Susie Derkins Deserves More Recognition

Thirty-one years after its conclusion, Calvin and Hobbes continues to inspire fan works imagining what happened to its characters in adulthood. One popular fan creation, 2011's Hobbes and Bacon by Tom Heyerman, exemplifies a recurring theme in fan fiction: an adult Calvin marrying Susie Derkins, his childhood rival. While the logic seems straightforward—Susie is Calvin's only consistent peer throughout the strip's run—the pairing feels incongruous with how the original comic portrayed their relationship.

Susie and Calvin functioned as opposing forces in the strip. Where Calvin was maladjusted and chaotic, Susie represented order and academic success. She was the good student to his scholastic misfit, the well-adjusted foil to his neuroses. Though occasional strips hinted at mutual attraction, particularly a Valentine's Day arc from 1986, the two characters spent most of their time antagonizing each other. The notion that they could sustain a conversation, let alone a marriage and child, stretches credibility.

Yet Susie's role in the strip extended beyond mere foil. Like Calvin's parents, she existed primarily to bounce off the protagonist, but unlike them, she rarely received her own spotlight. Her most substantial solo moment came in May 1986 when she discovered Hobbes after a stray dog had dragged the tiger away. Beyond that, Susie's character development remained minimal throughout the strip's original run.

This lack of focus makes one particular strip from October 4, 1993, stand out as Susie's defining moment. As she and Calvin wait for the school bus, Susie expresses enthusiasm about her schoolbooks. Calvin, predictably uninterested, has transformed his textbook into a flip-animation of a dinosaur driving the Batmobile. Susie's response became iconic: "Sometimes I think books are the only friends worth having." The line resonated so widely that it appeared on library bulletin boards across the country and remains a touchstone for bibliophilic Gen-Xers.

That single statement encapsulates what makes Susie remarkable. Despite being only six years old, she ranks among fiction's most accomplished students. Her academic dedication is presented without explanation or backstory—the strip never reveals whether her parents are professors or what shaped her studious nature. This absence of context makes her achievement even more impressive, yet also highlights how the strip underutilized her character.

Susie Derkins deserves recognition as more than Calvin's opposite. She represents a distinct personality type rarely explored in children's comics: the genuinely brilliant young student who finds fulfillment in learning itself. While fan artists continue imagining her future, the original strip left her potential largely untapped, making her one of Calvin and Hobbes' most overlooked characters despite being its most intellectually accomplished.