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Calvin and Hobbes. (1 Viewer)

ZacharyTait

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I got mine today! Woohoo! I knew it was 22.5 pounds and it was still heavy. Fortunately, my mail person didn't have to carry it far as she parked in my driveway and walked 10 feet to my door.

I got the same packaging that alan halvorson got. Surprisingly little damage. Slightly crushed corner that you can't see unless you looked for it. I don't care since the couple that I looked at Barnes and Noble were the same way.
 

Ted Lee

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just picked this up from costco for about 80 bucks. this is one heavy-ass compilation!

c&h brings back such good memories for me. in college, our dorm wing was painted with various c&h pictures ... all the way down the hall. that was actually the first time i heard of them, but i became an instant fan.

wonderful stuff!
 

Dennis Nicholls

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The local Costco here wanted something like $86 for the set.


Whippersnapper! I was out of college over 15 years before C & H started up.

In my day, college dorms were resplendent in "Odd Bodkins" art. Did Dan O'Neill ever get around to re-publishing those books?

 

MichaelBA

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I am definitely not going to buy the so-called COMPLETE CALVIN AND HOBBES. Reasons?

[1] Poor quality: The pages are glued and not stitched. Opening these heavy tomes, it feels like the pages will come loose very easily. This collection is not meant to be read. I might have overlooked this if not for the reasons below.

[2] Over-priced: Even at a bargain price of $80, it's too much. Especially when some of the paperbacks are now going for dollars or even pennies on the dollar. I might have overlooked this if not for the reasons below.

[3] Changes from the original: I only know of one change so far, that to the 11/25/88 strip. That's enough for me not to buy this collection. But where there's one, there're probably more. In any event, this single change is inexcusable.

[4] It is NOT complete: Many if not all of the individual paperback editions have ADDITIONAL material by Watterson, either as introductions or as filler. NONE of this appears in the new so-called complete collection. That too alone is reason enough not to buy this.
 

alan halvorson

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I have no problem with the pages. I get no sense that they will come loose and I will probably be reading these books several times over my lifetime (as I recently did with The Complete Far Side). Are the paperbacks better in this regard? I am quite satisfied with the overall quality of the set.

We only know of one change. We know Watterson himself made the change. Speculating without evidence (and by now, there should be) that there must, therefore, be more is simply looking for an excuse not to buy.

Do you mean that not all Calvin and Hobbes strips are included or that the set lacks all the supplementary material from the paperbacks? Complete, to me, is all the strips, not all the additional material also.

Owning all the paperbacks (assuming that all the strips are included) is justification enough to not spring for this set.
 

MichaelBA

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These new volumes don't contain ANY of the supplemental material included throughout the 17 existing paperbacks. They are not the strips, but they are Calvin & Hobbes material. The new set is already so heavy and costly, adding these as an appendix would hardly have been problematic.

As for ex post facto changes by Watterson, one is a deal-breaker for me. But I wouldn't be surprised if more exist. I don't assume they do. But I wouldn't be surprised as he has expressed displeasure with certain particular strips over the years.
 

Ted Lee

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it sounds like you know your c&h ... so i won't disagree with you, but present my pov.

for me, it was a bargain. to get all (or just about all) of the strips in one nicely packaged set is a deal. heck, if you take 80 bucks and divide it by the number of strips, i'll bet it's pennies per strip. plus i personally feel the quality of the set is very nice ... i definitely don't feel like the pages are going to come off.

anyway, just my .02.
 

Micah Cohen

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Screw that, excuse my Lithuanian, but I just ordered the four C&H paperback collections I was missing on my bookshelf for under $2/ea ("used") on amazon. The shipping was more than the books!

Now I have ALL, absolutely ALL, every-all-thing, un-tampered-with, non-Lucasified, and (since I got the other paperbacks off-price in the past) I didn't pay anywheres near $80 for all MY C&H!

HA! I win! Win win win!

Now... When's the next PEANUTS hardback coming out?

MC
 

MarcoBiscotti

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Would you mind expanding on this... what exactly is this supplemental material you speak of? Are the illustrated poems from "Something Under The Bed..." and "Yukon Ho!", etc. not included? What exactly is missing?

