Some Comments on the Animate and Inanimate HobbesYesterday’s strip was unusual because the last frame showed Hobbes to be alive, rather than stuffed, even though Susie was also in the frame. Hobbes was behind Susie’s back, so she didn’t see that he was alive.Bill Watterson usually shows Hobbes as a stuffed animal whenever there is a person other than Calvin in the frame. But Bill is forced to make an exception if both Hobbes and the other person are speaking, as in the final frame yesterday:Click here: 7/30/86 (yesterday’s strip)Here is an example where Hobbes is shown to be alive in the final two frames, even though Calvin’s Mom is also in both frames. That’s because Hobbes is honking the car horn in one frame and speaking in the other, while Calvin’s Mom is also speaking in the same two frames:Click here: 2/23/86Finally, here is an intriguing example where Hobbes is shown as stuffed in frame 2 but alive in frame 4, even though Calvin is having a conversation with his Mom (outside the frame) in both cases. The difference is that Hobbes is also speaking in frame 4, but not in frame 2:Click here: 12/16/85Presumably, Calvin’s Mom is still facing Calvin and Hobbes in frame 4, so this creates a problem for any reader who wants perfect consistency. To make this one “work,” that reader would have to imagine that Mom has turned her back and is walking into the house while Calvin is answering her question in frame 4.Bill Watterson said that he enjoyed creating a tension between the stuffed and real Hobbes, which could not always be resolved by the reader. So, while it is interesting to observe how he portrays Hobbes differently depending on each situation (in part because it provides a bit of a window into Bill’s thought process), it is not worth trying too hard to resolve the tension in every situation.
Some Comments on the Animate and Inanimate HobbesYesterday’s strip was unusual because the last frame showed Hobbes to be alive, rather than stuffed, even though Susie was also in the frame. Hobbes was behind Susie’s back, so she didn’t see that he was alive.Bill Watterson usually shows Hobbes as a stuffed animal whenever there is a person other than Calvin in the frame. But Bill is forced to make an exception if both Hobbes and the other person are speaking, as in the final frame yesterday:Click here: 7/30/86 (yesterday’s strip)Here is an example where Hobbes is shown to be alive in the final two frames, even though Calvin’s Mom is also in both frames. That’s because Hobbes is honking the car horn in one frame and speaking in the other, while Calvin’s Mom is also speaking in the same two frames:Click here: 2/23/86Finally, here is an intriguing example where Hobbes is shown as stuffed in frame 2 but alive in frame 4, even though Calvin is having a conversation with his Mom (outside the frame) in both cases. The difference is that Hobbes is also speaking in frame 4, but not in frame 2:Click here: 12/16/85Presumably, Calvin’s Mom is still facing Calvin and Hobbes in frame 4, so this creates a problem for any reader who wants perfect consistency. To make this one “work,” that reader would have to imagine that Mom has turned her back and is walking into the house while Calvin is answering her question in frame 4.Bill Watterson said that he enjoyed creating a tension between the stuffed and real Hobbes, which could not always be resolved by the reader. So, while it is interesting to observe how he portrays Hobbes differently depending on each situation (in part because it provides a bit of a window into Bill’s thought process), it is not worth trying too hard to resolve the tension in every situation.