BOOTLEGS


 "Random Writings" fanzine: This ripoff showed up in late 2008 for sale on eBay at the outrageous price of $40 USD. It's a photocopied collection of writings and Watterson drawings which were all pulled from this fan site, and which I want people to read for free. Obviously I have no copyright over the materials used, but I did take the time to type the articles in myself, and I'm annoyed when people grab stuff from this site to make a quick buck. It's just sleazy. If you want the stuff in paper form, by all means grab it from this website and make your own
collection, but please don't give money to bootleggers.

   
   


Rubber Stamps: These rubber stamps are ideal for putting Calvin on appropriate documents such as notes to friends, marriage licenses, and copyright infringement lawsuits.

   


Singapore Stamps: These appeared as an auction on the internet in late 2006. They are from "MyStamp," a stamp collecting campaign by the Singapore Philatelic Museum. Apparently the stamps come with a blank section, and you can print any picture that you want on them. This seller apparently decided to use the service to make a buck at Calvin collectors' expense. (Many thanks to Asheesh for tracking down this information!)

   


German "Kiddieland" play area and website: In 2007 this company's website appeared, using an image of Calvin with his hair colored brown for their mascot. Nice try, guys. Many thanks to my secret agent friend Peer, who traveled to the airport in Bremen to take photos of the play area!

   


Tour-only 7" records: The first item here is from the 2004 Winter tour of Boston hardcore band Have Heart. This aqua-colored 7" vinyl record features the song "What Counts." The second item is a split 7" on white vinyl featuring the bands Fortunate Son and High Stakes. The music on these records doesn't actually have anything to do with Calvin and Hobbes.

   


Watches: Somebody made four watches with different pictures from the comic on their faces. [I've received mail from someone pointing out that these images are obviously manipulated digitally to put Calvin on the watch face, and therefore I might want to remove them from the site. However, while I these are not real photos, I'm leaving them up here because they were sold on eBay at least once. Therefore, I can say with a fair bit of certainty that they really exist somewhere. I could have purchased them in order to get real photos but I refuse to give money to the bootlegger who created them.]

   


Pendant: This is a solid silver pendant of Calvin sulking. It's approximately 2.5 cm wide and 6 cm tall. The weight is 32 grams. A black cord measuring 70 cm long is attached.

   


Earrings: I've also seen these earrings presented online as a set of silver pins.


Cigarette Case: Oh boy, now you can inhale and exhale smoke while reflecting on all of the Calvin strips where he and Hobbes remarked on the natural beauty of the Earth and their disappointment about various forms of pollution.


Lightswitch Covers: It seems to be an American tradition to remove the lightswitch covers in children's bedrooms and replace them with more festive covers featuring cartoon characters. Anyone know if they do this in other countries as well?

            


Drink Coasters: Remember, mom hates it when you leave water stains on her good coffee table, so keep her happy by putting your beverage on one of these things.


Keychain: Combining two copyright infringements in one pointless artifact, here we have C&H hijacking Herbie the Love Bug from the old Disney movies. I'll give the bootleggers a bonus point for connecting car keys with a car picture.


Italian Charms: In the early 2000s I started noticing these "Italian charm" bracelets popping up all over the place. As near as I can tell it's one of those fads that arrives every so often with kids, maybe along the lines of the "friendship bracelet" craze of the 1980s. Apparently you buy various charms and string them together to make a bracelet that tells the world about your interests.

   


Bootleg Pins: The first three sets here are regular buttons. The fourth set are pewter pins, and the fifth are sterling silver. The sixth set features quotes from Sarah Williams ("I've loved the stars..."), JRR Tolkien, etc.

      
      


911 sticker: You have to have cajones the size of watermelons to make something like this. It's a picture of Calvin wailing about the destruction of NYC's World Trade Center in the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. It's bad enough they're bootlegging Calvin in the first place, but trying to make money off of New York's tragedy? That's pretty low.


Bootleg mousepad: This is a computer mousepad with C&H characters on it.


Bootleg Signs: Got a parking space that needs a bootleg sign? Want one with "Hobbes" spelled
wrong? Good news, there's this abomination. Also, here's another one with the spelling corrected.

   


Bootleg Clocks

      
      
    


Bootleg Ties: Here are some illegal Calvin & Hobbes ties for the curious. There appear to be five versions of the first tie. The tags say they're made by "Silvia," "Giorgio Bartani," "A.P.C.," "Bunbury," and "Diamond Silks." The tag on the second tie says "Silvia." I don't know anything about the third tie. The fourth is an airbrushed design on silk. (Thanks to Steve R. for sending in a pic and info!)

            


Bootleg t-shirt: There are MANY bootleg t-shirts floating around, none of which are legitimate. This particular example is apparently from Thailand, according to the person who sent the scan.


Bootleg sweatshirt: It's just a sweatshirt with Calvin on it.

   


Ladies' Shirt: This is a women's blouse with Calvin & Hobbes comics all over it.


Bootleg Visor: For those who prefer to declare their love for Calvin and Hobbes by using their forehead.


Bootleg Cap: Here are a couple of baseball caps with Calvin on them.

   


Embroidery Patterns: Someone is apparently into both embroidery and Calvin. Who knew?

    
    


Envelope Sketches: These are some postal 'first day covers' from the 1940s and 50s which showed up on eBay throughout 2002 and early 2003. According to one seller these 3.5" x 6.5" items were donated to "Maine Friends of Wildlife" and auctioned off at a 1990 fundraiser. That info proved to be false and I found out for sure that these are fakes.