For five life points, who are these guys?
Mike
UPDATE: Your official clue is now the new "Book of the Week" below. Congratulations to Wolfgang Lonien and J. Lauretig, who guessed it first (see Featured Comments).
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: a Calvin and Hobbes Treasury by Bill Watterson. I just read a dire, apocalyptic article about mental health during the pandemic, so I decided on trying an "off topic" book rec that is slightly lighter than our usual fare. If you don't appreciate it, don't worry, it's a blog. Something else will be along soon.
Heeeere's...Blimie and Herman!
Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Wolfgang Lonien: "John Knox and Thomas Hobbes?"
Wolfgang Lonien: "Calvin and Hobbes?"
J. Lauretig: "John Knox and Thomas Hobbes."
J. Lauretig: "John Calvin and Thomas Hobbes. Calvin and Hobbes, pretty funny. At first I thought it was John Knox, but the joke became too obvious."
Benjamin Marks: "I know this will seem like another opportunity to pontificate on any and all subjects, but The Complete Calvin and Hobbes has the most interesting Preface by Bill Watterson as it applies to creative pursuits in general. In it, Watterson writes of all the failures he had designing characters and strips in the years leading up to the creation of the basic set-up in Calvin and Hobbes. If you all assumed, as I did for many years, that C&H was a work of instant, inspired, Mozart-like genius, proceeding weekly and directly from the mind of the Almighty straight through the pens and brushes of Bill Watterson, this introduction is the cure to your amazement. It was also, for me, an excellent reminder/instruction that creative pursuits most often require failure in order to find success. And a balance of bravery with doggedness.
"The Complete Calvin and Hobbes can still be ordered from Amazon.
"It is timeless, evergreen, priceless. Actually, not 'priceless' in the literal sense, but to demonstrate what a fan-boy I am: My children actually loved the first boxed set I bought right to death—re-read it until the covers fell off and the glued spines gave up the ghost, folded the pages and spilled various drinks on them, etc. I then purchased a second set for myself, which sits high on a shelf in my office. So from my perspective, buying only one set would be getting all this goodness at half-price. At least half of what I wound up paying. ;-) "
John Calvin
Thomas Hobbes
Posted by: Moose | Sunday, 24 April 2022 at 02:33 PM
John Calvin (left) the Swiss reformer
Thomas Hobbes (right)
Posted by: Andreas | Sunday, 24 April 2022 at 02:58 PM
With no cheating with google images and guessing that the originals are engravings not photographs, I’m guessing the man on the left is Galileo and on the right an Englishman,maybe Francis Bacon
Posted by: Terry Letton | Sunday, 24 April 2022 at 03:10 PM
John Calvin on left.
Thomas Hobbes on right.
Posted by: William Harrison | Sunday, 24 April 2022 at 04:21 PM
Hi Mike!
The guy on the left is likely John Calvin, which should give me a clue to the second, but I got nothin' but a wild guess: John Endecott of the Mass. Bay Colony. Curious where this leads.
Posted by: robert e | Sunday, 24 April 2022 at 04:22 PM
I have no idea who these two guys were but would like to think that the picture on the left was taken with a Leica M6, 50mm Summicon lens and Fuji Acros; the guy on the right with a Mamiya RB67 with Tri-X. Natural lighting.
[Excellent guesses! And Calvin is printed on Brovira, and Hobbes on Ilford Warmtone. --Mike]
Posted by: Dan Khong | Sunday, 24 April 2022 at 04:59 PM
I was wondering whether the chap on the right was the first man ever to notice he was having his likeness rendered without his permission.
Posted by: Sean | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 04:43 AM
Cute. I wrote a paper in a Philosophy class contrasting both men with their comic strip counterparts, and injecting a bit of Sartre into the mix. It was one of the more fun papers to hand in.
Posted by: MikeR | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 08:26 AM
Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top and an elderly Doc Holiday? :-)
Posted by: Jim Arthur | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 11:01 AM
It is amazing how much of Calvin and Hobbes' political/societal commentary still resonates today.
My only complaint is that he focused a little too much on gum-chewing towards the end, which might be one of the reasons he decided to retire.
Posted by: KeithB | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 01:31 PM
Our son was raised on Calvin and Hobbes:
https://flic.kr/p/mVbJft
Posted by: Yonatan Katznelson | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 01:44 PM
Calvin & Hobbes is an essential read - Dilbert is not far behind.
Posted by: ChrisC | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 04:51 PM
Abbott and Costello, the early years.
Posted by: Michael L Shwarts | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 04:57 PM
You sure fooled me. I thought it was the guys you played pool with.
Posted by: Grant | Monday, 25 April 2022 at 05:39 PM
Benjamin Marks: One of the very best comments I've read, here or anywhere. Thank you. Sensible, thoughtful, wise and refreshing. I treasure this very nicely done set of books as well, as I did with the old strips in the newspaper and original paperback books. Thanks again.
-larry
Posted by: beerfueled | Tuesday, 26 April 2022 at 12:05 AM