calvin & hobbes

we can't remember having many significant role models as a child, so i think it's a miracle that eli and i were a decently mild-mannered kid when you consider that one of the few fictional characters we do recall taking inspiration from is calvin from calvin & hobbes.

i guess it may not be immediately obvious as to why we'd want to be like calvin; aside from being a troublemaker, he was hardly considered "cool" by his peers, and he certainly wasn't smart in any traditional sense. but he was confident despite that. he knew he had his strengths - like his creativity, which we sought to emulate whenever we could. we would create our own alter egos, invent our own rules for games of calvinball, and, of course...

...we'd come up with our own imaginary companions, inspired by the other half of this magical media experience: hobbes the plush tiger, calvin's best friend. my longest lasting imaginary friend was a tiger as well; a large plush of tigger from winnie the pooh, to be specific!

coming soon: my favorite strips!