Yukon Ho!

Most of the comics in this collection are stand-alones or vaguely grouped into a storyarc (as per usual with serialized comics), but the standout section of this book is clear from the titular moniker: Calvin and Hobbes run away to… the Yukon! Little do they know, the Yukon is not as close as the map they’ve procured leads them to believe, nor will their sandwiches tide them over until they manage to snag themselves a cariboo. In a rare moment of weakness Calvin returns home in a jumble of emotional turmoil, fearful that his parents won’t let him rejoin the family and underlined by fears that Hobbes won’t make it back from the wilds of the Midwest. But all is well when intrepid dad spends all night in the woods searching for the show more lost tiger - a well-earned payback, methinks, considering the rain-drenched camping trip he dragged Calvin on earlier! show less

Yup, a hat trick of 5 stars! What else can be expected from Calvin!
This book was especially fun as Calvin reveals his vulnerabilities in many of the panels. His Dad also shows his true impish colours in a few comics. But as always, I pity Calvin's mom the most. Yeah, I know, I'm biased...

More than any other piece of writing, Calvin and Hobbes captures what it is like to be a child, while still layering on enough nuance to keep the adult reader engaged and interested. This collection of strips from the series is no exception. The book opens with a full page of song describing Calvin's intention to run away to the Yukon, and then launches into the bizarre, imaginative world that Calvin and his stuffed tiger Hobbes inhabit in Calvin's mind.

While the book contains plenty of stand alone strips, there are several short stories told through the course of the book: a water fight in which Hobbes betrays Calvin because Suzie thinks he looks cute in his jams, a school report on Mercury where Calvin has to work with Suzie (to her show more dismay), a visit from the rarely seen Uncle Mark, a family camping trip that is one continuous rainstorm, a daring attempt to escape the clutches of Calvin's feared babysitter Rosalyn, the use of Calvin's homemade transmogrifier and time machine, and of course, the abortive trek to the Yukon in which Calvin temporarily loses Hobbes.

Through it all, Calvin is deranged as only a little boy with an active imagination can be, and Hobbes is the voice of reason, as only a stuffed toy best friend can be. As with all Calvin and Hobbes collections, Yukon Ho! is a great read through one of the best comic strips ever made. show less

The extent to which I love this book cannot be rendered in human words. The wit and the wryness of the universe, the sympathy with which every character is depicted...it's such a great evocation of the world when you're a child, and I always turn to this when I need a good reminder that the world is a far stranger place than I will ever be able to cope with.

It can be really difficult to critique a work like this. Calvin and Hobbes stands as perhaps the greatest strip ever, along with grandpappy Peanuts and the bizarrely inimitable Little Nemo. Of course, as a child, I never knew that Calvin was a man who thought heaven was a lottery or that Hobbes was the father of rational political philosophy. However, truly great children's literature should never be inaccessible to adults. If it is, then its popularity amongst children stems merely from its ability to mesmerize their ignorance.

It was not only the philosophy of Calvin and Hobbes, not only the many levels of both meaning and humor, it was the exploration of reality itself; sometimes funny, sometimes poignant. One thing that many grownups show more seem to forget is that the world is vast and strange and that, often, the only way to come to terms with it is to strike out (in one's own idiomatic style) and have a bit of adventure. There can be no complacency in this world. Not in a world of dinosaurs, spacemen, and cardboard boxes of infinite technological capability.

I suppose I should mention the beautiful and evocative art for a moment, which had a sense of movement, gesture, and impressionistic reality that never failed to jump-start the mind just enough to get it going without limiting the open philosophical questions that we could never quite answer.

I think there must be something to be said for any strip where the most memorable moments were those of inaction and silence. It shows that Watterson expected a lot out of his readers, especially children, and that when we did the work of connecting the dots for him, we were really doing something invaluable for ourselves.

I guess Watterson is off living with his family now, and painting landscapes. I have an idea why he left. Gary Larson, too. I often wish they were still here to help us through these strange and difficult times. Whenever some new horror of inhuman humanity crops up, I want somewhere to go where I can laugh at it, where I can see the big picture, where everything isn't so simple.

In Watterson's comic, it was always the world that was impossibly wide, complex, and unfair. The only simple, rational part--the only important part--was you. [close]
0 1 Remove from my books
edit
view

per page
sort
Rss
More books shelved as 'reviewed' » show less

Here we have the last of the Calvin and Hobbes books from my youth. At least, the last that I owned in my youth.

What more can I say about Calvin and Hobbes? It remains my favorite comic strip of all time. Watterson was amazing. He created a strip that could literally go just about anywhere, solely using the power of Calvin's imagination. Bill feel like drawing dinosaurs that week? Calvin invents a time machine (which we see its maiden voyage in this collection). Feeling the need for a little sci-fi? Calvin becomes Spaceman Spiff! Or, if Mr. Watterson just felt like being silly and drawing random animals, Calvin and Hobbes find themselves in a Transmogrification war (also included here). With Calvin's imagination and Watterson's art, you show more could end up just about anywhere, and that's what makes these comics so great!

A welcome addition to any library. show less

This is the best Calvin and Hobbes book!: This is the best Calvin and Hobbes book! Bill Waterson sure makes lots of funny comics. My favorite parts of this comic is when Calvin's family goes camping and it rains so hard they cant even make a fire, Also this comic has Calvin's Uncle Max. I didn't really like that part. After that they never showed Max again. Some more parts I love are when Calvin and Susie both have to do a report together and Calvin does terrible, and I love the part where Calvin creates a transmogrifier pistol and he gets stuck being an owl when it breaks. Oh and don't forget about Rosalyn, that was funny too when the police came and Calvin got in really big trouble. I think this book is a must-buy for everyone who show more loves Calvin and Hobbes show less