Recent discussions about the fate of Thag Simmons had me thinking about days long ago past, where reading the newspaper meant discovering items of world interest, seeing who was looking to hook up, and best of all, the comic section. Back in my day (yeah, yeah, quiet you), there were two must read strips that would never disappoint – The Far Side by Gary Larson, and Calvin and Hobbes, by Bill Watterson.
THE FAR SIDE
Its surrealistic humor is often based on uncomfortable social situations, improbable events, an anthropomorphic view of the world, logical fallacies, impending bizarre disasters, (often twisted) references to proverbs, or the search for meaning in life. Larson’s frequent use of animals and nature in the comic is popularly attributed to his background in biology.
CALVIN AND HOBBES
Calvin and Hobbes follows the humorous antics of Calvin, a precocious, mischievous, and adventurous six-year-old boy, and Hobbes, his sardonic stuffed tiger. Set in the contemporary, suburban United States, the strip depicts Calvin’s frequent flights of fancy and his friendship with Hobbes. It also examines Calvin’s relationships with family and classmates, especially the love/hate relationship between him and his classmate, Susie Derkins. Hobbes’ dual nature is a defining motif for the strip: to Calvin, Hobbes is a live anthropomorphic tiger; all the other characters see Hobbes as an inanimate stuffed toy.
While Calvin and Hobbes ran in more newspapers than The Far Side, I have to ask, “Which was your favorite?”
VOTE!
[poll id=”428″]Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comment section below!
15 Comments
Tough one to vote for…this could have been the rare “I like both”. I remember reading both of these strips daily, but I did give Calvin and Hobbes the slight edge.
Gary Larson’s Far Side appealed to quirky vision we may all have of day to day life. Where I looked forward to each day to see what Larson was going to show on one panel.
While Calvin & Hobbes appealed to six-year old imagination we all once had. I looked forward each week to see where Bill Waterson was going to take us with Calvin & Hobbes. Time Travel in a card board box anyone?
I think Far Sie is definitely funnier but as a whole I enjoy C&H more.
Both of these comics were awesome. Watterson captured the joy and innocence of childhood while Larson had a knack for tapping into the unusual sense of humor that runs through my family. Had to pick far side, because even with calvin’s active imagination, he never hunted the elusive Spamalope!
I have always liked and collected Calvin and Hobbes. The humor is contagious and now that i have kids I see that some of the strips are my life now.
While I see the appeal of Calvin and Hobbes, I find the Far Side much more profound.
Never found Far Side funny. At least I would chuckle sometimes at Calvin & Hobbes.
I’m going to be “that guy” and disqualify Far Side because it’s a single panel thing, and not a strip. More to the point, Watterson managed to do some marvelous storytelling and panel arrangement within the hugely limited constraints of the newspaper strip. So while I find both entertaining and funny, C&H gets the bump for it’s mastery of the form.
I voted for Calvin and Hobbes, but For Better Or For Worse is my all time favorite strip.
I can’t vote. No, it isn’t broken, I just enjoy both equally on different levels. It is like comparing Ice Cream to Chili Dogs and asking which one I like best.
I’m old… the Far Side
Wow, tough poll. Love both of these comic strips but voted for Calvin & Hobbes. Read both of these years ago in both the newspaper and the collected editions. I used to buy the Far Side desk calendars for years after the strip had ended.
Yeah, they’re both great, but accomplish very different things. Calvin and Hobbes was a daily strip, but Watterson did some great long-ish form storytelling. Because The Far Side was only one panel, it really had to work hard to distill it’s message into its purest form. I love both, but they are very different.
Farside, the boneless chicken ranch was a classic.
I voted Far Side because it appeals to my particular quirks more than Calvin did, though I probably need to go back and read C&H again as a parent and see if that has changed.
Of course, the real answer is Bloom County.
Get aFuzzy. Very sorry that Darby Conley has stopped producing daily strips.