
Tigers. Dinosaurs. Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons. Oh my! From going back in time to going to the red planet, Bill Watterson gifted his title character with one of the most powerful imaginations in literacy. Calvin and Hobbes is a series of strips and books about an abnormal little boy, so cynical and even deranged—while at the same time creative and juvenile—that he had to create his own best friend; Hobbes. For this is the basis of his comic strip and/or series. This is just as present in the strip and frames that I have selected. Watterson uses both realistic and cartoon-like styles of illustration, to depict the vividly powerful imagination a child can possess. 

In the first frame of the strip, Watterson uses a realistic style of illustration to depict how realistic a child’s imagination can be. Instead of the normal raggedy, even deranged look that Calvin normally sports, we see a stern-looking full grown man. Watterson uses an extreme close-up shot to emphasize the amount of detail put in to this realistic form of drawing. By having only Calvin in a red frame, Watterson is trying to get the reader to come to the conclusion that this an adult version of Calvin, fabricated in his imagination. However, other than the title, we are able to ascertain that it is him through his dialogue and interactions with Suzie, which can be seen in the third and fourth frames of the strip. Suzie is the main antagonist of the comic, and is also being imagined and drawn in a very realistic sense. In this story Calvin and Susie are playing doctor, a game that most play during their childhood. Watterson is going one step further in order to satirize this common childhood occurrence, by allowing the readers to see this experience in the way that the children see it. This depicts not only the power of Calvin’s imagination but of all children in general.

In the seventh frame the contrast between the realistic imagery and childish dialogue is used to depict how children view the adult life. Watterson is still using the realistic style of illustrating, however not only is the dialogue immature, but the actions and interactions between the characters has become more juvenile. Through Watterson’s usage of the close up shot in the seventh frame, we are able to see that the “adult” Calvin threatens to hit Susie, who claims to be able to be a better doctor than him. These juvenile actions, as well as the focus of the shot escalate into the next frame, as it moves in to a long shot, this allows the reader to see that Susie has finally resorted to violence. Through the use of this contrast, Watterson is somewhat mocking the adult routine. He continues to use the realistic style of drawing but by continuing to use the childish mannerisms, makes the whole thing feel silly. However, by continuing to use the realistic illustrations, its shows the control of Calvin’s imagination.

In the ninth frame it is prominent that they are children and now you can tell in the illustrations. Here Watterson concludes by returning to his normal cartoon style of illustrating the comic. The reader now sees the interaction between Calvin and Susie as it actually played out. He returns to the normal cartoon style to explain to the readers that what they were seeing was actually a creation of Calvin’s immense imagination. This can also be seen in the final frame, after Calvin and Susie conclude their juvenile interaction, Calvin is talking to Hobbes, who is also an example of Calvin’s intricate imagination. Watterson uses the contrast between realistic and cartoon styles of illustration to portray the interactions of younger children and, in a way, mock the portrayal of the interaction of adults. As the comic strip writer transitions from realistic to cartoon he also transitions his gaze, going from close-ups to a full body shot to emphasize the former. 

However, there is one filmic technique that Watterson used throughout the entire comic strip. In frames 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, the comic strip writer uses reciprocal attention. While this type of attention is common in conversation, Watterson is able to manipulate it to further get his point across. Through the use of this reciprocal attention, the comic becomes more focused on the conversation, which through the help of the realistic illustration, created a hostile theme throughout the strip. This theme was able to enhance the juvenile nature of the adult looking characters. All of these stylistic devices in this strip, are used further enhance Watterson’s idea that children have such a powerful imagination. The cornerstone of Watterson’s strip is the fact that Calvin can create lucrative and fantastic situations regardless of the normalcy of his life by simply using his imagination. It is present in nearly every strip Watterson has made, such as the strip I selected. For in this strip, Watterson uses both realistic and cartoon-like styles of illustration, to depict the vividly powerful imagination a child can possess. 



 