Calvin and Hobbes is set in an area of suburbia, where Calvin is generally stuck in an area of his own little fantasy world. One great part of the strip is how unlike other strips, Watterson never reveals where the area of which Calvin lives actually is, but he does give many clues where people can assume. There are two very famous reasons for why it is believed that the strip itself took place in Watterson’s home in Ohio. In one strip, Calvin refers to his local natural history museum, and how in the front of it there is a stegosaurus. At the Cleveland Natural History Museum, there is a metal stegosaurus that rests on the outside. The other example is that on the back of the book The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, the illustration shows Calvin as a giant, rampaging through and destroying a suburban area. This area is said to be downtown Chagrin Falls, Ohio, Watterson’s hometown. Bill Watterson never mentions where Calvin and his family reside, this is most likely to keep the readers guessing, to keep readers interested in random facts and trivia.
One major example of the recurring themes that take place in Calvin and Hobbes are the use of Calvin’s alter-egos. One important note about Hobbes in this is how Hobbes is completely uninvolved; as it is assumed that he might be seen criticizing the alter-egos. Stupendous man is a superhero Calvin often turns into with the help of a mask and cape his mom created for him. Stupendous man defends Calvin against his terrifying babysitter Rosalyn or, once, Miss Wormwood and the school principal. Spaceman Spiff is another alter-ego, as Calvin goes to far-away planets to fight alien monsters. This is said to be a parody of the comic Flash Gordon, and Calvin has or does generally crash on the alien planet. Captain Napalm is another alter-ego, and is a superhero whom protects justice and the American Way. The alter-ego is an important theme because Hobbes is not real, but he seems so much more real when considering all of Calvin’s imaginative alter-egos.
A major recurring theme throughout the strip is how Calvin turns to his imagination to deal with every situtation that he dislikes. Rosalyn, the babysitter, is the most evident case in this. Rosalyn is the only person that Calvin actually seems to fear. He often turns to “Spaceman Spiff” or Captain Napalm to deal with her, and his parents as well seem to fear her. Another time when Calvin turns to imagination consistently is when going for the cookie jar. He hates that he is unable to go for a cookie whenever he would like, so he generally will turn into a bug in order to get to them, and in the last column we always see his mother saying something about not getting a cookie. Another situation is almost every time we see Calvin sit down for dinner. When unhappy about the food, Calvin imagines being “Spaceman Spiff,” and one time after “Hobbes” cut Calvin’s hair, he acts as Tracer Bullet, a private investigator, because he was wearing a hat. Through his imagination, Calvin is able to turn away and deal with situation that he is uncomfortable with, and the reader gets to enjoy this.
Another recurring theme is school and homework. Although he is very bright and contains a vocabulary much greater than any other six-year old, Calvin hates school and homework. Hobbes, the unreal tiger, always ends up doing Calvin’s homework, and a recurring strip we often see is Hobbes doing Calvin’s math completely wrong. As Calvin waits for the bus, he is always talking to Hobbes about how dumb it is that he is forced to go to school. He assumes that an intelligent boy like himself does not need to attend school. Even though as Calvin speaks throughout the strip he seems very intelligent, he often gets poor grades in school, and only on a few occasions do we see him get good ones.
Throughout the year, Calvin rides a sled or toboggan or wagon. While riding with Hobbes, they often consider life and death, speaking about it endlessly even while through the air getting ready to crash on the ground. This all goes together very well, as the weather allows for a peaceful atmosphere, and allows for Calvin to think clearly. Along with the weather, whatever it is their path seems to be always offers this peaceful atmosphere, and Calvin and Hobbes’ conversations are often serious in the beginning, and end with either a sarcastic or funny remark.
Another recurring theme is dinosaurs. Dinosaurs were added towards the middle of the strip, and they are important because for a few moments, to Calvin, they are very real. Most kids might act up and in class and speak out, but Calvin has been seen on more than one occasion as a dinosaur, and he, out loud, makes dinosaur noises, and afterwards we see the class as a whole staring at him. In the last column we see how bored Calvin really is, as he puts his head on his desk and sigh’s. Most might see this as an act of embarrassment, but seeing as Calvin rarely gets embarrassed, we realize that this is only Calvin being bored and wishing he was out of school.
In the beginning of his sporting career, Calvin goes to try out for baseball and does not succeed in making the team, not quite knowing all of the rules of the game. Because of this, Calvin and Hobbes introduce “Calvinball.” The theme in this is that Calvin does not do so well with authority. When trying out for baseball, there were a lot of rules that he was to have to learn that he did not want to nor care for. But when inventing “Calvinball,”
