Hobbes - cartoon connection ??

bw_dave

Spaceman
Well I dunno if this topic has been posted here before, but it suddenly struck me the other day as I was reading some 'Calvin and Hobbes' cartoons, that this was the only other cat I knew called Hobbes (the other one being our 'trusty' wingman from WC - ahem).

Does anyone know if this is where he got his callsign/nickname? I'm not talking about in the WC story of course (Maniac: "Hey Maverick, remember that comic strip we saw in the museum, with the tiger named 'Hobbes'? Well why don't we name this big hairy Kilrathi pilot after him?" ... Blair : "Yeh, sounds good"), but rather when the game was being made (A time when Calvin and Hobbes was at the height of its popularity).

Anyway I was just curious, since Hobbes is a pretty unusual name, and they are both cats (I think the cartoon one was named after some philosopher or something).

Anyone know ??
 
Well, Hobbes (the human) WAS a philosopher, and Hobbes the Kat is supposedly named after great philosopher. But then again, (Calvin &) Hobbes is also somewhat of a philosopher. Basically, it wouldn't suprise me in the least if he was named after Calvin's companion.
 
It's possible...

As for the story naming, I think Hobbes himself chose his new callsign when he joined the Confederation...
He tells you that in WC II, on the bridge of the Concordia...
(THAT I remember, but LOAF will come up behind me and add some details probably... :p)
 
I can just see Hobbes turning on Calvin right now...

Sorry, haven't seen that many comics of them.
 
Ross "Downtown" Baldwin gave Hobbes his callsign. The original Hobbes was a philosopher, and Downtown considered Ralgha to be very wise (I personally always thought that "Hobbes" was a ridiculous choice since his philosophy promotes dictatorial rule, which what Hobbes-the-Kilrathi rebelled against in the first place).

As for the non-plot reasons... who knows? Could be the cartoon Hobbes, but I don't think we'll ever know.
 
In WC2, Hobbes claims that his name came from the philosopher... in the WC3 novel, Blair claims it's from a piece of folk-art (G)
 
Hobbes, I just had to write a paper on him. (the human hobbes) Hobbes was a philosopher, so what was said in wc2 makes since. But, calvin and hobbes? I haven't ever though of it that way......
 
Well Bill Watterson, the creator of Calvin and Hobbes, claims that this is why he gave HIS Hobbes the name - because the cartoon version is a bit of a philosopher.

So it does seem like a strange coincidence, that two cats would be given the same name for the same reason (an unusual name at that).

I'd never actually heard of Hobbes, the real one, until I read Bill Watterson's explanations of the cartoon, so I always thought he was some obscure historical figure. However this could just be the results of my Australian "education" :) You guys seem to know a fair bit about him, so I'm assuming he wasn't that obscure after all.

Anyway at the risk of getting off topic, I'm starting to smell a conspiracy :) Does someone at Origin read comics? Is Ralgha really a stuffed Kilrathi that only Blair imagines is alive?? Is Calvin going to get a nasty shock one day to wake up and find his parents dead and his stuffed tiger "missing"?? Or is Ralgha actually not dead, and hiding out in American suburbia, disguised as a stuffed toy ??? Ooh I want the movie rights !

(maybe the next WC will take place in suburban US, with people driving ride-on lawnmowers instead of space fighters).
 
Oh, I cacked up laughing!

Then Calvin will be mourning the loss of his parents, then dash into his Hellcat... er, no. Maybe not.
 
Susie Derkins: "Shame your parents had to die to prove the point. I told you your stuffed tiger was a Kilrathi traitor".
 
Or perhaps: "Calvin, the heart of the stuffed doll and Hobbes, the treacherous cat nobleman" could be an interesting comic, non?
 
Originally posted by Wedge009
Oh, I cacked up laughing!

Then Calvin will be mourning the loss of his parents, then dash into his Hellcat... er, no. Maybe not.

Of course not. It doesn't keep w/ the comic. It would have to be his trusty wagon!:)
 
Back
Top