One of the best comic strips of all time is on sale for an excellent price during Amazon’s Black Friday sale. While supplies last–and this deal often sells out during major sales events–The Complete Calvin and Hobbes hardcover box set is available for only $86.15 (was $225). Amazon offered this deal in its early Black Friday sale earlier this month, so if you missed out then, you have another opportunity to add this incredible box set to your bookshelf. To get the full discount, you need to click the coupon box on the store page to save an extra $43.07 at checkout. This beautiful slipcased collection comes with three hardcover books with 1,440 pages of Bill Watterson’s iconic comic strip. The Complete Calvin and Hobbes only ever drops this low during big sales like Black Friday and Prime Day.
Amazon’s deal is so good that the premium hardcover edition is actually cheaper than the paperback version right now. That said, the $91 paperback box set is eligible for Amazon’s Buy Two, Get One Free Book Sale this week.
$86.15 (was $225) with coupon
Written and illustrated by Bill Watterson, the syndicated comic strip earned legions of fans and widespread critical acclaim throughout its 10-year run (1985-1995) in newspapers across the US and abroad. If you grew up stealing the comics section of the newspaper from your parents to read the humorous and insightful adventures of Calvin and his stuffed Tiger, check out Amazon’s deal before it’s gone.
The Complete Calvin and Hobbes includes every single comic strip from Calvin and Hobbes’ run across three premium hardcover books. All told, you’re getting 1,440 pages of comic strips, some in color, others in black-and-white. The included slipcase features one of the illustrations that is most-associated with Calvin and Hobbes.
I’ve owned this box set for years and can attest to its quality. The comic strips are printed on thick art paper, and the bindings have held up well. Fair warning, though: The premium materials make these books quite heavy. With all three books in the slipcase, you’ve got yourself 22 pounds worth of comic strips, so each book weighs roughly 7.3 pounds.
$91.26 (was $160) | B2G1 Free
The paperback edition has 1,456 pages, but the complete run is spread across four volumes instead of three. If you’re buying the collection for a younger reader, this is probably the better option. While the full box set is still a hefty 17.75 pounds, each book is roughly 4.3 pounds. And with over 100 fewer pages per volume, these are easier to hold for kids and adults with smaller hands.
Save over 50% on paperback box sets.
Regardless of whether you opt for hardcover or paperback, you probably won’t be inclined to take the books with you on vacation. They are lovely books, just not the kind you travel with due to their weight/dimensions. That’s where the Portable Compendium Series comes in.
Calvin and Hobbes publisher Andrews McMeel began reissuing the complete run in a much more compact format in 2023. These editions are 6.1 x 9.1 inches, which is roughly the size of the average trade paperback novel. Each Compendium Set comes with two paperbacks in a slipcase.
The first three sets are on sale for over 50% off in Amazon’s Black Friday sale.
Portable Compendiums
Five Compendium Sets have been published so far, and Set 6 will be published March 3, 2026. The full run will be collected in seven of these slipcased sets, but Set 7 isn’t available to preorder yet–though it’s likely to release next fall.
Many fans of Calvin and Hobbes will recognize the covers on these editions. The Treasury Collection is essentially a greatest hits collection from the first half of Calvin and Hobbes’ syndicated run. The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes is only $7.40 in paperback and $13 in hardcover. You can also save big on the hardcover edition of The Essential Calvin and Hobbes.
Calvin and Hobbes was originally collected in slimmer paperbacks of varying dimensions. All 14 volumes are still in print, and many are available for cheap, including Volume 1 for $6.67.
Though typically shelved in the children’s section in bookstores and libraries, Calvin and Hobbes is a humorous and genuinely thought-provoking comic strip for readers of all ages. The satire and musings on philosophy and the human condition are more likely to land with adults. When I read the entire comic strip as an adult, I actually enjoyed it even more than I did as a kid.
Adults who love Calvin and Hobbes should consider picking up Bill Watterson’s latest work, The Mysteries, as the hardcover is only $8 at Amazon. Published in late 2023, The Mysteries couldn’t be more different from Calvin and Hobbes, but it’s an interesting illustrated fable for adult readers.
