Characters
From Calvin's world
What Bill Watterson says about his characters...
Calvin
Calvin is named
for a sixteenth-century theologian who believed in predestination. Most
people assume that Calvin is based on a son of mine, or based on detailed
memories of my own childhood. In fact, I don't have children, and I was
a fairly quiet, obedient kid -- almost Calvin's opposite. One of the reasons
that Calvin's character is fun to write is that I often don't agree with
him. . . .
Many of Calvin's
struggles are metaphors for my own. I suspect that most of us get old without
growing up, and that inside every adult (sometimes not very far inside)
is a bratty kid who wants everything his own way. I use Calvin as an outlet
for my immaturity, as a way to keep myself curious about the natural world,
as a way to ridicule my own obsessions, and as a way to comment on human
nature. I wouldn't want Calvin in my house, but on paper, he helps me sort
through my life and understand it.
Hobbes
Named after
a seventeenth-century philosopher with a dim view of human nature, Hobbes
has the patient dignity and common sense of most animals I've met. Hobbes
was very much inspired by one of our cats, a gray tabby named Sprite. Sprite
not only provided the long body and facial characteristics for Hobbes,
she also was the model for his personality. She was good-natured, intelligent,
friendly, and enthusiastic in a sneaking-up-and-pouncing sort of way. Sprite
suggested the idea of Hobbes greeting Calvin at the door in midair at high
velocity.
The so-called
"gimmick" of my strip -- the two versions of Hobbes -- is sometimes misunderstood.
I don't think of Hobbes as a doll that miraculously comes to life when
Calvin's around. Neither do I think of Hobbes as the product of Calvin's
imagination. . . . Calvin sees Hobbes one way, and everyone else sees Hobbes
another way. I show two versions of reality, and each makes complete sense
to the participant who sees it. I think that's how life works. None of
us sees the world exactly the same way, and I just draw that literally
in the strip.
Calvin's
Parents
I've never given
Calvin's parents names, because as far as the strip is concerned, they
are important only as Calvin's mom and dad. Calvin's dad has been rumored
to be a self-portrait. All my characters are half me, so it's true in some
ways, but Calvin's dad is also partly a satire of my own father. Any strip
about how suffering "builds character" is usually a verbatim transcript
of my dad's explanations for why we were all freezing, exhausted, hungry
and lost on camping trips. These things are a lot funnier after 25 years
have passed.
Calvin's
mom is the daily disciplinarian, a job that taxes her sanity, so I think
we get to see her at her best. I regret that the strip mostly shows her
impatient side, but I try to hint at other aspects of her personality and
her interests by what she's doing when Calvin barges in. . . .
. . . As
secondary characters, I've tried to keep Calvin's parents realistic, with
a reasonable sense of humor about having a kid like Calvin. I think they
do a better job than I would.
Susie
Derkins
Susie is earnest,
serious and smart. . . . I suspect that Calvin has a mild crush on her
that he expresses by trying to annoy her, but Susie is a bit unnerved and
put off by Calvin's weirdness. This encourages Calvin to be even weirder,
so it's a good dynamic. Neither of them quite understands what's going
on, which is probably true of most relationships.
Miss
Wormwood
As a few readers
guessed, Miss Wormwood is named after the apprentice devil in C.S. Lewis'
"The Screwtape Letters." I have a lot of sympathy for Miss Wormwood. We
see hints that she's waiting to retire, that she smokes too much, and that
she takes a lot of medication. I think she seriously believes in the value
of education, so needless to say, she's an unhappy person.
Rosalyn
Probably the
only person Calvin fears is his baby-sitter. I put her in a Sunday strip
early on, never thinking of her as a regular character, but her intimidation
of Calvin surprised me, so she's made a few appearances since. Rosalyn
even seems to daunt Calvin's parents, using their desperation to get out
of the house to demand advances and raises. Rosalyn's relationship with
Calvin is pretty one-dimensional, so baby-sitter stories get harder and
harder to write, but for a later addition to the strip, she's worked pretty
well.
Moe
Moe is every jerk I've ever known.
He's big, dumb, ugly and cruel. I remember school being full of idiots
like Moe. I think they spawn on damp locker room floors.