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Despite Bill Watterson's reluctance to sell merchandise based on Calvin and Hobbes or its characters, he still allowed some merchandise to reach the public, one of them being books. There have so far been eighteen books (including one three-volume set) published in the United States.

The books, referred to as "Collections," form a complete archive of the newspaper strips, except for a single daily strip from November 28, 1985 (The collections do contain a strip for this date, but it is not the same strip that appeared in some newspapers). "Treasuries" combine the two preceding collections with bonus material and include color reprints of Sunday comics, and irregular printed collections reprint already published comics with a particular intent, such as providing original sketches or commentary.

A complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes strips, in three hardcover volumes, with a total 1440 pages, was released on October 4, 2005, by Andrews & McMeel Publishing. It also includes color prints of the art used on paperback covers, the Treasuries' extra illustrated stories and poems, and an original 14-page introduction by Bill Watterson. Unfortunately, the alternate 1985 strip is still omitted, and two other strips (January 7, 1987, and November 25, 1988) have altered dialogue.

To celebrate the release, Calvin and Hobbes reruns were made available to newspapers from Sunday, September 4, 2005, through Saturday, December 31, 2005, and Bill Watterson answered a select dozen questions submitted by readers. ([1] [2]) Like current contemporary strips, weekday Calvin and Hobbes strips now appear in color print when available, instead of black and white as in their first run.

Title Cover Date ISBN Notes
Calvin and Hobbes "Calvin and Hobbes April 1987 ISBN 0836220889 First Collection covering strips from the first strip on Nov 18, 1985 to Aug 17, 1986. Original content: Foreword by Garry Trudeau.
Something Under the Bed is Drooling "Something Under the Bed Is Drooling April 1988 ISBN 0836218256 Second Collection covering strips from Aug 18, 1986 to May 22, 1987. Original content: Foreword by Pat Oliphant.
The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury "The Essential Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury September 1988 ISBN 0836218051 First Treasury including cartoons from Calvin and Hobbes, Something Under the Bed is Drooling, & a strip from May 23, 1987 not published in Drooling. Original content: Foreword by Charles M. Schulz, original illustrated poem "A Nauseous Nocturne" and artwork on back cover of a giant rampaging Calvin.
Yukon Ho! "Yukon Ho!" March 1989 ISBN 0836218353 Third Collection covering strips from May 24, 1987 to Feb 21, 1988. Original content: The Yukon Song.
The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book: A Collection of Sunday Calvin and Hobbes Cartoons "The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book: A Collection of Sunday Calvin and Hobbes Cartoons September 1989 ISBN 0836218523 First Collection of Sunday strips going from May 24, 1987 to July 23, 1989 (Sunday strips only). Original content: ten-page story "Spaceman Spiff: Interplanetary Explorer Extraordinaire!"
Weirdos From Another Planet! "Weirdos From Another Planet March 1990 ISBN 0836218620 Fourth Collection covering strips from Feb 22, 1988 to Dec 4, 1988, minus Nov 27-30, 1988.
The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes: A Calvin and Hobbes Treasury "The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes October 1990 ISBN 0836218221 Second Treasury including cartoons from Yukon Ho! & Weirdos From Another Planet!. Original content: Seven-page story in which Calvin becomes an elephant.
The Revenge of the Baby-Sat "The Revenge of the Baby-Sat April 1991 ISBN 0836218663 Fifth Collection covering strips from Dec 5, 1988 to Sept 10, 1989, plus Nov 27-30, 1988, and October 16-18, 1989.
Scientific Progress Goes "Boink" Scientific Progress Goes "Boink October 1991 ISBN 0836218787 Sixth Collection covering strips from September 11 to October 15, 1989, and October 19 to June 10, 1990, and June 17, 24-30, July 2-7 and July 15, 1990. 
Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons "Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons April 1992 ISBN 0836218833 Seventh Collection covering strips published June 11-16, 18-23, July 1, 8-14, and July 16, 1990 to April 10, 1991. 
The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes "The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes October 1992 ISBN 0836218981 Third Treasury including cartoons from The Revenge of the Baby-Sat & Scientific Progress Goes "Boink". Original content: An illustrated poem.
The Days are Just Packed "The Days are Just Packed October 1993 ISBN 0836217357 Eighth Collection covering strips from Apr 11, 1991 to Nov 1, 1992, and November 8, 1992; excluding May 5, 1991 to Feb 1, 1992 (the first sabbatical).
Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat "Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat October 1994 ISBN 0836217691 Ninth Collection covering strips published November 2-7, 1992 and November 9, 1992 to August 29, 1993.
The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book "The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book October 1995 ISBN 0836204387 Anniversary Collection of various strips ranging from 1985 to 1995. Including cartoons of "Something Under the Bed is Drooling", "Yukon Ho!", "Weirdos From Another Planet!", "The Revenge of the Baby-Sat", "Scientific Progress Goes "Boink"", "Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons", "The Days are Just Packed", "Homicidal Psycho Jungle Cat", "A Nauseous Nocturne", "Spaceman Spiff: Interplanetary Explorer Extraordinaire!" and "Calvin the Elephant". Original content: Essays by Watterson and annotations on individual strips.
There's Treasure Everywhere "There's Treasure Everywhere March 1996 ISBN 0836213122 Tenth Collection covering strips published August 30, 1993 to April 2, 1994, (start of the second sabbatical) and January 1 to March 19, 1995, and April 3-8, 1995.
It's a Magical World "It's A Magical World October 1996 ISBN 0836221362 Eleventh and Final collection covering strips from April 9, 1995 to the last strip on Dec 31, 1995, plus March 20 - April 2, 1995.
Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 "Calvin and Hobbes Sunday Pages 1985-1995 September 2001 ISBN 0740721356 Second Collection of favorite Sundays. Original content: Original sketches and commentary by Watterson.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes October 2005 ISBN 0740748475 Three-volume set containing all strips. Weighs 22.5 lbs. Includes all previous original content, color prints of previous cover art, and an original introduction by Bill Watterson.

Early books were printed in a smaller format, and the Sunday strips appeared in black and white. They were then reprinted, in color for the Sundays, in the three "Treasuries" (Essential, Authoritative, and Indispensable). Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons, however, was the last book to be released in the smaller format, and treasuries required two books to be reprinted. As a result, most of its Sunday strips were never reprinted in color until the Complete collection was published in 2005. Every book since Snow Goons had been printed in a larger format with Sundays in color and weekday and Saturday strips larger than they appeared in most newspapers.

Remaining books do contain some additional content; for instance, The Calvin and Hobbes Lazy Sunday Book contains a long watercolor Spaceman Spiff epic not seen elsewhere until Complete, and The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book contains much original commentary from Watterson (plus then-exclusive color reprints of some Sundays from Snow Goons). Calvin and Hobbes: Sunday Pages 1985-1995 contains 36 Sunday strips in color alongside Watterson's original sketches, prepared for an exhibition at The Ohio State University Cartoon Research Library.

An officially licensed children's textbook entitled Teaching with Calvin and Hobbes (ISBN 1878849158) was published in 1993. It reprints 57 comic strips comprising five story arcs.

Wikipedia This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Calvin and Hobbes. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with The Calvin and Hobbes Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
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