Calvin & Hobbes
Compelling stories tend to have all three character types - mind, body, and spirit. This holds true in series, as well. In this post, I will take a look at how mind, body, and spirit characters are effectively used in the comic strip, Calvin and Hobbes. The first thing about series is that all three character types may not show up in every edition or episode. Many of the strips created by Bill Watterson only featured the young boy, Calvin, and his stuffed tiger, Hobbes. You have to take a grander view if you want to see the various character types. One or two episodes may not be enough to develop the characters and their relationships enough to create the kind of mind-body-spirit interactions that will make the series compelling. Another aspect of series development is the use of 'recurring characters.' In Calvin and Hobbes, for example, Calvin's parents play the primary mind character role, but when Calvin is not at home, Susie takes over as the mind ch...