The driving force behind “The Calvin and Hobbes Searchable Database” would just as soon not have this publicity. After all, a site much like his has already been slapped around by copyright lawyers to the point where it’s but a shell of its former self (“There are no strips (anymore) to view,” laments that proprietor.)
But Ben, a former “Web geek at a very large networking company” who would prefer his last name not be used, soldiers on with “The Calvin and Hobbes Searchable Database,” a very cool site if you happen to be into that iconic comic strip – and an interesting one even if you’re not.
Type in a word – say, “snow” – and up pops every strip in which in the word appeared: In this case 144 complete C&H strips – not just links, but the entire strips in all of their glory – out of some 3,200 in the database.
I recently conducted an e-mail interview with Ben. Here’s an edited transcript:
What inspired the project?
The project was born out of my frustration with the Universal Press comics page and my own desire to better understand Perl-based Web things (spidering, searching, etc.). Back in the day I was a Web geek just starting out and I figured this would be a good way to learn something new and create something useful.
How much time have you invested into it?
The code for the archive and search engine took maybe a month off and on. I haven’t updated the code or really changed anything since the original version. The original code I wrote automatically added a strip a day to the archive (after Universal Press released the strip on their Web site 11 years after its first publication).
There are a number of changes I would like to make, but I’ve since changed careers and haven’t had the time to update things.
You mention volunteer helpers: What exactly have they done?
Well, I added the text for the first 881 strips, but since then an additional 2,184 strips have been added by random Internet friends. Occasionally, someone submits garbage in the database and I have to clean it out, but for the most part additional strips are added by people who love Calvin and Hobbes and want to be able find their favorite strips.
Although I built this tool to learn Perl, the thing I really learned was how great the Web as a collective tool can be. I simply wrote a program that allowed people to share their favorite strips, but they actually did all the work in creating a great site.
What kind of traffic are you getting?
I don’t do regular traffic analysis because I don’t really care about the results. If just one person is finding the site useful, that’s good enough for me.
Personally, I am not a C&H fan (nothing against it; just never got into my reading rotation). To what do you attribute the strip’s incredible popularity?
I think Calvin and Hobbes is so popular for a couple of different reasons 1) It’s intelligent and imaginative humor (so much of the world today is dumbed down for the masses – see Garfield); 2) Bill Watterson took care and pride in his work and anyone who does that will be successful; and 3) most everyone can relate to the strip in some way, whether it’s having a best friend to confide in, taking joy in a summer day, or using a plain old cardboard box to turn you into a 500-story gastropod.
Do I understand correctly that the strip is no longer being drawn? (Pardon my cluelessness)?
Yes, the last strip was released on Dec. 31, 1995. If you want more background, there is a great Wikipedia page about C&H.
What do you do in real life?
I was a Web geek at a very large networking company up until 2005. I took a year off and went back to school to change careers. Last year started off as a financial planner for a small fee-only planning office in Portland, Oregon.
Have you gotten much press?
Except for the occasional blog entry, I don’t get much press, and frankly I’d like it to stay that way. The more press I get, the more likely I am to receive a not-very-nice letter from Universal Press. And although I compiled the first couple years of strip text, the large majority of searchable strips have come from nice Internet citizens who spend their time typing away, and I don’t want to (have to) take away their database. … I hope you understand.
I understand, all right, which is why I didn’t have the heart to contact Universal Press for comment. But it sure as heck seems like only a matter of time before their lawyers drop the hammer.
