Calvin and Hobbes: The Real Reason Parents Don't Have Names

Calvin and Hobbs' parents are never named in the comics, as Bill Watson explained the specific reason they remained unnamed.

In the pages of Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin's parents are never named throughout the iconic comic strip. The choice to keep them anonymous was very intentional by creator Bill Watson, who revealed that he chose not to name the characters for a specific reason: they were only important as Calvin's parents, not as needed to be fully fleshed out character of.

In Bill Watterson's 10th Anniversary Book of Calvin and Hobbes, the legendary cartoonist discusses many topics about his classic comic strip featuring a young man and his Plush toy tiger. He revealed the reason why Calvin's parents were never named in the series. Watson writes, "They only mattered as Calvin's parents as far as the strip was concerned." As a result, he felt he would never need to identify them by name, as they were only for Calvin and Hobbes' adventure services, and it doesn't matter what he calls them.

The Parents In Calvin and Hobbes Were Intentionally Exasperated.

According to Bill Watson, he received complaints from fans that Calvin's parents in Calvin & Hobbes were "unloving" and "unnecessarily" sarcastic, but he said this was done on purpose Best way to express how angry his parents are without emotion - like raising kids Kids are hard. Also, Watson does admit that there is some truth to Calvin's parents being based in part on his own, but they are a caricature of them rather than a true reflection. He added that since the parents were mostly seen as secondary characters to Calvin and his adventures, he wanted to keep them realistic — despite their personalities and humor.

Although Bill Watson didn't think Calvin's parents in Calvin and Hobbes needed names, he did draw inspiration for other characters in the comics. Calvin, for example, is named after the real-life theologian John Calvin in the 16th century, while Hobbes is named after the philosopher Thomas Hobbes. Meanwhile, Calvin's elementary school teacher, Miss Elmwood, is named after the devil in C.S. Lewis's Screwtape Letters. So Watson does draw from the real world and classic literature to name certain characters, just not Calvin's parents.

Ultimately, Bill Watterson's reasons for not giving Calvin's parents names make sense. He didn't want to take the focus away from Calvin and Hobbs, and thought it appropriate to keep them anonymous, given their minor roles in the comics. In the end, it's hard to imagine The story of Calvin and Hobbes, whose parents do have names, as it became a noteworthy part of the history of newspaper comics.