From: coop1w13@bnr.ca (Mike Hammond, not Bill Saunders)
Subject: ``Reality'' of Hobbes (was: "Reality" of C&H)
Reply-To: coop1w13@bnr.ca
Organization: BNR Ottawa, Fibre Systems Development
Date: Wed, 08 Apr 92 18:58:37 GMT

In article <1994@transfer.stratus.com>, hship@sw.stratus.com (Howard Ship) writes:
|> The central question of Calvin & Hobbes is whether Calvin's adventures
|> (including Hobbes) actually take place.  This is regardless of whether
|> the parental units can see them (because their conceptual reality would
|> reject ANY evidence of Calvin's alternate reality).
|> 
|> As magic observers, we can definately proove the actuallity of 
|> Calvin's reality.  Obviously, we want too, because that prooves
|> the Hobbes exists.
|> 
|> I can think of several strips, especially those involving the duplicator
|> box, where Calvin either:   a) gained information from an "adventure"
|> that would not be possible in ordinary reality, or b) accomplished an
|> action that required his reality (such as being in two places at once).
|> 
|> -- 
|> "Is that real blood?" 
|> Howard_Ship@vos.stratus.com

Hey, I was going to start this type of thread, but you beat me to it!
(That's what I get for not reading the new groups as soon as they get in,
I guess! :-)
 
We see constantly that nobody else believes in Hobbes' reality. Whenever
another character comes in when Hobbes is around, he appears in the form 
of a hologram that only Sam can see or hear. :-) :-) (Sorry, it just leaped
out.) I mean, Hobbes appears as a small stuffed animal. So we are led to
believe that Hobbes is only real in Calvin's imagination.
 
But at least two strips come to mind that somewhat disprove this theory.
 
1) Calvin believed that he was a great magician, and had Hobbes tie him
   up so that he could escape like Houdini. Of course, Calvin couldn't,
   and his dad had to come upstairs and untie him. The clincher? His dad
   even asks Calvin, ``How in the world did you tie yourself up like that?''
   The obvious answer is that he didn't, and Hobbes really did it.
 
2) In a single strip, Hobbes was boosting Calvin up into a tree. While it's
   possible that Calvin just imagined himself being boosted, I kind of doubt
   it because Hobbes proceeds to take off Calvin's shoes and tickle him,
   causing Calvin to let go of the branch and fall on Hobbes. The thing is,
   the branch that Calvin was on was much too high for him to grab without
   the real Hobbes' (not the stuffed Hobbes') help.
 
Is there other evidence, one way or the other, that I'm overlooking?

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
|      Mike Hammond       | ``Yes, I'm...too wascally for Bugs Bunny,   |
|      Co-op Student      |   too wascally for Bugs Bunny,              |
|       BNR Ottawa        |   so wascally...it's almost funny!''        |
|    and University of    |                      ``I'm Too Wascally'',  |
|        Waterloo         |                       Right Said Fudd       |
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

P.S. I am Mike Hammond, not Bill Saunders. My apologies for any confusion 
     over previous posts.
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.strips