Mad Atoms

I took a trip to France with my girlfriend, and we made a point of doing all the geekiest stuff there.  We went to many comic book stores, a sex museum and then we stopped into a free art exhibit about Le Petit Nicholas. 

Many Americans (myself included) have never heard of Le Petit Nicolas, but perhaps the famous French children's book character (now celebrating its 50th anniversary) should be known as the origin of Calvin from Bill Watterson's beloved comic strip Calvin and Hobbes.  The similarities between the characters are too numerous to ignore. 

Drawn by French cartoonist Jean-Jacques Sempe (Jean-Jacques - could he be any more French?) in the early 60s, Nicolas has messy hair, dashes/dots for eyes, a bulbous nose, a big huge smile and an oversized head, which pretty much describes Calvin to a tee. 

Written by Rene Goscinny, better known for the comic book Asterix, Nicolas is a series about the complications and idealization of childhood, told from the perspective of a grade school boy.  Like Calvin, Nicolas is mischievous, like when he smokes a cigar or uses a chemistry set to almost blow up a friend's house.  The two characters also share an underlying sensitivity, dealing with the anxieties of growing up.

Adults in both Le Petit Nicolas and Calvin and Hobbes are seen as eccentric but well-meaning.  There’s a story about Nicolas’ mother trying desperately to groom Nicolas for tea time (well, la-dee-dah!), which reminds me of all the times Calvin’s mom tries in vain to get Calvin to take a bath.  Both sets of parents are designed to play off of their wilder sons. 

However, there are many key differences between the characters, too.  While Nicolas does have an active imagination, it’s nothing compared to Calvin creating the worlds of Spaceman Spiff, Stupendous Man or an imaginary best friend.  Also, Nicolas has many friends among his classmates, whereas Calvin is a social misfit. 

Doing searches, I’ve seen bloggers and Amazon customers draw comparisons between Calvin and Nicolas, but I haven’t found anything official stating that Watterson was inspired by Goscinny (Watterson cites Peanuts, Pogo and Krazy Kat).  Perhaps Watterson took a French class and read a Nicolas book, which stuck to his subconscious?  Or maybe this is just one of those two-asteroid-movies-in-one-summer kind of things.  Still, it made me feel more at home in France knowing they have their own Calvin.