/r/DonaldandHobbes

4,293 losers and haters being very unclassy for 7 months!

This election cycle has been nothing if not entertaining. At least I think so. On a daily basis it provides me with something to laugh about, and it'll only just get stranger, and therefore more funny. It's no secret that it's also had a tremendous impact on reddit. Not just in the form of legions of Bernie and Trump supporters taking over the frontpage, but in the creation of new communities dedicated not only to a particular candidate, but to the absurdity of it all.

/r/DonaldandHobbes is one such community, having evolved naturally from the political climate that we've all worked together to create. It's perhaps my favorite Election 2016 subreddit to date.

Calvin and Hobbes was a beloved daily comic strip that was published for a decade and still has popularity today. It follows the life and adventures of six-year-old boy Calvin and his anthropomorphized stuffed tiger, Hobbes.

Donald and Hobbes features the billionaire reality TV star, real estate mogul, and current Republican presidential nominee, Donald Trump doing essentially Trump things. Trump being Trump is not interesting, though. (Well, maybe for a while, but the joke is wearing thin.) It's the medium that's brilliant. Users take Donald Trump's head and paste it over Calvin, which leads to hilarity and occasionally extremely astute social commentary. Sometimes the original text from the comic strip remains intact, sometimes it's altered slightly, other times rewritten completely.

Here are some examples:

• A Small Loan of a Million Dollars
• Agree With Donald or Take a Hike
• Hobbes breaks ground on Hobbes Tower

Now, not everything is just Donald and Hobbes. Some strips feature guest stars as well.

• Trump and Pence get G.R.O.S.S.
• Social Interaction

I spoke with moderator /u/-TracerBullet, and I had only one question.

How did the sub get started?

I actually had made a strip with Donald and his dad, which is now the first post on the subreddit, that I called Trump's origin story. I think I posted it to /r/politics back in November and it got downvoted to hell.

Literally a week later, /u/eucalyptusfire posted a comic with great faces that /r/funny found OK. It was then reposted to /r/calvinandhobbes and they loved it. In the comments, users said no more, so I commented with the one I had made. They requested a subreddit and /u/NeonDisease beat me to the punch.

The exchange can be found here.

The Donald and Hobbes phenomenon has been picked up by online media outlets, and it probably won't be long before the meme gets more national attention. So get in on the ground floor. /r/DonaldandHobbes is one that's worth checking out. The sub is great.

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