Calvin and Hobbes was an immensely popular comic strip. (2) Calvin and Hobbes featured a six-year-old boy and his stuffed tiger. (3) Created by Bill Watterson, an American cartoonist: Calvin and Hobbes ran daily in newspapers across the country from 1985 to 1995. (4) The comic strip depicted Calvin"s wild imaginations and his friendship with Hobbes, while also touching on larger issues of philosophy and the nature of existence. (5) Berkeley Breathed"s Bloom County was another popular comic strip from the time period. (6) One of the main premises of the strip is that Hobbes appears to Calvin as a live tiger much larger than himself, who can speak, think, and move, while to the rest of the world he appears as a small stuffed toy. (7) Watterson"s intent was to compare Calvin"s version of reality with the "grown-up" version, and to invite the reader to decide which is truer. (8) The strip often featured Calvin and Hobbes flying downhill on a wagon, sled, or toboggan, depending on the season. (9) According to Watterson, this device added some physical comedy to the strip. (10) These rides together, they typically ended in spectacular crashes, are also occasions for the two friends to discuss the meaning of life, death, existence, God, and other heavy subjects.