobbes (who comes to life in Calvin's vivid imagination). In this volume we see Calvin's alter egos (daring interplanetary adventurer Spaceman Spiff, private eye Tracer Bullet), get a lesson in Calvinball ("No sport is less organized than Calvinball!), witness the rampage of the Calvinosaurus, and attend meetings of the G.R.O.S.S. (Get Rid Of Slimy girlS) club.
Many of the storylines in this book have a strong science fiction element: in Calvin's imagination, his "personal gravity polarity" is reversed; he turns into a giant; etc. But the most show more fun comes when Calvin decides to clone himself. Much of the humor springs from the discontinuity between Calvin's rich fantasy world and the perspective of his often frustrated parents. Through it all, Hobbes remains a witty and philosophical pal to the mischievous Calvin.
C&H is a comic strip that is both consistently funny and consistently intelligent. The art is great, especially in the fantasy sequences (check out the noirish milieu of Tracer Bullet, for example). Calvin himself is a nonconformist, a terror to authorities of all types, a dreamer and a schemer -- he's one of the all-time great comic strip characters, and "Scientific Progress" is a great showcase for him and Hobbes. show less

Another great collection of Calvin & Hobbes adventures. Apparently this book is centred around the theme of science (which we all know Calvin is a fan of, what with his exploration of space and time), but it was pretty much a typical mixed bag of comics that cover all themes. We get a bit of Susie, a dash of the Boys Only Club, plenty of mutilated snowmen and whining about Winter not coming soon enough, a bit of drama with the ever-abused babysitter, and more than enough high-jinx to satisfy admirers of Calvin & Hobbes’ chaotic lifestyle.

Simply superb: original and imaginative, hilarious and thoughtful, passionate and sweet.

Calvin and Hobbes is one of the best loved of comic strips, and is equally appreciated by children and adults. It ran as a syndicated strip only from 1985 through 1995. However, it lives on through compilations such as this one.

This book offers an excellent collection of Calvin and Hobbes' funniest cartoons. My favorites are among the ones presented here. Five stars for this collection !

A Calvin and Hobbes collection in which Stupendous Man fights Baby Sitter Girl, Spaceman Spiff escapes an alien menace, Tracer Bullet investigates a mystery, multiple duplicates wreak havoc, and peer pressure (and a phobia of cooties) leads Calvin to attempt to play baseball during recess. Funny stuff.
--J.