Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 (2001)

My mission to read every bit of Calvin and Hobbes not collected in the Complete Calvin and Hobbes continues with this, a slim volume that puts Bill Watterson's original linework alongside the colored versions that appeared in newspapers for a selection of his favorite Sunday strips. Watterson also provides commentary on most of them. It's all strips you've (probably) read before, and many anecdotes you've (probably) read before too. But the large size of the book shows off Watterson's artwork better than the Complete Calvin and Hobbes books do, and it's great to have Watterson's commentary on the the comics form. He was an unsurpassable artist on the Sunday comics page even before the format change, and this book provides insight into the mind of a master.

Well, the Sunday strips were some of the best, so a book full of 'em is bound to be awesome! And it is! I enjoyed the introduction by Watterson and his comments on each entry in here! It's also super cool to see the rough draft on the left page and the final draft on the right - for each one! And even though it pulls at my heart, I was glad to see the last cartoon included in this collection. Sniff, sniff. Love me some C&H! ( )

Liam

This is definitely a collector's item. At least Bill and his publishers Andrews McMeel / Universal Press Syndicate wanted it to be that way.

This album chronologically catalogues all the full panel coloured strips of Calvin & Hobbes that appeared on the Sunday Pages. The book starts off with a thank you note to Bill Watterson for his contribution to the world of comic strips and a brief history about the book itself by Lucy Shelton Caswell of The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library followed by a lengthy, in-depth retrospective and all the technicalities involved in creating coloured comic strips by Bill himself. I would ask the reader to pay particular attention to the brilliant slicing and layout plan he came up with so that the strips, originally drawn for half page, could be printed in three other different formats.

The layout of the book is unusual. The left page shows the original sketch of the panel, including corrections done using a typewriter correction fluid, the sellotaped copyright information and stray 2H pencil marks. The right page shows the final coloured version as it appeared on the newspaper (and continues to do so). The pages are inscribed with additional footnotes that indicate the date of first publication and commentary by Bill himself recalling anecdotes or describing technical challenges he faced with the panel.

Almost all C&H fans felt sad when Bill discontinued his masterpiece. Newspapers still re-prints older material due to it's immense popularity. Worth every $14.95 ($10.25 in India) you pay for and more. And yes, it contains the sad yet optimistic final panel - "Let's go Exploring!" ( )

This review stands for all of the Calvin and Hobbes books -- this was simply the best comic strip ever created. I highly recommend all of the books.

This book in particular is a nice compilation for Watterson's genius really comes through in the larger sets of frames. I love how he played with the extra space the Sunday strip afforded him. ( )