The excellence and originality of Watterson's work becomes clearer when it's juxtaposed with a derivative strip such as Scott Stantis' "Prickly City." ... "Prickly City," Winslow the coyote often has no legs; his lumpy body just sits on his puffy feet. Carmen's scribbly, misshapen lips appear on the bottom or the side of her blobby cranium, like a Mrs. Potato Head gone wrong. More significantly, Winslow and Carmen have no personalities: They're ciphers who exist to promulgate Stantis' right-wing diatribes.
With this glowing review...
The humor and calligraphic drawing in "Frazz" reflect Watterson's influence, but the strip doesn't feel like a pallid imitation. Songwriter-turned-elementary school janitor Edwin "Frazz" Frazier often plays Hobbes to precocious student Caulfield's Calvin... Mallett's characters have real personalities. The friendship between Frazz and Caulfield isn't just a plot contrivance: They love to read and play tricks on the redoubtable Mrs. Olsen. When Frazz complains about gas-guzzling SUVs, it's because he's an enthusiastic runner and cyclist, not a spokesman for a political agenda.
It's nice to know that, even in the microcosm of the funny pages, liberals are still better then conservatives. /gag
Memories are short around here. Calvin and Hobbes was excellent, but there are others in that same rank.