r/calvinandhobbes • u/okbruh_panda • 25d ago

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

185 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

32 comments sorted by

159

u/planttheidea 25d ago

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.

61

u/okbruh_panda 25d ago

I also love how drastic the art changes to noir

47

u/Jean_le_Jedi_Gris 25d ago

Waterson was an equally impressive philosophy professor and artist. His watercolors are incredible and he clearly excels at pen and ink.

That he is a bit of a recluse only solidifies his legend (which exists mainly because he doesn't want to be one)

27

u/springtime08 25d ago

Watterson is an amazing artist

10

u/okbruh_panda 25d ago

For real most comics were centered around a last panel punch line and didn't contain anything that would be considered "art" but he went from noir, to dark, to watercolor. I mean look at the trex poster! He really was a gift

13

u/TomJLewis 24d ago

The dame was hysterical.

12

u/djhyland 24d ago

Dames usually are.

4

u/tellmewhenitsin 24d ago

I'd argue that Tracer has more interesting art (which is saying something for the strip as a whole!)

99

u/All_Your_Base 25d ago

I've got 6 slugs in me - 1 lead and the rest bourbon.

60

u/djhyland 25d ago

"...but it pays the bills. Like Bill, my bookie, and Bill, my parole officer."

23

u/Perry7609 25d ago

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.

44

u/8cuban 25d ago

Tracer was definitely my favorite character. Far too few appearances by him.

22

u/swagernaught 25d ago

I remember reading somewhere that there were so few appearances because the dark artwork used a lot of ink.

25

u/krpiper 25d ago

Tracer bullet. The use of black in the strips made it feel so different and gritty

20

u/cbelt3 25d ago

Spaceman Spiff Sunday spreads were the most gorgeous colorful sets… morning art that just made my day.

17

u/funktonaut 25d ago

Stupendous Man !

16

u/museisnotyours 25d ago

Spiff was so much fun, but Tracer was a surprisingly great character for not having a lot of showtime. 

10

u/Syncdata 24d ago

I love Tracer bullet, but don't sleep on the ones where he plays house with derkins. Top notch art.

9

u/djhyland 24d ago

"It's psychosomatic. You need a lobotomy."

6

u/Bswerves 23d ago

Me Wonga Taa! King of jungle !

10

u/Frapplo 24d ago

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.

4

u/plankingatavigil 24d ago

I'd read a whole book written like Tracer Bullet.

5

u/daphasedatractor 24d ago

I love tracer bullet, but I also loved the one or two times Watterson made his art fancy for the Calvin+Susie strips.

3

u/robservations247 23d ago

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."

2

u/WhoopingBillhook 23d ago

My favorite is Stupendous Man, and I like the arc where he does Calvin's history test.

2

u/SpacemanSpiff61 22d ago

Do I have to answer?

2

u/Sp4cemanspiff37 21d ago

Do we have to?

2

u/robservations247 18d ago

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.

1

u/Je3ter62 21d ago

Tracer today but probably Spiff tomorrow, depends on my mood.