One of the most popular book box sets in last month’s Prime Big Deal Days sale is on sale for a massive discount again. As part of this week’s early Black Friday sale on Amazon, The Complete Calvin and Hobbes hardcover box set is up for grabs for only $86.15 (was $225). To get the deal, click the coupon on the store page; an additional $43.07 discount (33%) will be applied after adding the box set to your cart. 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 major sales events, and it frequently sells out.
Amazon’s deal is so good that the premium hardcover edition is actually cheaper than the paperback collection 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.
The slipcase features a different, but also well-known, illustration of Calvin and Hobbes dancing merrily.
Budget-friendly editions are B2G1 Free
Along with the deals on The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, Amazon has budget-friendly paperback editions and box sets for cheap, and some of them are included in Amazon’s B2G1 Free Book Sale. Multiple different editions are discounted, including the original trade paperbacks, the Treasury Collection, and the ongoing Portable Compendium series.
Each Portable Compendium box set comes with two softcover books and a slipcase to store them in. Compendium Set 1, 3, and 4 are eligible for the B2G1 Free promotion. The Essential Calvin and Hobbes Treasury Collection paperback is also in the promotion alongside select volumes of the original trade paperbacks.
The Calvin and Hobbes Portable Compendium Box Set Series
Andrews McMeel Publishing began reprinting the series in this travel-friendly format in 2023. As mentioned, five sets have been published so far, and the sixth is slated for March 3, 2026. The Portable Compendium series will conclude with Set 7, which isn’t available to preorder yet.
Calvin and Hobbes Treasury Collection:
These are essentially greatest hits collections from the first half of Calvin and Hobbes’ syndicated run. The first Treasury Collection, The Essential Calvin and Hobbes, is in the B2G1 sale, while The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes is well over 50% off.
Calvin and Hobbes Original Trade Paperback Editions
Many of the original 14 trade paperback editions are discounted by around 50%, but only Volume 14 was in the B2G1 promotion at the time of writing.
Calvin and Hobbes, at least according to Amazon, is recommended for kids ages 10 and up, which makes sense in some respects. I read Calvin and Hobbes when I was just learning how to read as in kindergarten, and many other longtime fans probably did as well. It’s not so much the content that is inappropriate for early readers, it’s that much of what makes Calvin and Hobbes so great is its wit. The cleverness and social commentary can fly right past younger readers. I gained a greater appreciation for Calvin and Hobbes when I read it as an adult.
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. The Mysteries couldn’t be more different from Calvin and Hobbes, but it’s an interesting illustrated fable for adult readers.