The Spaceman Spiff subseries, based upon one of Calvin's many alteregos, is a special part of Calvin and Hobbes that permitted Bill Watterson to draw a "totally different comic strip" when he got bored. Based upon a comic created by Watterson as a college student, these strips are a bit more fast paced and creatively drawn then many other strips in Calvin and Hobbes.

The Spaceman Spiff comic strips also marks a departure from the rest of Calvin and Hobbes, since Hobbes never shows up a single time. This gives all of us a good chance to see the pure, unadulterated Calvin, free from the moderating influences of his (sometimes) more wise pal, Hobbes.