Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat

(A Calvin and Hobbes Collection)
by
Bill Watterson

Andrews and McMeel, January 1994, 175 pp.
ISBN: 0-8362-1769-1

Genre: Comics
Subgenre: Comic Strip / Humor
Reviewed: 9/23/2000

Reviewed by: Conan Tigard

Book Cover

Comic Strip

Synopsis

Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat is another collection of Calvin and Hobbes comic strips. The Sunday strip is in color while the daily strip is in black and white.

Calvin and Hobbes became very popular in the mid-1980's, and continued into the 1990's, until Bill Watterson decided that he was going to retire the comic strip. It was seen daily in hundred of newspapers and enjoyed by millions. Calvin is a quirky 6 years old? boy who has a pet stuffed animal tiger names Hobbes. But to Calvin, Hobbes is alive. Together, they constantly get into mischief. Hobbes often acts as Calvin’s conscious, but being a tiger, he also acts upon his whims. Calvin’s parents can also be quite funny. Calvin always seems to be testing his mother. And Calvin’s father’s explanations of how things work are always hilarious. And then there is Calvin’s arch nemesis, Susie. Usually innocent of all wrongdoing, Calvin loves to harass her. But she always beats Calvin in the end.

Review

I hadn’t read Calvin and Hobbes in 10 years when I picked up this book. But back in its heyday, this was my favorite comic strip. I even used to cut out the really funny ones of the paper and tape them to my notebooks so I had something to read in college if the lecture was really boring. This comic strip always makes me smile and I absolutely love Calvin.

After reading Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat, I am still confused as to why Bill Watterson would stop writing this wonderful character, and I find that I miss him. You do not have to have read the other books to understand what is going on. There are sometimes small storylines that last a few weeks, but then they are never referred to again later.

If you want light material to read, and you want to laugh, Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat is a great book to read . . . and it is fun for all ages.