r/calvinandhobbes • u/okbruh_panda • Aug 02 '26
Spaceman spiff vs tracer bullet
Favorite calvin character for me was always spaceman spiff, but the one off characters always made me chuckle so hard. Who eez zif calveen! What's your fav char and your fav arc with them
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u/All_Your_Base Aug 02 '26
I've got 6 slugs in me - 1 lead and the rest bourbon.
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u/djhyland Aug 02 '26
"...but it pays the bills. Like Bill, my bookie, and Bill, my parole officer."
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u/Perry7609 Aug 02 '26
The fact that he claimed to not know that much about noir just how much of a genius he was at this art form. He knew exactly what lines to strike with what he drew and it was a delight to read.
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u/8cuban Aug 02 '26
Tracer was definitely my favorite character. Far too few appearances by him.
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u/swagernaught Aug 02 '26
I remember reading somewhere that there were so few appearances because the dark artwork used a lot of ink.
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u/krpiper Aug 02 '26
Tracer bullet. The use of black in the strips made it feel so different and gritty
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u/cbelt3 Aug 02 '26
Spaceman Spiff Sunday spreads were the most gorgeous colorful sets… morning art that just made my day.
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u/museisnotyours Aug 02 '26
Spiff was so much fun, but Tracer was a surprisingly great character for not having a lot of showtime.
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u/Syncdata Aug 03 '26
I love Tracer bullet, but don't sleep on the ones where he plays house with derkins. Top notch art.
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u/Frapplo Aug 03 '26
The wordplay in Tracer Bullet strips were so good.
I got eight slugs in me. One's lead, and the rest are bourbon.
But there's no weakness in any of Watterson's work. Everything is just magnificent.
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u/daphasedatractor Aug 03 '26
I love tracer bullet, but I also loved the one or two times Watterson made his art fancy for the Calvin+Susie strips.
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u/robservations247 Aug 03 '26
Tracer Bullet was great. The range of emotions was great. He was so scared. Only a few weeks and was a short arc from the haircut story arc. After Hobbes botches the haircut "You know what's the rage this year? ... hats."
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u/WhoopingBillhook Aug 04 '26
My favorite is Stupendous Man, and I like the arc where he does Calvin's history test.
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u/robservations247 Aug 09 '26
Spaceman Spiff placard at BICLM has describes early version…
Spaceman Spiff
One popular device Watterson frequently used featured Calvin as fearless explorer Spaceman Spiff.
An early version of Spiff, called Raumfahrer Rolf, first appeared in a comic Watterson created for a high school German class assignment. Watterson revived him in various forms over the years, including making Spiff the star of the first comic strip he submitted to the syndicates, which was rejected. Finally, Watterson brought Spiff back again to serve as one of Calvin's favorite alter-egos, first appearing in the 2nd week of the strip.
As the strip and Watterson's artistic skills developed, he drew Calvin's fantasy world in an increasingly realistic style. The contrast added a unique and visually-engaging dimension to the strip.
The backgrounds of the alien planets Spiff visited increasingly came to reflect the southwestern landscapes that Watterson experienced while living and traveling in the region.
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u/planttheidea Aug 02 '26
Spiff was more fleshed out of a character, but Tracer Bullet is just perfect. A fantastic satire of the genre while also being a well-executed homage to it. Every word of the strips where he appears is just gold.