Cthulhu and Hobbes

When I was younger, I used to devour the Calvin & Hobbes anthologies that my parents had. Calvin is a small boy who hangs out with his stuffed tiger Hobbes. In Calvin's world, Hobbes is taller and his best friend. Calvin has a unique way of thinking and looking at life. The comic strip is hilarious! If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favour and check it out.

HP Lovecraft is one of the masters of horror fiction. And not the gruesome SAW 1 through 100 (I think the movies are up to 7 now) kind of horror. His writing pulls you in and makes you look over your shoulder while reading. Most of his stories are about how the universe is much bigger and filled with so much more that's completely beyond the understanding our puny minds. His short stories have made a lasting impression on me and fiction in general. He started a mythology in his writing about Cthulhu which has been adapted and continued by other writers long after his death. Cthulhu is an ancient and powerful being that is lying dormant until the day of its resurrection at which point it will brutally take over Earth and the rest of the universe. The mythos is not mentioned in all his work, but found in the background of some of his stories. You know that feeling when you think you see someone familiar down the street, but you're not sure since they go around the corner and out of sight too quickly? Lovecraft's writing style makes you feel as if there's so much more happening in the background and if you only knew, you might wish you didn't.

When I saw a t-shirt combining the above two stories, I burst out laughing. Who would think of something like that?
 

TopatoCo t-shirts (Cthulhu and Hobbes is the right-most green one)

The t-shirts come from an online store TopatoCo (http://www.topatoco.com/) which hosts stuff from a variety of webcomic artists. I recently started reading Scenes from a Multiverse (http://www.amultiverse.com/) and got to the store from there. Scenes from a Multiverse is exceptionally funny. It's educational (mentions Schrodinger's Cat among other things) and has hilarious social commentaries on things like the Creationism vs Evolution debate. I highly recommend it. It was nice supporting the webcomic through the store since the artist is putting a lot into the comic and posting it for free.

I would advise against reading any Lovecraft before bed, but if you do, be ready for some interesting dreams. Cue evil laugh :-D