"A Gorgeous waste": solitude in Calvin and Hobbes. Issue 5 (2nd November 2019)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- "A Gorgeous waste": solitude in Calvin and Hobbes. Issue 5 (2nd November 2019)
- Main Title:
- "A Gorgeous waste": solitude in Calvin and Hobbes
- Authors:
- Abate, Michelle Ann
- Abstract:
- ABSTRACT: This essay examines the important but unexamined role that solitude plays in Calvin and Hobbes. The proclivity that Watterson's 6-year-old protagonist has for being by himself forms a core facet both to this specific character and to the comic as a whole. Many of Calvin's exciting adventures, along with an array of his most beloved qualities, have their origins in solitude. Whether he is frolicking in nature or fantasizing about travelling through outer space, the best times that Calvin experiences are routinely times that he spends alone. In so doing, this feature forms an overlooked aspect to the strip's premise as well as to its popularity. When the representation of solitude in Calvin and Hobbes is placed back within the comic's original historical context, it can be seen as offering a larger commentary about changes taking place in American daily life and especially within the realm of childhood in the closing decades of the twentieth century. During a time when the ability of individuals to spend time alone was increasingly scarce and even stigmatised, Calvin and Hobbes offered a powerful case study about the benefits, joys, and importance of solitude.
- Is Part Of:
- Journal of graphic novels & comics. Volume 10:Issue 5/6(2019)
- Journal:
- Journal of graphic novels & comics
- Issue:
- Volume 10:Issue 5/6(2019)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 10, Issue 5/6 (2019)
- Year:
- 2019
- Volume:
- 10
- Issue:
- 5/6
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2019-0010-NaN-0000
- Page Start:
- 488
- Page End:
- 504
- Publication Date:
- 2019-11-02
- Subjects:
- Calvin and Hobbes -- U.S. newspaper comics -- Bill Watterson -- solitude -- American childhood
Graphic novels -- Periodicals
Comic books, strips, etc -- Periodicals
Popular culture -- Periodicals
Art, Modern -- 21st century -- Periodicals
Art, Modern
Comic books, strips, etc
Graphic novels
Popular culture
Comicroman
Comic
Periodicals
741.5 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rcom20/current ↗
http://www.tandfonline.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1080/21504857.2018.1523204 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 2150-4857
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 12182.xml