As for the altered strip, I will simply be cutting the original out of one of my old paperbacks and gluing it over, problem solved. ;)
 

Craig S

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Now, I haven't gone through every page of all three volumes to verify this, but I have run across a lot of the supplemental material in just my initial browsing. As an example, the illustrated poem "A Nauseous Nocturne", which was originally in the 1st C&H treasury The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, can be found starting on page 201 of Vol. 1 of the new set.
 

MichaelBA

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Perhaps I am misinformed about the new C&H set.

There are TWO kinds of supplemental material to look out for: [1] the LONGER pieces, which it seems are identified as included in the set as >>the special illustrated stories and poems
 

Henry Gale

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Well, why didn't you say so Michael?
You want the forthcoming Deluxe Limited Edition Calvin & Hobbes in the wooden box.
It'll be be in stores in time for Holiday shopping but the suggested retail on it is $895.99! ;)

P.S. For another $50.00 your name can be laser embossed (well it's kind of like wood burning) on the box. That is a custom mail order however and end of December delivery is doubtful.
 

MichaelBA

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QUOTE]Deluxe Limited Edition Calvin & Hobbes... the suggested retail on it is $895.99[/quote]

I can't quite tell if this is serious or if my view is being mocked. In any event, for nine hundred dollars I want Watterson to draw me a new strip every day for a year.

Of course, I haven't merely objected to the [possible?] absence of all C&H-related material in the new set. I suppose I'm also in the harcore minority thinking that even ONE ex post facto changes to artwork is descipable and inexcusable. So be it.

I have everything already for mere pennies. But Watterson still could have earned a C-note from me for the new set. He and the publishers blew that. I'm keeping my money.
 

george kaplan

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Well at least you're being realistic.

"Mr. Watterton, this is your lawyer."

"Hi, Sam. How's it going?"

"Fine sir, how are you?"

"Oh, just relaxing on my yacht, sipping my favorite beverage, watching my favorite film on my big plasma tv. It's almost over, and then I'm going to get a full body massage from my masseuse of the day - I think she's Miss Jamaica, or one of those islands."

"Yes, sounds nice sir. However, we've recieved a proposition, that I believe you're going to find just too tempting to pass up."

"What is it?"

"Well, sir, we've gotten an offer for a private commission. All you have to do is draw one Calvin & Hobbes strip per day, for only one year. At which time, you will recieve..."

"Yes, how much?"

"It's mind-boggling sir. Nine hundred. Dollars!"

"$900! Someone is offering me that much just to do a measly year's worth of work? Hold on...CAPTAIN!!! Turn this boat around right now! I've got to get back home and to my drawing board."

"I assume that means you'll accept the commission sir?"

"For that much money? Of course. What wouldn't I do?"
 

Henry Gale

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Michael,
Honestly, I was not mocking your view. Of course, I'm rather proud of mine, I live on a hilltop so it's pretty much 360°
Don't feel bad that you didn't know whether or not I was being serious. People looking me in the eye can't tell.

I do think george was having a bit of fun and I really mean that.
 

george kaplan

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Well $900 may be too much for a super deluxe version, but it's certainly in the realm of possibility that you'd see from Neiman Marcus or Sharper Image, etc. On the other hand, the idea that for you'd expect a multi-millionaire to come out of retirement for a year for $900 is so laughable, that yes I was making fun of it. I don't think you could get him to do a year's worth of new Calvin & Hobbes' for 9 million. If you think that $900 would be way too much to pay for a super deluxe volume, then fine, but that's a million times more reasonable than the presented alternative.
 

Ravi K

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Is Bill Watterson really a multi-millionaire? His strip was widely published, but he was notorious for not allowing any Calvin and Hobbes merchandise (mugs, calendars, posters, etc.). The only C&H merchandise you can buy are books of the strips and bootleg T-shirts and car decals :)

But I suppose just the royalties on the books would add up to a lot of money.
 

Dennis Nicholls

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Actually Watterson's dad is still listed on the roster at the USPTO site:

Watterson, James
Watts Hoffmann Fisher and Heinke CO LPA
1100 Superior Ave Ste 1750
Cleveland OH US 44114
[registration number] 20180
Attorney


I'm sure he's "of counsel" though. Man, 20180 sure is a low reg number...mine's 42036. New reg numbers are in the 58000 range last I checked. That's the lowest reg number I've ever heard of.
 

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